CLASSICAL 
DICTIONARY, 

FOR THE 

USE OF SCHOOLS, 

CONTAINING, 

UNDER ITS DIFFERENT HEADS, 

EVERY THING 

ILLUSTRATIVE AND EXPLANATORY 

OF THE 

MYTHOLOGY, HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, 
MANNERS, CUSTOMS, &c. 

OCCURRING 

IN THE GREEK AND ROMAN AUTHORS. 



BY THOMAS BROWNE, LL. D. 



THE SIXTH EDITION, 

WITH NUMEROUS ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS. 



LONDON : 

PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, REES, ORME, AND CO.; BALDWIN, 
CRADOCK, AND JOY; G. B. WHITTAKER ; J. RICHARDSON 
E. WILLIAMS; W. GINGER ; J.HARRIS; J. COLLINGWOOD 
SHERWOOD AND CO.; HARDING AND LEPARD ; HAMILTON 
ADAMS, AND CO.; J.DUNCAN; SIMPKIN AND MAR! HALL 
HARVEY AND DARTON ; T. TEGG ; AND J. SOUTER. 



1827- 



'-oxiai ai ^ , :. , . ;« uresl hn$ nsoh&mom 

LONDON : 

PRINTED BY THOMAS DAVISON, WHITE FRIERS/ 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



Impressed with gratitude for the support so liberally 
give& to this Work, the Author respectfully informs the 
Public, and particularly those Gentlemen, who are engaged 
in inculcating the principles of Classical Literature, that 
he has spared no pains to render the present Edition (the 
fourth) as correct and interesting as possible. The aug- 
mentation and improvement of many articles, the intro- 
duction of much new and valuable information in History, 
Geography, Mythology, &c. and the neatness of the typo- 
graphical execution, must appear to every observant 
Reader ; and may probably acquire, for this Volume, an 
additional claim to general patronage. 

London, 
Feb. 20, 1818. 



\ 



iv 



The Editor of the present Edition can add but little 
to what is stated by the learned Author in the preceding 
advertisement; though much might be said. A multitude 
of new articles have been added to the former Edition,, 
and the whole, he confidently trusts, will be found 
nearly as complete as a work of this kind can possibly be 
rendered. 

London, 
Feb. 12, 1827. 



PREFACE. 



That a competent knowledge of the Mythology, History, and 
Geography, diffused throughout the Greek and Roman Classics, is 
necessary for Youth, will be readily admitted by all those concerned 
in their Education. The rendering any Greek and Roman author 
into the vernacular tongue is, at best, naked and insipid, unless the 
Pupil be interested in the passage allotted him for his task. It will 
not, however, be denied, that the simple translation of the dead 
languages into English is all that is necessary, or can be reasonably 
expected, whilst their first principles are inculcating by the master ; 
but when the Young Student begins to drink of the stream of the 
higher Classics, of which Mythology, History, and Geography, form 
so essential a part, then it is, that a clue, calculated to conduct him 
to these springs, should be put into his hands, and that every endea- 
vour should be exercised to form his taste, and to excite in him a zest 
for the draught he is about to take. 

Here, perhaps, it may be asked, how is this to be effected ? To 
this the author replies, by making the pupil (when any thing relating 



to Mythology, History, &c. occurs) acquire a previous general know- 
edge of the person or place, mentioned in his lesson, from a Classical 
Dictionary, calculated to elucidate the passage, without clogging his 
memory. How pleasing would it be, both to the instructor and pupil, 
could the latter be made interested in the lesson he is about to read, 
and if he were insensibly led into a just conception of it, and inspired 
with a desire of studying it to the end. 

A desire, therefore, of exciting such a pleasure in the minds of 
youth, smoothing their progress, awakening their attention, and in- 
structing them in whatever School Classics may be put into their 
hands, first induced the author to submit this small Cabinet of 
Classical Lore to the notice of the Public, but more immediately to 
that of the instructors of Youth. With respect to its component 
matter, it has been his principal aim to combine perspicuity with 
brevity, and he trusts it will be found that he has been studious in in- 
troducing all that chiefly refers to the School Classics, whether apper- 
taining to the Mythology, History, Geography, Manners, or Customs, 
of the Ancients. Several Heads, illustrative and explanatory of 
Authors not in common use in Schools, liave been also introduced. If 
some proper names of persons and places have been omitted, they 
will be found such as are but barely mentioned in the Authors in 
which they occur. Of those proper names, to which any thing re- 
markable is attached, a concise, yet accurate description has been 
given. 

For the Author to arrogate to himself a superiority in the execution 
of this work over any existing one of a similar kind would be pre- 



vii 



sumptuous ; he only designs it as a substitute for the meagre appendix 
of proper names annexed to our Latin Dictionaries, and as an epitome 
of the voluminous, but elegant Bibliotheca Classlca of Mr. Lempriere, 
the price of which obstructs its entry into the generality of seminaries, 
where the Greek and Roman languages are taught. The Author 
thought, that if a Dictionary were compiled, containing a certain por- 
tion of explanatory matter, which might, in a great degree, instruct 
the student, without surcharging his memory, and which was, at the 
same time, reduced to such a price, as to render it generally attainable, 
a work, correspondent to the wishes of many teachers, would be then 
furnished. 

The supposition also, that such a compact repository of ancient 
literature might, on several occasions, be found a pleasing book of 
reference for the Fair Sex, operated strongly with the Author. Be- 
tween modern literature (particularly that captivating branch of it, 
Poetry), and ancient mythology, there seems to be, as it were, by 
general consent, an inseparable union ; and, as none are found more 
successful votaries of the Muses than the Ladies, when the tender 
passions are to be expressed, they, in this work, may probably find 
much mythological decoration for their productions; — waving, how- 
ever, its utility on this score, young Ladies may possibly find it a 
pleasing book of occasional reference in the ordinary course of their 
reading. 

Whatever may be the reception of the Work with the Public, the 
Author assures them, that his principle has been to render it, as far as 
possible, a mean between the scanty and defective description of proper 



viii 



names subjoined to the Latin Dictionaries used in Schools, and the 
copiousness of a work of a similar kind, the matter, under many of the 
heads of which, being deemed, by the generality of masters, too 
cumbrous for the tender mind. 



CLASSICAL DICTIONARY, 



FOR 



THE USE OF SCHOOLS, &c. 



ABA 



Aba and Ab^e, a town of Pho- 
cis, famous for an oracle of Apollo, sur- 
named Abseus. The inhabitants, called 
Abantes, were of Thracian origin. [Vid. 
Abantis.] Herodot. — Also the name of a 
city of Caria and Arabia Felix. Plin. 

Abalus, an island in the Ger- 
man ocean, where, as the ancients sup- 
posed, the amber dropped from the 
trees. Plin. 

Abantes, a people of Pelopon- 
nesus, who built a town in Phocis called 
Aba, after their leader Abas, whence 
also their name originated: they after- 
wards went to Eubcea. [Vid. Abantis.] 
Herodot. 

Abantidas murdered Clinias, 
father of Aratus, by which he obtained 
the sovereignty of Sicyon ; but was soon 
after assassinated. 

Abantias or Abantjades, a 
patronymic given to the descendants 
of Abas king of Argos, such as Acrisius, 
Panae, Perseus, &e. 

Abantis, or Aba nti as, an an- 
cient name of the island of Euboea, re- 
ceived from the Abantes, who settled in 
it from Phocis. Plin.— Also a country 
of Epirus. 

Ab arb area, one of the Nai- 
ades, mother of vEsepus and Pedasus by 
Bucolion, Laomedon's eldest son. Horn. 

Abarimon, a country of Scy- 
thia, near mount Imaus. The natives 
of which are fabled to have had their 
toes behind their heels, and to have 
been able to breathe no air but that of 
their own country. 

A bar is. The most remark- 
able of this name was a Scythian in the 
time of the Trojan war : he received a 
flying arrow from Apollo, with which 
he gave oracles, and transported himself 



ABD 



wherever he pleased. He is said to have 
returned to the Hyperborean countries 
from A thens without eating, and to have 
made the Trojan Palladium with the 
bones of Pelops. Herodot. 

Abarus, an Arabian prince, 
who perfidiously deserted Crassus in his 
expedition against Parthia. Appian. 

Abas. There were many of 
this name, the most remarkable of whom 
were Abas, the 11th king of Argos, son 
of Belus, some say of Lynceus and Hy- 
permnestra. He was father to Proetus 
and Acrisius, and built Abas. He reigned 
twenty-three years, B. C. 1384. Paus.&c. 
— A Latin chief, who assisted ^Eneas 
against Turnus, and was killed by Lau- 
sus. Virg. — Also a centaur, famous for 
his skill in hunting. — A mountain in 
Syria, the source of the Euphrates. — A 
river of Armenia Major, where Pompcy 
routed the Albani. Plut. 

Abas a, an island in the Red 
Sea, near /Ethiopia. Pans. 

Abatos, an island near Mem- 
phis in Egypt, abounding with fiax 
and papyrus. Osiris was buried there. 
Lucan. 

ABDALONIMLS, one of the de- 
scendants of the kings of Sidon, so poor, 
that to maintain himself he worked in a 
garden. When Alexander took Sidon 
he made him king, and enlarged his 
possessions on account of his great dis- 
interestedness. Justin. 

Abdera, a town of Hispania 
Baetica. — A maritime city of Thrace, 
supposed to have been built by Abdera, 
the sister of Diomedes. The air was so 
unwholesome, and the inhabitants were 
of such a sluggish disposition, that stu- 
pidity was commonly called AMeritim 
mens. It gave birth to the famous phi- 
losopher Democritus. Mela. 

AbderItes, a people of Pceo- 
B 



ABR 



ACA 



nia, obliged to leave their country on 
recount of the great number of rats" and 
frogs that infested it. Justin. 

Abderus, of Locris, armbearer 
to Hercules, was torn to pieces by the 
mares of Diomedes, which the hero had 
entrusted to his care when going to war 
against the Bistones. Hercules built a 
city, which, in honor of his friend, he 
called Abdera. Apollod. 

Abella, a town of Campania, 
whose inhabitants were called Abellani. 
Its nuts, called avellance, were famous. 
Virg. 

Abenda, a Carian town, the 

natives of which first raised temples to 
the city of Rome. Livy. 

Aeeona (ab abed) a goddess 
whom the Romans invoked when going 
to undertake a journey. 

Aeia, formerly Ire, a maritime 
town of Messenia, one of the seven cities 
promised to Achilles by Agamemnon. 
It is called after Abia, daughter of 
Hercules, and nurse of Hyllus. Pans. 
Strab. &c. 

Abii, a nation between Scythia 
and Thrace. They lived upon milk, 
were fond of celibacy, and enemies to 
war. Horn. 

Abila or Abyla, a mountain 
of Africa, in that part which is nearest 
to the opposite mountain called Calpe, 
on the coast of Spain, only eighteen 
miles distant. These two "mountains 
are called the columns of Hercules, and 
were said formerly io be united, till the 
hero separated them, and made a com- 
munication between the Mediterranean 
and Atlantic seas. Strab. &c. 

Abisares, a prince of India, 
whom Quintus Curtius describes as 
offering to surrender to Alexander. 

Abnoba, a mountain of Ger- 
many, now AbenotOt or the black moun- 
tain, where are the sources of the Da- 
nube. Tacit. 

Aboecritus, a Boeotian ge- 
neral, killed with a thousand men, in a 
battle at Chaeronea^againsttheiEtolians. 
Plut. 

Aborigines, the original in- 
habitants of Italy, under the reign of 
Saturn. Their posterity were called 
Latini, from Latinus, one of their kings. 
They assisted iEneas against Turnus. 
Rome was built in their country. The 
word signifies, without origin, or whose 
origin is not known. Liv. Justin. &c. 

Abradates, a king of Susa, 
who, when his wife Panthea had been 
taken prisoner by Cyrus, and humanely 
treated, surrendered himself and his 
troops to the conqueror. He was killed 
in the first battle he undertook in the 
cause of Cyrus, and his wife stabbed 
herself on his corpse. Cyrus raised a 
monument on their tomb. Xenoph. 



Abrentils, a governor of Ta- 

rentum, who betrayed his trust to the 
Romans. Poly an. 

Abrocomas, son of Darius, 
was in the army of Xerxes, when he 
invaded Greece. He was killed at the 
battle of Thermopylae. Herodot. 

Abron, an Athenian, author 
of a treatise concerning the religion of 
the ancient Greeks. — A grammarian of 
Rhodes, who taughtrhetoricatRome. — 
A Spartan, son of Lvcurgus the orator, 
Plut. 

Abronies, a fabulist in the 

age of Augustus. 

Abrota, the wife of Nisus, the 
youngest of the sons of vEgeus. As a 
monument to her chastity, Nisus, after 
her death, ordered the garments which 
she wore to become the models of fashion 
in Megara. Plut. 

Abrypolis, an ally of Rome> 
driven from his possessions by Perseus, 
the last king of Macedonia. Liv. 

Abseus, a giant, son of Tar- 
tarus and Terra. Hygin. 

Abs6rls,Absyrtis,Absyr- 

TIDES, islands in the Adriatic, or near 
Istria, where Absyrtis waskilled,whence 
their name. Strab. 

Absyrtls, a son of ^Eetes, 
king of Colchis and Hypsea. His sister 
Medea, as she fled away with Jason, 
tore his body to pieces, and strewed his 
limbs in her father's way, to step his 
pursuit. Some say that she murdered 
him in Colchis, ethers, near Istria. It 
is said that he arrived safe in Illyricum. 
Lucan. Strab. &c. 

Abulites, a governor of Susa, 
who betrayed his trust to Alexander the 
Great, and was rewarded with a pro- 
vince. 

AbyB-os, a town of Egypt, 

where was the famous temple of Osiris. 
— A city of Asia, opposite Sestos in Eu- 
rope, built by the Milesians, by permis- 
sion of king' Gyges. It is famous for 
the amours of Hero and Leander, and 
for the bridge of boats which Xerxes 
built there across the Hellespont, when 
he invaded Greece. Liv. Justin. 

Abyssinia, a large kingdom 
of Africa, in Upper Ethiopia, where the 
Nile takes its rise. 

Acacallis, a nymph, mother 

of Philander and Phylacis by Apollo. 
These children w r ere exposed to the 
wild beasts in Crete, but a goat giving 
them her milk, preserved them. Pavs. 

Academia, a place surrounded 
with trees near Athens, belonging to 
Academus, from whence the name is 
derived. Here Plato opened his school 
of philosophy, and from this, every place 
sacred to learning has ever since been 
called Academia. To exclude from it 



ACC 



ACE 



profaneness and dissipation, it was even 
forbidden to laugh there. It was called 
Academic, vetus, to distinguish it from 
the second academy founded by Arcesi- 
laus, who made some few alterations in 
the Platonic philosophy ; and from the 
third, which was established by Car- 
neades. Cic. Diog. &c. 

Academus, an Athenian, who 
discovered to Castor and Pollux where 
Theseus had concealed their sister He- 
len, for which they amply rewarded him. 
Plut. in Thes. 

Acalle, a daughter of Minos 
and Pasiphae. Apollod. 

A cam as, son of Theseus and 
Phaedra, went with Diomedes to demand 
Helen from the Trojans after her elope- 
ment from Menelaus. He was concerned 
in the Trojan war, and afterwards built 
the town of Acamantium in Phrygia, 
and called a tribe after his own name at 
Athens. Paus. Hygin. 

Acantha, a nymph loved by- 
Apollo, and changed into the flower 
Acanthus. 

Acanthus, a town, near mount 

Athos,founded by a colony from Andros. 
Mela. 

Acaria, a fountain of Corinth, 
where Iolas cut off the head of Eury- 
stheus. Strab. 

Acarnania, a country ofEpi- 

rus, at the north of the Ionian sea, di- 
vided from JStolia by the Achelous. The 
inhabitants reckoned only six months 
in the year : they were luxurious, and 
addicted to pleasure. PUn. 

Acarnas and Amphoterus, 

sons of Alcmaeon and Callirhoe. Ale- 
mason being murdered by the brothers 
of Alphesibcea his former wife, Cal- 
lirhoe obtained from Jupiter, that her 
children, who were still in the cradle, 
might grow up to punish their father's 
murderers. This was granted. \_Vid. 
Alcmaeon.] 

Acasta, one of the Oceanides. 

Acastus, son of Pelias, king 
of Thessaly, married Astydamia or Hip- 
polyte, who fell in love with Peleus, son 
of iEacus, when in banishment at her 
husband's court. Peleus rejecting the 
addresses of Hippolyte, was accused be- 
fore Acastus of attempts upon her virtue, 
and soon after, at a chase, exposed to 
wild beasts. Vulcan, by order of Ju- 
piter, delivered Peleus, who returned to 
Thessaly, and put to death Acastus and 
his wife. \Vid. Peleus and Astydamia.] 
Ovid. 

Acca Laurentia, the wife of 

Faustulus, shepherd of king Numitor's 
flocks. She brought up Romulus and 
Remus, who had been exposed on the 
banks of the Tiber. From her wanton- 
ness, she was called Lupa (a prostitute), 
whence the fable that Romulus was 



suckled by a she-wolf. Bionys. Hal. Liv. 
— Another prostitute, in honor of whom 
certain annual festivals, called Lauren- 
talia, were celebrated by the Romans. 

Accia or Ati a, daughter of 
Julia and M. Atius Balbus, was the mo- 
ther of Augustus, and died about 40 
years B. C. Bio. Suet. 

Accius (L.), a Roman tragic 
poet, who flourished about 180 years 
before Christ. The roughness of his 
style was imputed to the unpolished age 
in which he lived. He translated some 
of the tragedies of Sophocles, but of his 
numerous pieces only some of the names 
are known ; and among these, his Nup- 
tise, Mercator, Neoptolemus, Phcenice, 
Medea, Atreus, &c. Some few of his 
verses may be found preserved in Cicero 
and other writers. He died about 180 
years B. C. Horat. Ovid. &c. — A famous 
orator of Pisaurum in Cicero's age. 

Accius Tullius, a prince of 
the Volsci, very hostile to the Romans. 
Coriolanus, when banished by his coun- 
trymen, fled to him, and led his armies 
against Rome. Liv. Plut. 

Acco, a general of the Senones 
in Gaul. — An old woman who fell mad 
on seeing her deformity in a looking- 
glass. 

Ace, a place of Arcadia, near 

Megalopolis, where Orestes wss cured 
from the persecution of the furies, who 
had a temp^ here. Paus. 

Aceratus, a soothsayer, who 
remained alone at Delphi, when the 
approach of Xerxes frightened away the 
inhabitants. HerodotS 

Acerbas. [ Vid. Sichssus.] 

AcERRiE, an ancient town of 
Campania, near the river Clanius, which 
often overflows the country. Virg. 

Acersecomes, a surname of 
Apollo, which signifies unshorn. 

Acesia, a part of the isle of 
Lemnos, which received its name from 
Philoctetes. 

Acesintjs or AcESiNES,ariver 
of Persia,falling into the Indus. Its banks 
produce reeds of such an uncommon 
size, that a piece of them, particularly 
between two knots, can serve as a boat 
to cross the water. Justin. 

Acesius, a surname of Apollo, 
as god of medicine. 

Ac est A, a town of Sicily, called 
after king Acestes. It received also the 
name of Segesta : it was built by iEneas, 
who left here part of his crew, as he was 
going to Italy. Virg. 

Acestes, son of Crinisus and 
Agesta, king of the country near Dre- 
panum in Sicily, assisted Priam in the 
Trojan war, and kindly entertained 
yEneas during his voyage. He also 
helped him to bury his father on meant 



ACH 



ACH 



Eryx. In commemoration of this, 
iEneas built a city there, called Acesta. 
Virg. 

Acestium, a woman, who lived 
to see all her relations invested with the 
office of torch-bearer in the Festivals 
held in honour of Ceres. 

Acestodorus, an historian, 

who describes the review which Xerxes 
made of his forces before the battle of 
Salamis. 

Achabytos, a mountain in 

Rhodes, among the woods of which 
Jupiter had a temple. 

AcHiEA, one of the surnames of 
Pallas. — Ceres was also called Achaea, 
from her lamentations at the loss of Pro- 
serpine. 

AchjEi, the descendants of 
Achaeus, at first inhabited the country 
near Argos ; but being expelled by the 
Heraclidae 80 years after the Trojan war, 
they retired among the Ionians, whose 
twelve cities they seized and kept. The 
names of these cities are iEgira, JEges, 
Mgeon, Bura, Dyme, Helice, Olenos, 
Patrse, Pellene, Pharae,Rhypae, Tritoea. 
The poets applied the name of Achaei in- 
discriminately to all the Greeks. — Also a 
people of Asia, on the borders of the 
Euxine sea. 

Ach^menes. The most re- 
markable of this name is a king of Per- 
sia, among the progenitors of Cyrus 
the Great ; his descendants were called 
Achaemenides, and formed a separate 
tribe in Persia, of which the kings were 
members. — Cambyses, son of Cyrus, on 
his death-bed, charged his nobles, and 
particularly the Achaemenides, not to 
suffer the Medes to recover their former 
power, and abolish the empire of Persia. 
Herodot. Hot at. 

Achaemenides, a companion 

of Ulysses, abandoned on the coast of 
Sicily, where iEneas, on his voyage to 
Italy, found him. Virg. 

AcHiEORUM Statio, a place 

on the coast of the Thracian Chersone- 
sus, where Polyxenawas sacrificed to the 
shade of Achilles, and where Hecuba 
killed Polymnestor, who had murdered 
her son Polydorus. 

Achaeus, a son of Xuthus of 
Thessaly, fled to Peloponnesus, after 
the accidental murder of a man : where 
the inhabitants were called, from him, 
Achgei. Strab. &c. — A tragic poet of Ere- 
tria, who wrote 43 tragedies, the titles of 
some of which are still preserved. One 
only obtained the prize. He lived some 
time after Sophocles. — A relation of An- 
tioehus the Great, appointed governor of 
all the king's provinces beyond Taurus. 
He aspired to sovereign power, which he 
disputed for eight years with Antiochus, 
and was at last betrayed by a Cretan. 
His limbs were cut off, and his body, 



sewed in the skin of an ass, was exposed 
on a gibbet. Polyb. 

Achaia, called also Hellas, a 
country of Peloponnesus at the north of 
Elis on the bay of Corinth. It was ori- 
ginally called #lgialus (shore) from its 
situation. Itreceivedthenameof Achaia., 
from the Achaei, who dispossessed the 
Ionians. 

Acharenses, a people near 

Syracuse mentioned by Cicero in his 
oration against Verres. 

Acharne, a village of Attica, 
where the festivals of Bacchus were first 
celebrated by the Greeks. Pindar be- 
stows his encomiums on their women, 
Paus. Pind. 

Achates, a friend of ^Eneas, 
whose fidelity was so exemplary that Fi- 
dus Achates became a proverb. Virg. 

Acheloides, a patronymic 
given to the Syrens as daughters of 
Achelous. Ovid. 

Achelous, the son of Oceanus 

and Terra or Tethys, god of the river of 
the same name in Epirus. As one of the 
numerous suitors of Dejanira, daughter 
of OZneus, he entered the lists against 
Hercules, and being inferior, changed 
himself into a serpent, and afterwards 
into an ox. Hercules broke off' one of 
his horns, and Achelous being defeated, 
retired into his bed of waters. The 
broken horn was given to the goddess* 
of plenty. This river is said to have 
sprung from the earth after the deluge = 
Herodot. Strab. Ovid. &c. — There were 
also two rivers of that name. 

ACHEMON or ACHMON, bro- 
ther of Basalas, a native of Africa, was 
punished by Hercules for ridiculing his 
hairy (,u.sKu; f nvyr\) appearance, <fee. 
from whence arose the proverb, Me in 
melampygvm incidas. Suidas. 

Acheron, a river of Thespro- 

tia, in Epirus. Homer called it one of 
the rivers of hell, and the fable has been 
adopted by all succeeding poets, who 
make the god of the stream to be the 
son of Ceres without a father, and say 
that he concealed himself in hell for fear 
of the Titans, and was changed into a 
bitter stream, over which the souls of 
the dead are at first conveyed. The 
word Acheron is often taken for hell 
itself. Horat. Virg. &c. — There were 
also three other rivers of this name in 
different countries. 

Acherontia, a town of Apu- 
lia on a mountain. Horat. 

Acherusia, a lake of Cam- 
pania near Capua. Diodorus, lib. i. men- 
tions, that in Egypt the bodies of the 
dead were conveyed over a lake called 
Acherusia, and received sentence ac- 
cording to the actions of their life. The 
boat was called Baris, and the ferryman 



ACH 



ACM 



Charon. Hence arose the fable of Cha- 
ron and the Styx, &c. 

Acherusias, a place near He- 
raclea, where Hercules, as is reported, 
dragged Cerberus out of hell. Xenoph. 

Achillas, a general of P to- 
tem v, who murdered Pompey the Great. 
Pint. 

Achillea, an island at the 

mouth of the Ister, where was the tomb 
of Achilles, over which, it is said, birds 
never flew. Plin. — A fountain of Mile- 
tus, whose waters rise salted from the 
earth, and afterwards sweeten in their 
course. 

Achillees, an imperfect poem 
of Statius, in which he describes the 
education and memorable actions of 
Achilles. 

Achilles, the son of Peleus 

and Thetis, was the bravest of all the 
Greeks in the Trojan war. During his 
infancy, Thetis plunged him in the 
Styx, and made every part of his body 
invulnerable, except the heel, by which 
she held him. His education was en- 
trusted to the centaur Chiron, who 
taught him the art of war, and made 
him master of music. He was taught 
eloquence by Phoenix, whom he ever 
after loved. Thetis, to prevent him 
from going to the Trojan war, where she 
knew he was to perish, privately sent 
him to the court of Lyeomedes, disguis- 
ed in a female dress. By his familiarity 
with the king's daughters here, he made 
Deidamia mother of Neoptolemus. As 
Troy could not be taken without Achil- 
les, Ulysses went to the court of Lyco- 
medes in the habit of a merchant, and 
exposed jewels and arms to sale. Achil- 
JeSjChoosing the arms, discovered his sex, 
and went to the war. Vulcan, at the 
entreaties of Thetis, made him a strong 
armour, which was proof against all 
weapons. He was deprived by Aga- 
memnon of his favorite mistress, Bri- 
seis, who had fallen to his lot at the 
division of the booty of Ly rnessus. F or 
this affront, he refused to appear in the 
field till the death of his friend Patroclus 
recalled him to action, and to revenge. 
IVid. Patroclus.] He slew Hector, the 
bulwark of Troy, tied the corpse by the 
heels to his chariot, and dragged it three 
times round the walls of Troy. After 
thus appeasing the shade of his friend, 
he permitted old Priam to carry away 
Hector's body, In the 10th year of the 
war, Achilles was charmed with Polyx- 
ena ; and as he solicited her hand in the 
temple of Minerva, it is said that Paris 
Aimed an arrow at his vulnerable heel, 
of which wound he died. His body was 
buried at Sigseum, and divine honors 
were paid to him, and temples raised to 
his memory. Some ages after the Tro- 
jan war, Alexander, going to the con- 
quest of Persia, offered sacrifices on the 
iomb of Achilles, and admired the hero 



who had found a Homer to publish his 
fame to posterity. Horn. Virg-. fee- 
There were also many other persons of 
the same name, but of less celebrity. 

Achilleum, a town of Troas 
near the tomb of Achilles, built by the 
Mityleneans. Plin. 

Achilleus or Aqcillus, a 

Roman general in Egypt, in the reign 
of Diocletian, who rebelled, and for five 
years maintained the imperial dignity 
at Alexandria. Diocletian at last march- 
ed against him ; and because he had 
supported a long siege, the emperor 
ordered him to be devoured by lions. 

AchIvt, the name of the in- 
habitants of Argos arid Lacedsemon be- 
fore the return of the Heraclidae, by 
whom they were expelled from their 
possessions 80 years after the Trojan 
war. The appellation of Achivi is in- 
discriminately applied by the ar.cient 
poets to all the Greeks. Paus. &c. 

Acholoe, one of the harpies. 
Hygin. 

Acichorus, one of Brennus's 

Generals in his expedition against Pceo- 
nia. Paus. 

Acid alia, a surname of Ve- 
nus, from a fountain of the same name 
in Boeotia, sacred to her. The Graces 
bathed in the fountain. Virg. 

Acila, a town of Arabia, si- 
tuated on the Red Sea, and now called 
Zider. The ancients sailed for India 
from thence. Plin. 

Acilia, the mother of Lucan. 

Acilius (M.), the enactor of 
the Acilian laws against bribery among 
the Romans. — There also were many 
others among the Romans who bore this 
name. — Acilius Balbus. A Roman, who 
subdued Antiochus at Thermopylae, for 
which he was decreed a triumph. He 
put up for the censorship ; but his rival 
Cato having exercised some unworthy 
practises against him he indignantly re- 
signed his pretensions. 

Aciris, now Agri, a river of 
Lucania, falling into the Bay of Taren- 
tum, at the north of Heraclea. Strab. 

Acis, a shepherd of Sicily, 
son of Faunus and the nymph Simsethis. 
Galatea passionately loved him ; upon 
which, his rival Polyphemus, through 
jealousy, crushed him to death with 
a piece of a broken rock. The gods 
changed Acis into a stream which rises 
from' Mount Mtna. Ovid. 

Acmon. The most ancient of 
the gods, according to some Greek my- 
cologists, said to have had alone an im- 
mortal existence, and to have produced 
Chaos. Lactant. in Stat. — One of 
iEneas's companions. Virg. Mn. 

Acmonides, one of the Cy- 
clops. Ovid. 



ACR 



ACT 



Acoetes, the pilot of the ship 

■which, against his consent, carried away 
Bacchus, who had been found asleep at 
Naxos. The crew were changed into 
sea monsters, but Acoetes was preserved. 
Ovid. 

Acontes, one of the fifty sons 
of Lycaon. 

Aconteus, a famous hunter, 
changed into a stone, by the head of 
Medusa, at the nuptials of Perseus and 
Andromeda. Ovid. 

Acontius, a youth of Cea, who, 
when he went to Delos to see the sacri- 
fices of Diana, fell in love with Cydippe. 
a beautiful virgin, and, being unable 
to obtain her, wrote verses on an apple, 
which he threw into her bosom. Cydippe 
read these verses ; and being compelled 
by an oath she had inadvertently made, 
married Acontius. Ovid. 

AcRADXNA, the citadel of Syra- 
cuse, taken by Marcellus the Roman 
Consul. Plut. 

AcRiEA, a surname of Diana, 
from a temple built to her by Melampus, 
on a mountain near Argos. — A surname 
of Juno. 

Acpatus, a freedman, whom 

Nero dispatched into Asia to plunder 
the temples. Tacitus. 

Ac re us, a surname of Jupiter, 
under which he was worshipped by the 
inhabitants of Smyrna. 

Acridophagi, an ^Ethiopian 
nation, who fed upon locusts, and lived 
not beyond their 40th year. At the ap- 
proach of old age, swarms of winged lice 
attacked them, and gnawed their belly 
and breast, till the patient, by rubbing 
himself, drew blood, which increased 
their number, and ended in his death. 
Strab. Plin. &c. 

Ac r ion, of Locris, a Pytha- 
gorean philosopher. 

Acrisioniabes, a patronymic 
of Perseus, from his grandfather Acri- 
sius. 

Acrisius, king of Argos, and 

brother of Prcetus, whom, after many 
dissensions, he drove from Argos. Acri- 
sius had Danae by Eurydiee, daughter 
of Laeedsemon; and being told by an 
oracle, that his daughter's son would 
put him to death, he confined Danae in 
a brazen tower, to prevent her becoming 
a mother. She, however, became preg- 
nant by Jupiter, changed into a golden 
shower ; and though Acrisius ordered 
her, and her infant, called Perseus, to be 
exposed on the sea, yet they were saved : 
and Perseus soon after became so famous 
for his actions, that Acrisius, anxious to 
see so renowned a grandson, went to 
Larissa. Here Perseus, wishing to show 
his skill in throwing a quoit, killed an 
old man, who proved to be his grand- 
father, whom he knew not. In that. 



therefore, the oracle was fulfilled. Acri- 
sius reigned about 31 years. Ovid. 
Horat. &c. 

AcRisoNECS,apatronymic ap- 
plied to the Argives from Acrisione, a 
town of Argolis. 

Acroathon a city on mount 
Athos,the inhabitants of which generally 
arrived to a very great age. Pliny. 

Acroceraunium, a promon- 
tory' of Epirus, with mountains called 
Aeroceraunia, which separate the Ionian 
and Adriatic seas. The word comes from 
axpog high, and xspuvvo; thunder ; be- 
cause, on account of their great height, 
they were often struck with thunder. 
Strab. Plin. 

Acrocorinthus, a lofty 
mountain on the isthmus of Corinth. 
There is a temple of Venus on the top, 
and Corinth is built at the bottom. 
Strab. 

Acron, a king of Cenina, killed 

by Romulus in single combat, after the 
rape of the Sabines. His spoils were 
dedicated to Jupiter Feretrius. Plut.— 
One of the friends of iEneas, killed by 
Mezentius. Virg. — A famous physician 
of Agrigentum. 

AcROPATOS,one of Alexander's- 
officers, who obtained part of Media after 
the king's death. Justin, 

Acropolis, the citadel of 

Athens, built on a rock, and accessible 
only on one side. Minerva had a temple 
at the bottom. 

Acrotatus, son of Cleomenes, 
king of S parta. — A son of Areus, men- 
tioned by Plutarch in his life of Pyrrhus. 

Acta or Acte, a country of 

Attica. The word signifies shore, and is 
applied to Attica, as being near the sea. 
It is derived by some writers, from Ac* 
ta?us a king, from whom the Athenians 
have been called Actasi. Ovid. Virg. 

Acte, one of the Horze. 
Act^a, one of the Nereides 

A surname of Ceres. — A daughter of Da- 
naus. Apollod. 

Action, a famous huntsman, 

son of Aristseus and Autonoe, daughter 
of Cadmus, whence he is called Auto- 
neius heros. He saw Diana and her at- 
tendants bathing near Gargaphia, for 
which he was changed into a stag, and 
devoured by his own dogs. Ovid. &c. — 
A beautiful youth, son of Melissus of 
Corinth. 

Act^us, a powerful person who 

made himself master of a part of Greece, 
which he called Attica. His daughter 
Agraulos married Ceerops, whom the 
Athenians called their first king, though 
Actaeus reigned before him. Pans. 

Acti A, the mother of Augustus. 
As she slept in the temple of Apollo* she 



ADA 



ADO 



dreamt that a dragon had lain with her. 
Nine months after, she brought forth, 
having previously dreamt that her 
bowels were scattered all over the world. 
Suet. — Games sacred to Apollo, and cele- 
brated every third year with great pomp 
in commemoration of the victory of 
Augustus over M. Antony at Actium. 

Actis, son of Sol, went from 
Greece into Egypt, where he taught as- 
trology, and founded Heliopolis. Diod. 

AcTiSANEs,a king of ^Ethiopia, 
who conquered Egy pt, and expelled king 
Amasis. He was famous for his equity, 
and his severe punishment of robbers. 
Diod. 

Actium, a town and promon- 
tory of Epirus, famous for the naval 
victory Augustus obtained over Antonv 
and Cleopatra, the 2d of Sept. B. C.3l,in 
honor of which the conqueror built 
there the town of Nicopolis, and insti- 
tuted games. [Vid. Actia.] 

Actius, a surname of Apollo, 
from Actium, where he had a temple. 
Virg. 

Actius N^evius, an augur who 
cut a whetstone in two with a razor, 
before Tarquin and the Roman people, 
to convince them of his skill as an augur. 
Liv. 

Actor. There were many of 

this name, the most remarkable of whom 
is a companion of Hercules in his expe- 
dition against the Amazons. — The father 
of Menoetius by iEgina, whence Patro- 
clus is called Actorides. Ovid. 

Actor ides, two brothers, so 
fond of each other, that in driving a 
chariot, one generally held the reins and 
the other the whip ; whence they are re- 
presented with two heads, four feet, and 
one body. Hercules conquered them. 
Pindar. 

Aculeo (C.) a Roman lawyer, 
celebrated as such for the strength of his 
understanding, and knowledge of the 
law. He was uncle to Cicero. Cin. in 
Qtat. 

Acusilaus and Damagetus, 

two brothers, conquerors at the Olym- 
pic games. The Greeks strewed flowers 
upon Diagoras, their father, and called 
him happy in having such worthy sons. 
Paus. 

Acuticus (M.)a comic writer, 

author of Leones, Gemini, Bceotia, 
Anus, &c, now lost. 

Ada, a sister of queen Artemi- 
sia, who married Hidricus. After her 
husband's death, she succeeded to the 
throne of Caria; but being expelled by 
her younger brother, she retired to Alin- 
d.se, which she delivered to Alexander, 
after adopting him as her son. Curt. 

A dad, an Assyrian deity. 

Adam autjea, Jupiter's nurse, 



in Crete, who suspended him in his cradle 
to a tree, that he might be found neither 
on the earth, the sea, nor in heaven. To 
drown the infant's cries, she had drums 
beat, and cymbals sounded, around the 
tree. Hygin. 

A dam as, a young man, who, 
on being emasculated by Cothys, king 
of Thrace, raised a rebellion. Aristotle's 
Politics. 

Ademon, an African, who, to 

revenge the death of his master Ptolemy, 
raised a rebellion in Mauritania. He 
was put to death by Caligula. 

Adephagia, the goddess of 
gluttony, to whom the Sicilians erected 
an altar and a statue in the temple of 
Ceres. Athen. 

Ades or Hades, the god of hell 

among the Greeks, the same as the Pluto 
of the Latins. The word is derived from 
a and eiBsiv [non videre] because hell is 
deprived of light. It is often used for 
hell itself by the ancient poets. 

Adherbal, son of Micipsa, 
and grandson of Massinissa, was besieged 
at Cirta, and put to death by Jugurtha, 
after vainly imploring the aid of Rome, 
B. C. 112. Sallust. 

Adherbas. \ Vid. Sichasus.] 

Adiatorix, a governor of 
Galatia, who> to gain Antony's favor, 
slaughtered in one night all the inhabit- 
ants of the Roman colony of Heraclea, 
in Pontus. He was taken at Actium, 
led in triumph by Augustus, and stran- 
gled in prison. Strab. 

Adimantus, a commander of 
the Athenian fleet taken by the Spartans. 
All the men of the fleet were put to 
death, except Adimantus, because he had 
opposed the designs of his countrymen, 
who intended to mutilate all the Spar- 
tans. Xenoph. Pausanias says, that the 
Spartans had bribed him. — There were 
others also of this name, but of inferior 
note. 

Ad met A, a Priestess of Juno 
at Argos. Having expressed a wish to 
obtain the girdle of the queen of the 
Amazons, Hercules obtained it for her. 
Apollodor._ 

Admetus. The most remark- 
able of this name was king of Pliers? in 
Thessaly. Apollo, when banished from 
heaven, is said to have tended his flocks 
for nine years, and to have obtained from 
the Parca?> that Admetus should never 
die, if another person laid down his life 
for him. This was cheerfully done by 
his wife Alceste.-^- Admetus was one of 
the Argonauts, and was at the hunt of 
the Calydonian boar. Apollod. Ovid. S;e. 

Adonia, festivals in honor of 
Adonis, first celebrated at Byblos in 
Phoenicia. They lasted two days," the first 
of which was spent in howlings and la- 
mentations, the second in joyful cla- 



ADH 



mors, as if Adonis had returned to life. 
Only women were admitted, and such as 
did not appear were compelled to prosti- 
tute themselves for one day. Plut. &c. 

Adonis, son of Cinyras, by his 
daughter Myrrha, (Vid. Myrrha), was 
the favorite of Venus. Fie was fond of 
hunting, and w r as often cautioned by his 
mistress not to hunt wild beasts, for fear 
of being killed in the attempt. This ad- 
vice he slighted, and at last received a 
mortal bite from a wild boar, which he 
had wounded; and Venus, after shed- 
ding many tears at his death, changed 
him into a flower called an em on y. Pro- 
serpine is said to have restored him to 
life, on condition that he should spend 
six months with her, and the rest of the 
year with Venus. This implies the al- 
ternate return of summer and winter. 
Adonis had temples raised to his me- 
mory, and is said by some to have been 
beloved by Apollo and Bacchus. Apol- 
lod. Virg. &c. 

Adramvttium, an Athenian 

colony on the sea coast of Mysia, near the 
Caycus. Strab. Thucyd. 

Adrandm, a town of Sicily, 
near iEtua, with a river of the same 
name. 

ADRASTA.oneofthe Oceanides, 

who nursed Jupiter. Hygin. 

Adratia, a daughter of Ju- 
piter and Necessity. She is called by 
some Nemesis, and is the punisher of in- 
justice. The Egyptians placed her above 
the moon, whence she looked down upon 
the actions of men. Strab. 

Adrastus. There were many 
of this name, the most remarkable of 
whom is the son of Talaus and Lysi- 
maehe, who was king of Argos. Poly- 
nices being banished from Thebes by his 
brother Eteocles, fled to Argos, where he 
married Argia, daughter of Adrastus. 
The king assisted his son-in-law, and 
marched against Thebes with an army 
headed by seven of his most famous 
generals. All perished in the war except 
Adrastus, who, with a few men saved 
from slaughter, fled to Athens, and im- 
plored the aid of Theseus against the 
Thebans, w T ho opposed the burying of 
the Argives slain in battle. Theseus 
went to his assistance, and was victori- 
ous. — Adrastus, after a long reign, died 
through grief, occasioned by the death of 
his son yEgialeus. A temple was raised 
to his memory at Sicyon. Virg. Stat. 
Hygin. 

Adria,Adrianum, or Adri- 

ATICUM MARE, a sea lying between 
Illyricum and Italy, new the Gulf of Ve- 
nice. Her.odot. &c. 

Adrianopolis, a town of 
Thrace on the Hebrus. — Another in 
iEtolia, Pisidia, and Bithynia. 

Adrian uf, the 15th emperor 
of Rome, is represented as a learned, 



warlike, and austere general. He came 
to Britain, where he built a wall between 
the modern towns of Carlisle and New- 
castle 60 miles long, to protect the Bri- 
tons from the incursions of the Caledo- 
nians. He killed in battle five hundred 
thousand Jews who had rebelled, and 
built a eity on the ruins of Jerusalem, 
which was called ^Elia. His memory 
was so retentive, that he remembered 
every incident of his life, and knew all 
the soldiers of his army by name. In the 
beginning of his reign, he followed the 
virtues of his adopted father and pre- 
decessor Trajan : he remitted all arrears 
due to his treasury for 16 vears, and 
publicly burnt the account-books, that 
his word might not be suspected. It is 
said that he wished to enrol Christ among 
the gods of Rome ; but his apparent le- 
nity towards the Christians was dis- 
proved, by the erection of a statue to 
Jupiter on the spot where Jesus rose 
from the dead, and one to Venus on 
Mount Calvary. He died of a dysentery 
at Baia?, A. D. 138, in the 72d year of his 
age, after a reign of 21 years. 

Adrimetum, atown of Africa, 
on the shores of the Mediterranean, 
built by the Phoenicians. Satirist. 

JEa, a huntress, changed into 
an island of the same name by the gods, 
to rescue her from the pursuit of her 
lover, the river Phasis. It had a town 
called 7£a, which was the capital of Col- 
chis. Flacc. 

M acid as, a king of Epirus, 

son of Neoptolemus, and brother to 
Olympias. He was expelled by his sub- 
jects for his continual wars with Maee- 
donia. 

JEacides, a patronymic of the 

descendants of ^Eacus, such as Achilles, 
Peleus, Pyrrhus, &c. Virg. 

tEacus, a son of Jupiter by 
iEgina, was king of the island of CEno- 
pia. A pestilence having destroyed all 
his subjects, he entreated Jupiter to re- 
people his kingdom ; and, according to 
his desire, all the ants which were in an 
old oak were changed into men,and called 
by yEacus myrmidons, from /Mpfi^ 9 
an ant. — iEacus married Endeis, by 
whom he had Telamon and Peleus. He 
was a man of such integrity, that the 
ancients have made him one of the 
judges of hell, with Minos and Rha- 
damanthus. Pans. Horat. Ovid. 

JEiJEA) a name given to Circe, 
because born at /Eae. Virg. 

JEanteum, a city in Troas, 
where Ajax was buried, from whence 
the name (A/a?) piin. — An island near 
the Thracian Chersonesus. Id. 

JEantides, a tyrant of Lam- 
psacus, who married Hippias, Tyrant 
of Athens. 

Mas, a river of Epirus, falling 



JEBO 



into the Ionian sea. In the fable of Io, 
Ovid describes it as falling into the Pe- 
neus, and meeting other rivers at Tempe. 

/Eat us, son of Philip, and bro- 
ther of Polyclea, was descended from 
Hercules. An oracle having said that 
whoever of the two touched the land 
after crossing the Achelous should ob- 
tain the kingdom, Polyclea pretended to 
be lame, and prevailed upon her brother 
to carry her across on his shoulders. 
When they came near the opposi te shore, 
Polyclea leaped ashore from her brother's 
back, exclaiming that the kingdom was 
her own. iEatus joined her in her ex- 
clamation, and afterwards married her, 
and reigned conjointly with her. Pah/am. 

/Echmacoras, a son of Her- 
cules, exposed by his grandfather to 
wild beasts, in the woods. Hercules 
being allured by the cries of a magpie, 
which imitated those of the child, ar- 
rived at the spot where it ,lay, and re- 
eovered it. 

/Echmis, king of Arcadia at 
the time Theopompus was king of 
Sparta. 

Odessa or Edessa, a town 

near Pella. It was the burying-place of 
the Macedonian kings; and an oracle 
had said, that, as long as the kings were 
buried there, so long would their king- 
dom subsist. Alexander was buried in a 
different place; and on that account, 
some authors have said that the king- 
dom became extinct. Justin. 

iEmcuLA in dic ul i, a temple 
raised by the Romans to the god of 
mirth, in consequence of the great joy 
they felt at Hannibal's being driven from 
Rome after the battle of Cannas. The 
god of Mirth was, also, worshipped at 
Sparta. 

/Ediles, Roman magistrates, 
that had the care of all buildings, baths, 
and aqueducts, and examined theweights 
and measures, that nothing might be 
sold without its due value. There were 
Lhree different sorts ; the JEdiles Plebeii, 
orMinores ; the Majores^Ediles, and the 
JEdiles Cereales.TheJEdiles were chosen 
from the plebeians for 127 years, till 
A. U. C. 338. Varro. Cic. 

/Edituus (Valer.), a Roman 

poet before the age of Cicero, very suc- 
cessful in his descriptions of amorous 
poetry, and in his epigrams. Only two 
verses are preserved of his poetry. Var. 
— Note, the name of Edituus was ap- 
plied to such offioers as were entrusted 
with the care of temples at Rome, 
whence the word [aides tueti.) 

/Ed on, daughter of Pandarus, 
married Zethus, brother to Amphion, 
by whom she had a son called Itylus. 
She was so jealous of her sister Niobe, 
because she had more children than her- 
self, that she resolved to murder the 
elder, who was educated with Itylus. 
She by mistake killed her own son, and 



was changed into a nightingale as she 
attempted to kill herself. Homer. 

/Edui or Hedui, a powerful 
nation of Celtic Gaul, which for a long 
time maintained a war against J. Caesar. 

Met a or M etes, king of Col- 
chis, son of Sol, and Perseis, daughter 
of Oceanus, was father of Medea, Ab- 
syrtus, and Chalciope, by Idya, one of 
the Oceanides. \_Vid. Medea, Jason, and 
Phryxus.] 

tEetias, a patronymic given to 
Medea, as daughter to ^Eetes, king of 
Colchis. Ovid. 

Mga, an island of the iEgean 
sea between Tenedos and Chios. 

/Eg^s, a city of Macedonia, the 
same as Edessa. Plin. — A town of Eu- 
bcea, whence Neptune is called zEganis. 
Strab. 

Mgmon, the son of Coelus, or 

of Pontus and Terra. He is the same as 
Briareus. [Vid. Briareus.] 

Mgjeum mare (now Archi- 
pelago), part of the Mediterranean, di- 
viding Greece from Asia Minor. It is 
full of islands, some of which are called 
Cyclades, others Sporades, &c. It is 
generally supposed that it derived its 
name from iEgeus, king of Athens, who 
is said to have drowned himself in it. 
Plin. Sti'ab. 

Mgje\js,2l surname of Neptune, 
from /Sgje in Euboea. — A river of Cor- 
cyra. — A plain in Phocis. 

JEgaleos or ZEgaleum, a 

mountain of Attica opposite Salamis,on 
which Xerxes sat during the engagement 
of his fleet with the Grecian ships in the 
adjacent sea. 

M gates, islands opposite Car- 
thage, called Arnasby Virgil, near which 
the Romans, in the first Punic war, de- 
feated the Carthaginian fleet, 242 B. C. 

/Egesta, sometimes called Se- 
gesta, a town, situated on Mount Etna, 
and destroyed by Agathocles. 

/Egeus, king of Athens, son of 
Pandion, being desirous of having chil- 
dren, went to consult the oracle, and in 
his return stopped at the court of Pit- 
theus, king of Trcezene, who gave him 
his daughter iEthra in marriage. He 
left her pregnant, and told her, if she 
had ason, to send him to Athens as soon 
as he could lift a stone under which he 
had concealed his sword. By this sword 
he was to be known to J2geus, who did 
not wish to make any public disco veryof 
a son, for fear of his nephews, the Pal- 
lantides, who expected his crown. j£thra 
became mother of Theseus, whom she 
accordingly sent to Athens with his fa- 
ther's sword. At the time iEgeus lived 
with Medea, the divorced wife of Jason. 
When Theseus came to Athens, Medea 
attemptedtopoison him ; but he escaped, 
and upon shewing /Egeus the sword he 



MG1 



iEGY 



wore, discovered himself to be his son. 
Apollod. Pints. &c. The iEgean sea is 
supposed to be called after mm. The- 
seus, when he returned from Crete,omit- 
ted to hoist white sails as a signal of his 
subduing the Minotaur, as he had agreed 
with /Egeus. His disconsolate father, at 
the sight of the black sails, threw him- 
self into the sea. iSgeus reigned 48 
years, and died B. C. 1235. 

tEgiale, one of Phaeton's sis- 
ters changed into popiars, and their tears 
into amber. They are called Heliades. 
— A daughter of Adrastus. She married 
Diomedes, in whose absence, during the 
Trojan war, she prostituted herself to 
her servants. Some say that Venus im- 
planted those vicious and lustful pro- 
pensities in iEgiale, to revenge herself 
xm Diomedes, who had wounded her in 
the Trojan war. 

JEgiale a, an island near Pelo- 
ponnesus, in the Cretan sea. Plin. — The 
ancient name of Peloponnesus. 

./Egialeus, son of Adrastus by 
Amphitea, was one of the Epigoni, or 
sons of the seven generals who were 
killed in the first Theban war. They 
went against the Thebans, who had re- 
fused to give burial to their fathers, and 
were victorious. They all returned home 
safe, except Tigaleus, who was killed. 
That expedition is called the war of the 
Epigoni. Pans. Apollod. 

./Egialus, son of Phoroneus, 
founded the kingdom of Sieyon 2091 
B. C. and reigned 52 years. 

JEgialus, a name given to part 
of Peloponnesus. — There were several 
cities of this name in Asia. 

iEsiLA, a town in Laconia, in 
which Aristomenes was taken prisoner 
by a multitude of women, whom he had 
attacked. 

JEgxmitis, a man, who is men- 
tioned by Pliny as having lived to the 
age of 200 years. 

tEgxmororus, an island on 
the coast of Libya. 

JEgina, daughter of Asopus, 

had JEaeus, by Jupiter, changed into a 
fiameof fire. She afterwards married 
Actor, son of Myrmidon, by whom she 
had some children ,whoconspired against 
their father. Some say that she was 
changed by Jupiter into the island which 

bears her name. Strab. Mela An 

island formerly called CEnopia, in apart 
of the iEgean"sea, called Saronicus Si- 
nus. The inhabitants were very power- 
ful by sea, but gave themselves up to 
Darius when he demanded submission 
from all the Greeks. The Athenians 
under Pericles expelled them from their 
possessions. The island is now called 
Engia. Herodot. Strab. 

)EGiNETAPAULUs,aphysician 
of ^Egnia, who distinguished himself for 
his knowledge of surgery. He treated 
particularly upon thedisorders incident 



to the female sex. whence he is said to 
be the first amon^ the ancients who de- 
served the title of man-midwife. 

iE G 1 6 c u s, a surn ame of Jupi ter , 
from his using the goat Amalthea's skin, 
instead of a shield, in the war of the Ti- 
tans. Diod. 

JE» gipan 7 , a name of Pan,- be- 
cause he had goat's feet. 

Mas, the shield of Jupiter, 
ctwo Trig ar/0f, goaf s skin. This was 
the goat Amalthea, with whose skin he 
covered his shield. The goat was placed 
among the constellations. Jupiter gave 
this shield to Pallas, who placed upon it 
Medusa's head, which turned into stones 
all those who fixed their eyes upon it. 
Virg. 

)£gisthus, king of Argos, was 

son of Thyestes, by his daughter Pelo- 
pea. Bein~ left guardian of Agamem- 
non's kingdoms, and of his wife Cly tern - 
nestra, he fell in love with her, and lived 
with her. They were both put to death 
afterwards by Orestes, after a reign of 
seven years from the murder of his fa- 
ther Agamemnon. \_Vid. Agamemnon, 
Thyestes, Orestes, Ciytemnestra, Pyla- 
des,' & Electra.] Ovid. R?/gin. Soplioeh 
Horn. 

JEgle, a nymph, daughter of 
Sol and Neaera. [Virg.^One of the Hes- 
perides. — One ot the Graces. Martial. 

jEGLES,aSamian wrestler, born 
dumb. Seeing some unlawful measure:; 
pursued in a contest, he broke the string 
which held his tongue, through the de- 
sire of speaking, and ever after spoke 
with ease. Val. Mai. 

iE&LETES,a surname of Apollo. 

JEGOBOLUs,an ame of Bacchus, 
at Potnia in Bceotia. 

iEGOCEROSor Capricorxl^ 
an animal into which Pan transformed 
himself when flying before Typhon in 
the war with the giants. Jupiter made 
him a constellation. 

zEgo^, one of the names of 
the iEgean sea. — A shepherd in Virgil. 

JEgophagos, a surname of 
Juno among the Lacedaemonians, be- 
cause Hercules, after his victory over 
the children of Hippocoon, sacrificed to 
her a goat, for want of other victims, 
from which circumstance the sacrifice 
was perpetuated, and the name of .Ego- 
phagos given to the goddess. Pans. 

JEgospotamos, i. e. ilie goafs 
river, a town in the Thracian Chersone- 
sus, with a river, where the Athenian 
heet, consisting of 180 ships, was de- 
feated by Lys3iider, on the 13th Dec. 
B.C. 405, in the last year of the Pelo- 
ponnesian war. Mela. Plin. 

JEgtjs, an Allobrogian, who, 
with his brother Roscillus, deserted 
from Csesar to Pompey. 

iEGYPANES, a nation in the 



JEMY 



middle of Africa, whose body is said to 
be human above the waist, and that of 
a goat below. Mela. 

JSgypta, a freedman belong- 
ing to Cicero, whom he mentions in one 
of his epistles to Atticus. 

JEgyptus, son of Belus, and 
brother of Danaus, gave his 50 sons in 
marriage to the so daughters of his bro- 
ther. Danaus, who had established him- 
self at Argos, and was jealous of his 
brother, obliged all his daughters to 
murder their husbands the first night of 
their nuptials. This was executed ; but 
Hypermnestra alone spared her husband 
Lynceus. Even yEgyptus was killed by 
his niece Polyxena. JSgyptus was king, 
after his father, of a part of Africa, 
which, from him, has been called JE- 
gyptus. 

JE<x Y PTUS,an extensive country 
of Africa, watered by the Nile, bounded 
on the e2St by Arabia, and on the west 
by Libya. Its name is derived from 
JSgyptus, brother to Danaus. It is di- 
vided into lower, which lies near the 
Mediterranean, and upper, which is to- 
wards the south. It contains the Delta, 
a number of large islands, which, from 
their form, have been called after the 
fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. 
The chief part of Lower Egypt is formed 
by the saud and mud deposited by the 
overflowing of the Nile. This country 
has been the mother of arts and sciences". 
The ^Egyptians are remarkable for 
their superstition ; they paid as much 
honor to the cat, the crocodile, the 
bull, and even to onions, as to I sis. 
It is said that Egypt once contained 
HO 000 cities. It was governed by kings, 
who have immortalized themselves by 
the pyramids they have raised, and 
the canals they have opened. The 
priests traced the existence of the coun- 
try formany thousand years, and fondly 
imagined that the gods were their first 
sovereigns, and that their monarchy 
lasted 11,340 years, according to Hero- 
dotus. Its history may be divided into 
three epochas, the first beginning with 
the foundation of the empire, to the con- 
quest of Cambyses ; the second ends at 
the death of Alexander; and the third 
comprehends the reign of the Ptolemies, 
and ends at the death of Cleopatra, in 
the age of Augustus. Strab. Herodot. 
I>iod. $c. 

JElia lex. There were three 
different laws bearing this title among 
the Romans, from the names of their 
respective enactors. One of these laws 
enacted, that all slaves, who bore any 
marks of punishment, at the hands of 
their masters, should be set at liberty ; 
though they were not permitted to rank 
as Roman citizens. 

./Elia Petina, of the family 
of Tubero, married Claudius Caesar, by 
whom she had a son. The emperor di- 
vorced her to marry Messalina. Sueton. 



tElianus CLAUDUs,aRoman 

sophist of Pra?neste, in the reign of 
Adrian. He first taught rhetoric at 
Rome ; but, being disgusted with his 
profession, he became author, and pub- 
lished treatises on animals in 17 books, 
on various history in 14 books, &c. in 
Greek, a language which he preferred to 
Latin. 

liu s. There Were several Ro- 
mans of this name, the most remarkable 
of whom is Q. Ml. Partus, son of Sextus, 
or Publius. As he sat in the senate- 
house, a woodpecker perched on his 
head; upon which a soothsayer ex- 
claimed, that if he preserved the bird, 
his house would flourish, and Rome de- 
cay ; but, if he killed, it, the contrary 
must happen. Hearing this, iElius, in 
the presence of the senate, bit off the 
head of the bird. All the youths of his 
family were killed at Cannse, and the 
Roman arms were soon attended with 
success. Val. Max. 

Aello, one of the Harpies. 

tElurls, (a cat) a deity wor- 
shipped by the ^Egyptians; and, after 
death, embalmed, and buried in the city 
of Bubastis. — Herodot. Died. §c. 

M mil i a lex. This law gave 
power to the prsetor to drive a nail in 
the capitol, on the Ides of September. 
By driving this nail, it was supposed, 
that the city would, for that year, be 
preserved from pestilence. 

JEmtlianus (C- Julius), a na- 
tive of Mauritania, proclaimed emperor 
after the death of Decius. He marched 
against Gallus and Valerian, but was in- 
formed they had been murdered by their 
own troops. He soon after shared their 
fate. — One of the thirty tyrants who re- 
belled in the reign of Gallienus. 

iE mi li us. [Vid. iEmilius.] 

./EmSxia, a country in Greece, 
which receives its name from iEmon, or 
/Emus. It was afterwards called Thes- 
saly. Achilles is called iEmonius, as 
being born there. Ovid. S$c. It was also 
called Pyrrha,ficm Pyrrha, Deucalion's 
wife, who reigned there. 

M monid es, a priest of Apollo 
in Italy, killed by ^Eneas. Mn. 

/Emus, an actor in Bomitian's 
reign, Juv. 

TEmylia, a noble family in 
Rome. The most notable person of this 
name was iEmylia Lepida, daughter of 
Lepidus,married toDrususthe younger, 
whom she disgraced by her wantonness. 
She killed herself when accused of adul- 
tery with a slave. 

JEmyltanus, a name of Afri- 
canus the younger, son of P. iEmylius. 
In him the families of the Scipios and 
iEmylii were united. Many of that fa- 
mily" bore the same name. Juv. 

JEmylii, a noble family in 



jEOL 



Ro.ue, descended from iEmylius, who 
reckoned iEneas among his ancestors. 

^Emyltus. There were several 
among the Romans who bore this name, 
the most remarkable of whom were — 
./Em. Censorinus, a cruel tyrant of Si- 
cily, who liberally rewarded those who 
had invented new ways of torturing. 
Paterculus gave him a brazen horse for 
this purpose, and the tyrant made the 
first experiment upon the donor.— -Pa- 
pinianus, son of Hostilius Papinianus, 
was in favor with the emperor Severus, 
and was made governor to his sons 
Geta and Caracalla. Geta was killed by 
his brother, and Papinianus, for up- 
braiding him, was murdered by his sol- 
diers. From his school the Romans 
have had many able lawyers, who were 
called Papiniahists. — Scaurus, a noble, 
but poor citizen of Rome. His father, 
to maintain himself, was a coal-mer- 
chant. He was sedile, and afterwards 
prsetor. He fought against Jugurtha. — 
His son Marcus was son-in-law to Sylla, 
and in his asdileship he built a very mag- 
nificent theatre. Plin. 

jEnaria, an island in the bay 
of Puteoli, abounding with cypress trees. 
It received its name from iEneas, who is 
supposed to have landed there in his way 
to Italy. It was called Pithecusa by the 
Greeks, and now Ischia, and was once 
famous for its mineral waters. Plin. 

jEneades, a town ofChersone- 
sus, built by iEneas. Cassander de- 
stroyed it, and carried the inhabitants 
toThessalonicadately built. Dioni/s.Hal. 

ExEADiE, a name given to the 
friends and companions of yEneas, by 
Virgil. _ 

/Eneas, a Trojan prince, son of 

Anchises ancl the goddess Venus. The . 
opinions of authors concerning his cha- 
racter are different. — He married Creu- 
sa, Priam's daughter, by whom he had 
a son called Ascanius. During the Tro- 
jan war he behaved with great valor in 
defence of his country. Yet Strabo and 
other writers accuse him of betraying 
his country to the Greeks, with An te- 
nor, and of" preserving his life and for- 
tune by this treacherous measure. It is 
said that when Troy was in flames, he 
retired to Mount Ida* where he built a 
fleet of 20 ships, and set sail in quest of 
a settlement. According to Virgil, and 
other Latin authors, who, to make their 
court to the Roman emperors, traced 
their origin up to .Eneas, and described 
his arrival into Italy as indubitable, he 
arrived in Italy, where, after a voyage 
of seven years, and the loss of 13 ships, 
Latinus, the king of the country, re- 
ceived him with hospitality, and pro- 
mised him his daughter La'vinia, who 
had been before betrothed to king Tur- 
nus by her mother Amata. To prevent 
this marriage, Turnus made war against 
^Eneas ; and after many battles, the war 
was decided bv a combat between the 
two rivals, in which Turnus was killed. | 



-^Eneab carried Lavinia, in whose honor 
he built the town of Lavinium, and suc- 
ceeded his father-in-law. After a short 
reign, ^Eneas was killed in a battle 
against the Etrurians, aud was succeed- 
ed by his son Ascanius. ^neas has been 
praised for his piety, and submission to 
the will of the gods. Homer. Apollod. 
Virg. &c. There were some others of 
inferior note of this name. 

iExEiD,a poern of Virgil, which 

has for its subject the settlement of 
yEneasin Italy. The great merit of this 
poem is well known. The author lias 
imitated Horner, and, as some say, Ho- 
mer is superior to him only because he 
is more ancient, and is an original. Vir- 
gil died before he had corrected it, and, 
at his death, desired it might be burnt. 
This was happily disobeyed ; and Au- 
gustus saved from the flames a poem 
which proved his family to be descended 
from the kings of Troy. The ^Eneid 
had engaged the attention of the poet for 
11 years, and in the first six books it 
seems that it was Virgil's design to imi- 
tate Homer's Odvssey, and in the last 
the Iliad. 

yEnetdes, a patronymic given 

to Ascanius, as son of ^neas. lisp. 

iExESiDEMUS, a Cretan phi- 
losopher, who wrote eight books on the 
doctrine_of his master Pyrrho. 

jEnesius, a surname of Jupi- 
ter, from mount yEnum. 

TExetus, a victor at Olympia, 
who, in the moment of victory, died 
through excess of joy. Paws. 

^xiochi, a people of Sarma- 
tia, mentioned by Lucan. * 

jEnobarbtjs or Haheno- 

B ARB US, the surname of Domitius. 
When Castor andPollux acquainted him 
with a victory, he discredited them ; 
upon which they touched his chin and 
beard, which instantly became of a bra- 
zen color, whence the surname gi ven to 
himself and his descendants. 

jExos, now EnOy an inde- 
pendent city of Thrace, at the eastern 
mouth of the Hebrus, confounded with 
JEneia, of which iEneas was founder. 
Mela. 

iExuM, a mountain of Ce- 
phallenia. — A city of Crete, built by 
iEneas. 

jEolia, oriEoLis, from iEo- 

lus, the son of Helenus, a country of 
Asia Minor, near the JSgean sea. It has 
Troas at the north, and Ionia at the 
south. The inhabitants were of Grecian 
origin, and were masters of many of the 
neighbouring islands. They had twelve, 
others say thirty, considerable cities, of 
which Cumse and Lesbos were the most 
famous. They migrated from Greece 
about 1124 B. C. 80 years before the 
migration of the Ionian tribes. Strah, 
Plin. 



MRO 



^ESC 



iEoLi/E and jEolides, seven 
islands between Sicily and Italy ; they 
are Lipara, Hiera, Strongyle, Didyme, 
Ericusa, Phcenieusa, and Euonymos. 
They were the retreat of the Winds, and 
Virgil calls them iEolia, and the king- 
dom of ^Eolus, the god of storms and 
winds. They sometimes bear the name 
of Vulcanise and Hephasstiades, and are 
known now among the moderns under 
the general appellation of Lipari islands. 
Justin. 

/Eloides, a patronymic of 
Ulysses, from iEolus ; becauseAnticlea, 
his mother, was pregnant by Sysiphus, 
the son of Jiolus, when she married 
Laertes. Ovid. Virg. 

^Eolus, the king of storms and 
winds, was the son of Hippotas. He 
reigned over YElia ; and, because he was 
the inventor of sails, and a great astro- 
nomer, the poets have called him the 
god of the wind. iEolus was indebted 
to Juno for his royal dignity, according 
to Virgil. The name seems to be de- 
rived from atoKog, various, because the 
winds, over which he presided, are ever 
varying. — There are two others, a king 
of Etruria, and a son of Hellenus, often 
confounded with the god of winds. Ho- 
mer. Ovid. Virg. &c. 

Mox. The name of the first 
formed woman, who married Protogo- 
nus, and instructed her children to feed 
upon the fruits of trees, according to 
the system of the Phoenicians. 

iEORA, a yearly festival, held 
at Athens, in honor of Erigone. 

^Epalius, a king of Greece, re- 
stored to his kingdom by Hercules, 
whose son, Hillus, he adopted. Strab. 

Myea, a city of Crete, called 
from Solon, Solis. 

iEpijLO, a general of the Is- 
trians, who drank to excess after he had 
stormed the camp of A. Manlius, the 
Roman general. Being attacked by a 
soldier, he tied to a neighbouring town, 
which the Romans took. He killed 
himself for fear of being taken. Flor. 

jEpy, a town of Elis, under the 

sovereignty of Nestor. 

^Epytus, king of Mycenae, son 
of Chresphontes and Merope, was edu- 
cated in Arcadia with Cypselus, his mo- 
ther's father. To recover his kingdom, 
he killed Polyphontes, who had married 
his mother against her will, and usurped 
the crown. Apollod. Paus. There were 
two others also of this name. 

JEqvi or tEquicoli, a people 
of Latium , near Tibur : they were great 
enemies to Rome in its infant state, and 
were conquered with much difficulty. 
Liv. 

tErope, wife of Atreus, com- 
mitted adultery with Thyestes, her bro- 



ther-in-law, and had by him twins, who 
were placed as food before Atreus. Ovid. 

iEROPts, one of Philip's of- 
ficers, whom that king banished for 
having introduced a singer into his 
camp. 

JEryas, an ancient king of Cy- 
prus, who built the temple of Paphos. 

jEsacus, a son of Priam, by 
Alexirhoe. He became enamoured of 
Hesperia, whom he pursued into the 
woods. The Nymph threw herself into 
the sea, and was changed into a bird. 
iEsacus followed her example, and was 
changed into a cormorant. Ovid. 

M sap us, a river of Mysia, fall- 
ing into the Hellespont. Pli.n. - 

JEsar, or iEsARAS, a river of 
Magna Grascia, falling into the sea near 
Crotona. Ovid. Met. 15. v. 28. 

jEschines, an Athenian orator, 
who flourished about 312 B. C. and di- 
stinguished himself by his rivalship with 
Demosthenes. When the Athenians 
wished to reward the patriotic labors of 
Demosthenes with a golden crown, M- 
schines impeached Ctcsiphon, who pro- 
posed it; and to their subsequent dispute 
we are indebted for the two celebrated 
orations de corona. vEschines was de- 
feated by his rival's superior eloquence, 
and banished to Rhodes. In his banish- 
ment the orator repeated to the Rhodians 
what he had delivered against Demo- 
sthenes ; and, after receiving much ap- 
plause, he was desired to read the answer 
of his antagonist. It was received with 
greater marks of approbation; "But," 
exclaimed /Esehines, »« how much more 
would your admiration have been raised 
had you heard Demosthenes himself 
speak it !" ^Eschines died, in the 75th 
year of his age, at Rhodes, or, as some 
suppose, at Samos. He wrote three ora- 
tions, andnineepistles, which, from their 
number, received the name, the first of 
the Graces, and the last of the Muses. 
The orations alone are extant, generally 
found collected with those of Lysias. 
Cic. Pint. Diog. Plin. — There were seve- 
ral more, of less note, of the same name. 

vEschrton, a Mitylenean poet, 
intimate with Aristotle. He accom- 
panied Alexander in his Asiatic expedi- 
tion. — An iambic poet of Samos. 

jEschylides, author of a 
book of husbandry. 

yEschYlus, an excellent soldier 
and poet of Athens, son of Euphorion, 
and brother to Cynsegirus. But the mo9t 
solid fame he has obtained, is the off- 
spring less of his valor in the field of 
battle than of his writings. Of ninety 
tragedies, the fruit of his ingenious la- 
bors, forty of which were rewarded with 
the public prize, only seven have come 
safe to us : Prometheus vinctus, Septem 
duces apud Thebas, Person, Agamemnon , 



,ESO 



-ETI 



Qi<Ephori,Eumenides,Supplices. JEschy- 
lus is the first who introduced two actors 
cm the stage, and clothed them with 
dresses suitable to their character. He 
likewise removed murder from the stage. 
The imagination of the poet was strong 
and comprehensive, but disorderly and 
wild ; fruitful in prodigies, but disdain- 
ing probabilities. His style is obscure, 
and the labors of an excellent modern 
critic have pronounced him the most dif- 
ficult of all ihe Greek classics. He died 
in the 60th year of his age, by the fall of 
a tortoise from the beak of an epgle.— He 
wrote an account of the battle of Mara- 
thon in elegiac verse. 

^Esculapius, son of Apollo, by 

C or on l'o, or, as some say, by Larissa 
daughter of Phlegias, was god of medi- 
eineV His father gave him to be edu- 
cated to Chiron, who taught him the art 
of medicine. yEsculapius became phy- 
sician to the Argonauts. He restored 
many to life ; of which Pluto complained 
to Jupiter, who struck ^Esculapius with 
thunder. jEseulapius received divine 
honors after death, chiefly at Epidaurus, 
Pergamus, Athens, Smyrna, &c. Goats, 
bulls, lambs, and pigs, were sacrificed to 
him, and the cock arid the serpent were 
sacred to him. yEseulapius is repre- 
sented with a large beard , holding hi his 
hand a staff, round which is wreathed 
a serpent; his other hand is sometimes 
supported on the head of a serpent, as 
the ancient physicians used it in their 
prescriptions. He had t'.vo sons famous 
for their skill in medicine, Maehaon and 
Podalirius, and four daughters, of whom 
Hygeia, goddess of health, is the most 
celebrated. Homer. Ovid. Cic. &e. There 
were others also of the same name. 

iEsiON, an Athenian celebrated 

for his admiration of Demosthenes. 

jEsox, son of Cretheus, was 
bora at the same birth as Peiias. He 
succeeded his father in the kingdom of 
loichos. He married Aleimeda, by whom 
he had Jason, whose education was en- 
trusted to Chiron, being afraid of Peiias. 
When Jason was grown up, he demanded 
his father's kingdom from his uncle, who 
persuaded him to go in quest of the 
golden fleece. {Fid. Jason.] At his 
return he found his father very infirm, 
and Medea, [ Vid. Medea] at his request, 
drew the blood from vEson's veins, and 
refilled them with the juice of certain 
herbs which she had gathered, and im- 
mediately the old man recovered the 
vigor and bloom of youth. Diod. Ovid. 
&c. — A river of Thessaly, with a town 
of the same name. 

-tEsomtdes, a patronymic of 
Jason, as being descended from iEson. 

iEsopus, a Phrygian philoso- 
pher, who, though originally a slave, 
procured his liberty by the sallies of his 
genius. He travelled" over the greatest 
y-iri of Greece and Egypt, but~chiefiy 



resided at the court of Croesus, king of 
Lydia. iEsop dedicated his fables to his 
patron Croesus ; but what appears now 
under his name is piobably only a com- 
pilation of all the fables and apologues 
of wits before and after the age of .Esop, 
conjointly with his own. Pint. Phced. — 
There were others of less note of this 
name : the most noted of whom is Clau- 
dus, an actor on the Roman stage, very 
intimate with Cicero. As Roscius ex- 
ceiled in comedy, so iEsop bore the palm, 
in tragedy ; and so successful were his 
exertion s "that he amassed a fortune equal 
to 160.000L His expensive mode cf liv- 
ing has been deservedly censured; and 
it is said that his son, anxious to imitate 
his extravagance, melted precious stones 
to drink at his entertainments. Herat. 
Cic. — One of Mithridates' attendants,who 
wrote a panegyric on his master, and a 
treatise on the'beauty and fate of Helen. 

iEsijLA, a town on a mountain 
between Tibur and Prajneste. Horat. 

.Esyetes, a person from 
whose mound could be seen whatever 
the Greeks did in their ships, during the 
war with Troy. 

JEsymxetes, a surname of 
Bacchus. 

^Ethalides, a herald, son of 

Mercury, to whom it was granted to be 
amongst the dead and the living atstated 
times. 

^Ethiopia, an extensive coun- 
try of Africa, at the south of Egypt, di- 
vided into east and west by the ancients, 
the former division lying near Meroe, 
and the latter near the Mauri. The 
country, as well as the inhabitants, was 
little known to the ancients. The inha- 
bitants are of a dark complexion. The 
ancients have given the name of -Ethio- 
pia to every country whose inhabitants 
are of a black colon Lvcaji. Juv. &c. 

iETHLirs, son of Jupiter by 
Protogenia, was father of Endymion. 
ApoJlod. 

iExnox, a horse of the Sun. — 

A horse cf Pallas, represented as^hed- 
ding tears at the death of his master. 
Virg. — A horse of Hector. Homer. 

jEthr A, daughter of Pittheus, 

king of Trcszene, had Theseu s by JEgeu^ . 
[ Vid. iEgeus.] She was carried "away by 
Castor and Pollux, when they recovered 
their sister Helen, whom Theseus had 
stolen, and given her to keep. — One of 
the Oceanides, wife to Atlas. She is more 
generally called Pleione. 

./Etia, a poem on sacrifices, 
written by Caliimachus. 

iExioN, the father of Andro- 
mache, Hector's wdfe. He was killed at 
Thebes, with his seven sons, by the 
Greeks. — A famous painter. He drew a 
painting of Alexander going to celebrate 
his nuptials with Roxana. This piece 



AFR 



AGA 



was much valued, and exposed to public 
view at the Olympic games, where it 
gained so much applause that the ^pre- 
sident of the games gave the painter his 
daughter in marriage. 

iETNA a mountain in Sicily, 
now called Mount Gibel, famous for its 
volcano which for more than 3000 years 
has thrown out fire at intervals. 'The 
poets supposed that Jupiter had con- 
fined the giants under this mountain. It 
was the forge of Vulcan, where his ser- 
vants, the Cyclops, fabricated thunder- 
bolts. Most" of the ancient poets have 
described the terrors and catastrophes 
which accompany the eruptions of the 
mountain ; and particularly Cornelius 
Severus, who has written a whole poem 
on the subject. Hesiod. Virg. Ovid. &c. 

JEtolia, a country bounded by 
Epirus, Acarnania. and Locris, supposed 
to be about the middle of Greece. It re- 
ceived its name from /Etoius. Strab. &c. 

iETOLUS, son of Endymion, of 
Elisand Iphianassa. Having accidentally 
killed a person, he left his country, and 
came to settle in that part of Greece 
which has been called from him, iEtoiia. 
Apollod. &c. 

yEx, the nurse of Jupiter, feign- 
ed to be turned into a constellation. 

Afer, an inhabitant cf Africa. 
— An informer under Tiberius and his 
successors. He became also known as 
an orator, and as the preceptor of Quin- 
tilian,and was madeconsulby Domitian. 
He died A. U. 59. 

Afranius, a Latin comic poet, 
often compared to Menander. He lived 
in the age of Terence. He is blamed for 
the unnatural love of boys which he 
mentions in his writings, some frag- 
ments of which are to be found in the 
Corpus Poetarum, Quint. Horat. &c. — 
O. a man who wrote a severe satire 
against Nero, for which he was put to 
death in the Pisonian conspiracy. Tacit. 
— There were others also among the Ro- 
mans of this name. 

Africa, called Libya by the 

Greeks, one of the three parts of the an- 
cient world, and the greatest peninsula 
of the universe, was bounded on the east 
by Arabia and the Red Sea, on the north 
by the Mediterranean, south and west 
by the ocean. It is joined on the east to 
Asia, by an isthmus, now called Suez, 
CO miles long, which some of the Ptole- 
mies endeavoured to cut, in vain, to join 
the Red and Mediterranean seas. It is 
so immediately situate under the sun, 
that only the maritime parts are inha- 
bited, and the inland country is barren 
and sandy, and infested with wild beasts, 
Mela. Hcrodot. Diod. &c. — There is a 
part of Africa, called Propria, which lies 
about the middle, and has Carthage for 
its capital. 

Africanus, the surname of the 
Scipios, from the conquest of Africa, 



[Vid. Scipio.']— There were, among the 
Romans, many cf this name, of whom 
there is nothing very remarkable, except 
of the Christian writer, who flourished 
A. D. 222. 

Africus, a name applied to a 
violent wind, which blew from the coast 
of Africa, on the Mediterranean. Virgi 
Horat. 

Agalasses, a nation cf India, 
conquered by Alexander. 

Aga^la, a woman of Corcyr-a, 
w r ho wrote a treatise on grammar. 

Agamebes andTaopHONius, 

two architects, who made the entrance 
of the temple of Delphi, for which they 
demanded of the god whatever gift was 
most advantageous for a man to receive. 
Eight days after they were found dead 
in their bed. Pint. Civ. — Pausanias gives 
a different account. 

Agamemnon, king of Mycen-fe, 
and Argos, was brother to Menelaus, and 
son of Plisthenes, the son cf Atreus. 
Homer calls them sons of Atreus, which 
is false, upon the authority of Hesiod a 
Apollod. &c. [Vid. Plisthenes.] When 
Atreus was dead, his brother, Thyestes, 
seized the kingdom of Argos, and re- 
moved Agamemnon and Menelaus. Aga- 
memnon married to Clytemnestra, and 
Menelaus Helen, both daughters of Tyn- 
darus.king of Sparta, who assisted them 
to recover their father's kingdom, where 
Agamemnon established himself, at My- 
celial. Menelaus succeeded his father- 
in-law. When Helen was stolen by Paris, 
Agamemnon was elected commander in 
chief of the Grecian forces going against 
Troy. Their fleet was detained at Aulis, 
where Agamemnon sacrificed his daugh- 
ter to appease Diana. \_Vid. Iphigema.j 
During the Trojan war, Agamemnon 
behaved with much valor; but his quar- 
rel with Achilles, whose mistress he took 
by force, was fatal to the Greeks. [ Via. 
Briseis.] Clytemnestra, with her adul- 
terer /Egisthus, prepared to murder him 
on his return ; and as he came from the 
bath, to embarrass him ; she gave him a 
tunic,w T hose sleeves were sewed together, 
and, while he attempted to put it on, she 
brought him to the ground with the 
stroke of a hatchet, and JEgisthus se- 
conded her blows. His death was re- 
venged by his son Orestes. \_Vid. Cly- 
temnestra, Menelaus, and Orestes.] Ho- 
mer. Ovid. Virg. &c 

Aganippe, a celebrated foun- 
tain of Bceotia, at the foot of Mount 
Helicon. It flows into the Permessus, 
and is sacred to the Muses, who, from 
it, were called Aganippedes. 

Agapenor. The most remark- 
able of this name is the son of Ancieus, 
and grandson of Lycurgus, who was one 
of Helen's suitors, and who, as king of 
Arcadia, led his subjects to the Trojan 
war in sixty ships, provided for him by 
Agamemnon, because the inland situa- 
tion of his kingdom did not arford the 



AGrA 



AGE 



means of establishing a maritime power. 
In his absence the kingdom of Arcadia 
fell into the hands of Hippothous,son of 
Gircyon. Homer. Paw*. &c. 

Agar en I, a people of Arabia. 
Trajan destroyed their city, called Aga- 
rtuu. 

Agarista, daughter of Cli- 

sihenes, was courted by all the princes 
of Greece. She married Megacles. — A 
daughter of Hippocrates, who married 
Xantippus. She dreamed that she had 
hrought forth a lion, and seme time after 
she brought forth Pericles. 

Agasicles, king of Sparta, 
was son of Archidamus, and one of the 
Proclidce. 

Agasthenus, king of Elis, 
father of Polyxenus, was concerned in 
the Trojan war. 

A gas us, a harbour on the 
coast of Apulia, mentioned by Pliny. 

Agatharchidas. There were 
three of this name, the most notable of 
whom is a peripatetic philosopher and 
historian of Cnidus, 177 B.C., who wrote 
several treatises on the Red Sea, Europe, 
Asia, &c. 

Agatharcus, a painter who 
boasted of the quickness of his powers 
in the execution of his pieces, whilst 
Zeuxis prided himself on his slowness. 
He furnished the stage with scenes 
drawn according to the rules of perspec- 
tive. Pint. 

Agathias, a poet and historian 

in the age of Justinian, the history of 
whose reign he published in five books. 
Several of his epigrams are found in the 
Anthologia. His history is a continua- 
tion of that of Procopius. 

Agatho, a writer of tragedies; 
— A writer of comedies. — A Pythagorean 
philosopher. — A musician who first in- 
troduced singing into tragedies. — A na- 
tive of Samos, who wrote a description 
of Scythia. 

Agathoclea, a beautiful 
courtezan of Egypt. One of the Ptole- 
mies destroyed his wife Eurydice to 
marry her. She, with her brother, long 
governed the kingdom, and attempted 
to murder the king's son. Plut. J ustin. 

Agathocles. There were 
many of this name, the most remarkable 
of whom is' a lascivious and ignoble 
youth, son of a potter, who, by entering 
into the Sicilian army, arrived to the 
greatest honours, and made himself ma- 
ster of Syracuse. He reduced all Sicily 
under his power ; but being defeated at 
Hymera, by the Carthaginians, he car- 
ried the war into Africa, where, for four 
years, he extended his conquests over his 
enemy. He afterwards passed into Italy, 
and made himself master of Crotona. 
He- died in his 72nd year, B. C. 289, after 
a ireign of 28 years of prosperity and ad- 
versity. Justin. Diod. &c. 



Agathonymus, author of a 

history of Persia. 

Agathyrxum, a town of Si- 
cily. 

Agathyrsi, an effeminate na- 
tion of Scythia, who had their wives in 
common. They received their name 
from Agathyrsus, son of Hercules. Firg. 
<Scc. 

Agave, daughter of Cadmus 

and Hermione, married Echion, by 
whom she had Pentheus, who was torn 
to pieces by the Bacchanals. [ Vid. Pen- 
theus.] She is said to have killed her 
husband in celebrating the orgies of Bac- 
chus. She received divine honors after 
death. Theocrit. Ovid. <&c. 

Agavi, a northern people, who 
lived chiefly upon milk. 

Agaves, one of the sons of 
Priam. 

Agdestis, a mountain ofPhry- 
gia, in the woods of which Atys was 
buried. 

Agelades, a celebrated sta- 
tuary of Argos, who particularly excelled 
in the beauty and elegance of his pro- 
portions. In the age of the Antonines 
there still were to be seen, at iEgium in 
Achaia, an infant Jupiter, and a Her- 
cules, made by him. Plin. Paus. 

A ge l as t l s , a surname of Cras- 
sus, the grandfather of the rich Crassus. 
He only laughed once in his life, and 
that was upon seeing an ass eat thistles. 
Civ. &c. 

A gen or, king of Phoenicia, 

was son of Neptune and Libya, and bro- 
ther to Belus. He married Telephassa^ 
by whomihe had Cadmus 3 Phcenix,Cilix, 
and Europa. Hygin. ltal. 6cc. There 
were also many others who bore this 
name. 

Agenoria, or Agexora, a 

goddess among the Bomans who pre- 
sided over industry, whence her name 
fab agger e). Her temple was upon 
Mount Aventine. 

Agexorides, a patronymic ap- 
plied to Cadmus, and the other descend- 
ants of Agenor. Ovid. 

Age saxder, a famous sculptor 
of Bhodes, under Vespasian, who made 
a representation of Laoeoon's history, 
which now passes for the best relic of all 
ancient sculpture. [Vid. Laoeoon.] 

Agesilaas, king of Sparta, of 
the family of the Agidae, was son of 
Doryssus. and father of Archelaus. Du- 
ring his reign Lycurgus instituted his 
famous laws. — Son of Archidamus, of 
the family of the Proclidas, made king 
in preference to his nephew Leotychides. 
He made war against Artaxerxes, king 
o? Persia, with success ; but, in the midst~ 
of his conquests in Asia, he was recalled 
home to oppose the Athenians and Boe- 
otians, who desolated his country. He 



AGrL 



AGR 



defeated his enemies at Coronea ; but 
sickness prevented the progress of his 
conquests, and the Spartans were beat in 
every engagement, especially at Leuetra, 
till he again appeared at their head. 
Though deformed, small of stature, and 
lame, he was brave, and a greatness of 
soul compensated for all the imperfec- 
tions of nature. When he went, in his 
80th year, to assistTachus,king of Egypt, 
the servants of the monarch could hardly 
be persuaded that the Lacedemonian 
general was eating with his soldiers on 
the ground bare-headed, and without 
any covering underneath. Agesilaus died 
on his return from Egypt, after a reign 
of 3G years, 372 B. C, and his remains 
were embalmed and brought to Lacedss- 
mon. Justin. Pint. &e. — There were 
others of this name, but of inferior note. 

Agesipolis, the first king of 
Lacedaemon, son of Pausanias, obtained 
a great victory over the Mantineans. 
He reigned 14 years, and was succeeded 
by his brother Cleombrotus, B. C. 380. 
Xenoph. 

Agesistrata, the mother of 
king Agis. 

Aggrammes, a cruel king of 
the Gangarides. His father war, a hair- 
dresser, of whom the queen became en- 
amoured, and whom she made governor 
to the king's children, to gratify her 
passion. He killed them, to raise Ag- 
grammes, his son by the queen., to the 
throne. Curt. 

Agidm, the descendants of Eu- 
rysthenes, who shared the throne of 
Sparta with the Proehdas. Virg. 

Agilaus, a king of Corinth, 
who reigned 36 years. 

Agis, a name proper to many of 
the kings of Sparta, the most famous of 
whom was he who waged bloody wars 
against Athens, and restored liberty to 
many Greek cities. He attempted to 
restore the laws of Lycurgus at Sparta, 
but in vain ; the perfidy of friends, who 
pretended to second his views, brought 
him into difficulties, and he was at last 
dragged from a temple, where he had 
taken refuge, to a prison, where he was 
strangled by order of the Ephori. Plut. 

Aglaia, one of the Graces, 
sometimes called Pasiphae. \_Vid. Cha- 
rites.] Paus. 

Aglaoxice, an Athenian vir, 
gin, daughter of Hegemon, was ac- 
quainted with astronomy and eclipses, 
whence she boasted of her power to 
draw the moon from heaven. Plut. 

AglaOpe, one of the Sirens, 
[Vid. Sirenes.] 

AglaOphon, a celebrated Greek 
painter, mentioned by Pliny. 

Aglauros, daughter ofErech- 
theus, the oldest king of Athens. Some 
make her daughter of Cecrops. She 



was changed into a stone by Mercury. 
[Vid. Herse.] Ovid. 

Aglaus, the poorest man of 

Arcadia, pronounced by the oracle more 
happy than Gyges king of Lydia. Plin. 

Agno, one of the nymphs who 
nursed Jupiter. She gave her name to 
a fountain on Mount Lyceus. When 
the priest of Jupiter, after a prayer, 
stirred the waters of this fountain with 
a bough, a thick vapor arose, which was 
soon dissolved into a plentiful shower. 
Pates. 

Agxodice, a virgin of Athens, 
who, in order to learn midwifery, dis- 
guised her sex. She practised so suc- 
cessfully, that the midwives became 
jealous "of her. They accused her, in 
consequence, of corruption, and she was 
tried before the Areopagus. Being thus 
accused, she confessed her sex ; upon 
which a law was made to allow free- 
born women to practise midwifery. 

Agxoj* t , son of Nicias, was pre- 
sent at the taking of Samos by Pericles. 
In the Pelopormesian war he went against 
Potidaea, but abondoned his expedition 
through disease. He built Amphipolis, 
whose inhabitants revolted to Brasidas, 
whom they regarded as their founder, 
forgetful of Agnon. Thucyd. &c. 

Agxoxides, a rhetorician of 
Athens, who accused PhoeioD of betray- 
ing the Piraeus to N icanor. When the 
people recollected what services Phocion 
had rendered them, they raised him sta- 
tues, and put to death his accuser. Plut. 

Agoxalia and Agonia, fes- 
tivals in Rome, celebrated three times 
a year, in honour of Janus or Agonius. 
Ovid. Varro. 

Agones Capitolini, games 

celebrated every fifth yeai upon the Ca- 
pitoline hill. Prizes were proposed for 
agility and strength, as well as for poe- 
tical and literary compositions. 

Agon its a Roman deity, who 
patronized the actions of men. [Vid. 
Agonalia.] 

Agoracritus, a sculptor of 

Pharos, B. C. 150. He disputed with 
Alcamenes about making a statue of 
Venus, and was defeated in the attempt, 
according to the decisions of the Atheni- 
ans. He was displeased with the con- 
tempt shewn to his exertions, and he sold 
his statue to strangers, that it might not 
remain in the city of Athens, and he 
gave it the name of Nemesis. Plin. Pa us. 

Agora no mi, ten magistrates 

at Athens, who watched over the city 
and port, and inspected whatever was 
exposed to sale. 
Agorae a, a name of Minerva 

at Sparta. 

Agr ag as or Acr a G a s, a river, 
town, and mountain of Sicily, called* 



AGR 



AGY 



also Agrigentum. The town was built 
by the people of Gela, who were a Rho- 
dian colony. 

Agraria lex was enacted to 
distribute among the Roman people all 
the lands which the Romans had gained 
by conquest. It was first proposed, 
A. U. C. 267, by the consul Sp. Cassius 
Vicellinus, and rejected by the senate. 
It was proposed a second time, A.U. C. 
269, by the tribune Licinius Stolo, but 
with no better success ; and so great were 
the tumults which followed, that one of 
the tribunes of the people was killed, 
and many of the senators fined for their 
opposition. The tribune Tiberi us Grac- 
chus, A.U. C. 620, proposed it a third time, 
and made it pass into a law after much 
altercation, and commissioners were au- 
thorised to make a division of the lands. 
—This law at first proved fatal to the 
freedom of Rome under J. Caesar. Liv. 

Agraulia, a festival at Athens 
in honor of Agraulos. The Cyprians 
also observed these festivals, by offering 
human victims. 

Agricola, the father-in-law 
of the historian Tacitus, who wrote his 
life. Ke was eminent for his public and 
private virtues. He was governor of 
Britain, and first discovered it to be an 
island. Domitian envying his virtues, 
recalled him from the province, and or- 
dered him to enter Rome in the night, 
that no triumph might be granted to 
him. Agricola obeyed, and retired to a 
peaceful solitude, and the enjoyment of 
the society of a few friends. He died in 
his 56 th year, A. D. 93. Tacit. 

Agrigentum. [Vid. Agragas. 

Agrionia, annual festivals in 
honor of Bacchus, celebrated generally 
in the night. They were instituted, as 
some suppose, because, the god was at- 
tended with wild beasts. 

Agriopas, a man who wrote 
the history of all those who had obtained 
the publie_prize at Olympia. Plin. 

Agirope, the wife of king 
A gen or. 

31. Agrippa Vipsanius, a 

celebrated Roman, who obtained a vic- 
tory over S. Pompey, and favored the 
cause of Augustus at the battles of Ae- 
tium and Philippi, where he behaved 
with great valor. In his expeditions in 
Gaul and Germany he obtained several 
victories, but refused the honors of a 
triumph. After he had retired for two 
years to Mitylene, in consequence of a 
quarrel with Marcellus, Augustus re- 
called him, and as a proof of his regard, 
gave him his daughter Julia in marriage, 
aud left him the care of the empire, 
during an absence of two years em ployed 
in visiting the Roman provinces of 
Greece and Asia. He died universally 
lamented at Rome in the 5lst year of his 
a^e, 12 B. C« , and his hodv was placed in 



the tomb which Augustus had prepared 
for himself. — There were others of ihis 
name, the most remarkable of whom 
were the grandson of the great Herod, 
who became tutor to the grandchild of 
Tiberius, and was soon after imprisoned 
by the suspicious tyrant. Tacit. Juv. — 
Menenius, a Roman general, who ob- 
tained a triumph over the Sabines, ap- 
peased the populace of Rome by the 
well-known fable of the belly and the 
limbs, and erected the new office of tri- 
bunes of the people, A. U. C. 26i. Liv. 
Sec 

Agrippixa, a wife of Tiberius. 

The emperor repudiated her to marry 
Julia. — A daughter of M. Agrippa, and 
grand-daughter to Augustus. She mar- 
ried GermanicuSjWhom she accompanied 
into Syria ; and when Piso poisoned him, 
she carried his ashes to Italy, and ac- 
cused his murderer, who stabbed him- 
self. She fell under the displeasure of 
Tiberius, who exiled her in an island, 
where she died A. D. 26, for want of 
bread. She left nine children, and was 
distinguished all her life for intrepidity 
and conjugal affection. — Julia, daughter 
of Germanicus and Agrippina, married 
Domitius^Enobarbus, by whom she had 
Nero. After her husband's death, she 
married her uncle, the emperor Clau- 
dius, whom she destroyed, to make Xero 
succeed to the throne. " After many cru- 
elties, and much licentiousness, she was 
assassinated by order of her son, and as 
she expired, she exclaimed, " Strike the 
belly which could give birth to such a 
monster." She died A. D. 59, after a 
life of prostitution and incestuous gra- 
tifications. Tacit. 

Agrisope, the mother of Cad- 
mus. Hy gin. 

Agrius, a son of Ulysses by 

Circe. 

Agrolas, an Athenian, who 

encompassed a paxt of the citadel of 
Athens, with wails. The work was con- 
tinued by Cimon. 

Agrgx, a king of Illyria, who, 
after conquering the JEtolians, drank to 
such excess, that he died instantly, B. C. 
231. Polyb. 

Agrotera, an anniversary sa- 
crifice of goats offered to Minerva at 
Athens. It was instituted by Callima- 
chus the Polemareh, who vowed to sa- 
crifice to the goddess so many goats as 
there might be enemies killed in a battle 
which he was going to fight against the 
troops of Darius, who had invaded At- 
tica. 

Agyleus, and Agyieus, from 

a Greek word signifying a street; a sur- 
name of Apollo, because sacrifices were 
offered to him in the public streets of 
Athens. 

Agylla. an Etrurian town, 



ALM 



ALB 



governed by Mezentius, when Eneas 
landed in Italy. 

Agyllceus, a wrestler of Cle- 
onse, second in strength only to Her- 
cules. 

Agyrium, a town of Sicily, 
where Diodorus the historian was born. 
The inhabitants were called Agyrinenses. 
Diod. Cic. 

Agyrius, a general of Athens, 
who succeeded Thrasybulus. 

Agyrus, a tyrant of Sicily, as- 
sisted by Dionysius against the Cartha- 
ginians. Diod. 

Ah ala, the surname of the 
Servilii at Rome. 

Aj ax, son of Telamon, was the 
bravest of all the Greeks in the Trojan 
war after Achilles. He engaged Hector, 
with whom at parting he exchanged 
arms. After the death of Achilles, Ajax 
and Ulysses disputed their claim to the 
arms of the dead hero. When they were 
given to the latter, it is said, that Ajax 
was so enraged, that he slaughtered a 
whole flock of sheep, supposing them to 
be the sons of Atreus, who had given 
the preference to Ulysses, and stabbed 
himself with his sword. The blood which 
ran to the ground from the wound, was 
changed into the flower hyacinth. His 
body was buried at Sigasum, some say on 
Mount Rhcetus. His tomb was visited 
by Alexander. Homer. Ovid. &c. — The 
son of Oileus king of Locris, was sur- 
named Locrian, in contradistinction to 
the son of Telamon. He also went with 
40 ships to the Trojan war, as being one 
of Helen's suitors. According to Virgil, 
Minerva, enraged at the violence offered 
by him to Cassandra on the night Troy 
was taken, seized him in a whirlwind, 
and dashed him against a rock, where 
he expired, consumed by thunder. Horn. 
Virg. Horat. 

Aidoneus, a surname of Pluto. 

— A king of the Molossi, who imprisoned 
Theseus, because he and Perithous at- 
tempted to ravish his daughter Proser- 
pine, near the Acheron; whence arose 
the well-known fable of the descent of 
Theseus and Pirithous into hell. Pltct. 
[Vid. Theseus.] 

Aimylus, son of Ascanius, 
[Vid. Ascanius] was, according to some, 
the progenitor of the noble family of 
the /Emylii at Rome. 

Ails Locltils, a deity to 
whom the Romans erected an altar, be- 
cause, under that name, a supernatural 
voice had given warning of the attack 
about to be made on Rome by the Gauls, 
in the time of Camillus. 

A L aba xi) A or orum), an 
inland town of Caria, abounding with 
scorpions. Juven. Cic. 

Altea, a surname of Minerva 



in Peloponnesus. Her festivals are also 
called Alsea. Paus. 

A lei, a number of islands in 
the Persian gulf, abounding in tortoises. 
Arrian. 

Alala, the goddess of war, 

sister to Mars. Plut. 

Alalcomen^:, a cityofBoso- 

tia, where some suppose that Minerva 
was born. 

Alalcomenia, a daughter of 
Ogyges, became the nurse of Minerva, 
according to some, and not Alalcomenes. 
The people of Kaliartus in Bceotia raised 
her a temple after death, and paid her 
divine honors, because she was supposed 
to grant success and favor to good and 
useful intentions. The heads of animals 
was her most acceptable sacrifice, ac- 
cording to Suidas. 

Alalia, a town of Corsica, 

built by the Phocians, destroyed by 
Scipio, and rebuilt by Sylla. 

Al am axes, an Athenian sta- 
tuary, who learned his art of Phidias. 

Al am ann i or Ale man Ni, a 
people of Germany, near the Hercynian 
forest. They were very powerful, and 
inimical to Rome. 

A lan i, a people of Sarmatia, 
near the Palus Mceotis, who were said 
to have 26 different languages. Strab. 

AlarTcus, a famous king of 
the Goths, who plundered Rome in the 
reign of Honorius. He was greatly re- 
spected for his military valor, and during 
his reign he kept the Roman empire in 
continual alarms. He died, after a reign 
of 13 years, A. D. 410. 

Alas tor, an arm -hearer to 
Sarpedon, king of Lyeia, killed by 17- 
lysses. Ovid. 

Ala son, a river which sepa- 
rated Iberia from Albania. 

Alba Sylvius, the sonofLa- 
tinus Sylvius, succeeded his father in 
the kingdom of Latium, and reigned 36 
years.— Longa, a city of Latium, built 
by Ascanius, B.C. 1152, on the spot 
where y-Eneas found, according to the 
prophecy of Helen us, and of the god of 
the river, a white sow with 30 young 
ones. Fourteen descendsnts of JEneas 
reigned there down to Numitor and 
Amulius. Alba was destroyed by the 
Romans, 665 B. C, and the inhabitants 
were carried to Rome. Liv. Just. &.c. — 
A city of the Mar si in Italy. — Pompeia, 
a city of Liguaria. 

Albania, country of Asia, 

between the Caspian sea and Iberia. — 
The Casp'an sea is called Albanum, as 
being near Albania. Plin. 

A lb anus, a mountain with a 
lake in Italy, 16 miles from Rome. 
Homt. 



ALC 



ALC 



Alb in i, two Roman orators of 

great merit, mentioned by Cicero in 
Brut. This name is common to many 
tribunes of the people. Liv. Sallusi. 

Albinovanus Celsus. [Vid. 

Celsus.] 

Albinovanus Pedo, a poet 

contemporary with Ovid. He wrote ele- 
gies, epigrams, and heroic poetry. Ovid. 
Quint. 

Albinus, was born at Adru- 

metum in Africa, and made governor 
of Britain, by Commodus. After the 
murder of Pertinax, he was elected em- 
peror by the soldiers in Britain. Severus 
had also been invested with the imperial 
dignity by his own army ; and these two 
rivals, with about 50,000 men each, 
came into Gaul to decide the fate of the 
empire. Severus was conqueror, and 
he ordered the head of Albinus to be 
cut off, and his body to be thrown into 
the Rhone, A. D. 198. There were 
others of this name of less note among 
the Romans. 

Albion, son of Neptune by 

Am phi trite, came into Britain, where 
he established a kingdom, and first in- 
troduced astrology and the art of- build- 
ing ships. He was killed at the mouth 
of the Rhone, with stones thrown by 
Jupiter, because he opposed the passage 
of Hercules. Mela. — The greatest island 
of Europe, now called Great Britain. 
It is called after Albion, who is said to 
have reigned there ; or from its chalky 
white (albus) rocks which appear at a 
great distance. Plin. Tacit. 

Albis, a river of Germany, 
now called the Elbe, falling into the 
German Ocean near Hamburg. Luc. 

Albula, the ancient name of 
the river Tiber. Virg. 

Albuxea, a wood near Tibur 
and the river Anio, sacred to the Muses. 
It received its name from a Sibyl, called 
also Albunea, worshipped as a goddess 
at Tibur. Virg. 

Alburnus, a mountain of Lu- 

eania. Virg. 

Albus Pagus, near Sidon, 
where Mark Anthony waited the arrival 
of Cleopatra. 

Albutius, Titus, an Epicurean 
philosopher, born at Rome, so fond of 
3reece and Grecian manners, that he 
wished not to pass for a Roman. He 
was made governor of Sardinia ; but he 
grew offensive to the senate, and was 
banished. It is supposed that he died 
at Athens. — There were others of this 
name, but of inferior note, 

Alcjecs, a celebrated lyric poet 
of Mitylene in Lesbos, about GOO years 
before the christian asra. He was con- 
temporary with the famous Sappho, to 
whom he paid his addresses. Of all his 
works nothing but a few fragments re- 



main, found in Athenaeus. Herodot. 
Horat. — A son of Androgeus, who went 
with Hercules into Thrace, and was 
made king of part of the country. Apol. 

Alcamekes, one of theAgicUe, 
king of Sparta, known by his apo- 
phthegms. He succeeded his" father Te- 
leclus", and reigned 37 years. The Helots 
rebelled in his reign. Paus. 

Alcander, an attendant of 
Sarpedon, killed by Ulysses. — A Lace- 
daemonian youth, who accidentally put 
out one of the eyes of Lycurgus. Pint. 
Paus. 

Alcaitor, a Trojan of Mount 
Ida, whose sons, Pandarus and Bitias, 
followed iEneas into Italy. Vi> g. 

Alcathoe, a poetical name 

given to Megara, because it was rebuilt 
by Alcathoiis, son of Pelops. 

ALCATHOUS. The most re- 
markable of this name is the son of Pe- 
lops, who being suspected of murdering 
his brother, came to Megara, where he 
killed a lion, which had destroyed the 
king's son. He succeeded to the king- 
dom of Megara. In commemoration of 
this, festivals, called Aleathoia, were in- 
stituted at Megara. Paus. 

Alce, a town of Spain, which 
surrendered to Gracchus, now AlcazfM , 
near the springs of the Tagus, a little 
above Toledo. Liv. 

Alcexob, an Argive, who 
alone with Chromius survived the 
battle between 300 of his countrymen 
and 300 Lacedaemonians. Herodot* 

ALCESTEorALCESTis,daugh- 
ter of Pelias, married Admetus. [Vid. 
Admetus.] She, with her sisters, put 
to death her father, that he might be 
restored to youth and vigor by Medea, 
who, however, refused to perform her 
promise. Upon this, the sisters fied to 
Admetus, who married Alceste. They 
were soon pursued by an army headed 
by their brother Aeastus ; and Admetus 
being taken prisoner, was redeemed 
from death by the generous offer of his 
wife, who was sacrificed in his stead to 
appease the shade of her father. Hygin. 
Apollod. &c. 

Alcetas. The most remarka- 
ble of this name is a king of the Molossi, 
descended from Pyrrhus, the son of 
Achilles. — An historian, who gave a de- 
scription of ail the presents dedicated 
in the Delphian temple. 

Alchidas, a Rhodian, who be- 
came enamoured of a naked Cupid of 
Praxiteles. Plin. 

A l chi mac h us, a celebrated 
painter mentioned by Pliny. 

Alcibiades, an Athenian ge- 
neral, famous for his versatile genius, 
and natural foibles. He was disciple to 
Socrates, whose lessons and examples 
checked, for a time, his vicious propen* 



ALC 



ALC 



sities. In the Peloponnesian war he 
encouraged the Athenians to make an 
expedition against Syracuse. He was 
chosen general in that war, and in his 
absence he was accused of impiety. 
Upon this he fled, and stirred up the 
Spartans to make war against Athens : 
when this did not succeed, he retired 
to Tissaphernes, the Persian general. 
Being recalled by the Athenians, he 
obliged the Lacedaemonians to sue for 
peace, made several conquests in Asia, 
and was received in triumph at Athens. 
His popularity was of short duration ; 
the failure of an expedition against 
Cvme exposed him again to the resent- 
ment of the people, and he fled to Phar- 
nabazus, whom he almost induced to 
make war upon Lacedaemon. This was 
told to Lysander, the Spartan general, 
who prevailed upon Pharnabazus to 
murder Alcibiades. Two servants were 
sent for that purpose, and they set on 
fire the cottage where he was, and killed 
him with darts as he attempted to make 
his escape. He died in the 46th year of 
his age, 404 B. C. after a life of perpe- 
tual difficulties. His character has been 
cleared from the aspersions of malevo- 
lence by the writings of Thucydides. 

Alcidamas, of Cos, father to 
Ctesilla, who was changed iuto a dove. 
Ovid. — A philosopher, who wrote an 
Essay on Death. Quintilian. 

Alcidamus, an Athenian rhe- 
torician, who wrote an eulogy on death , 
&e. Cic. &c. 

Alcides, a name of Hercules, 

from a Greek word signifying strength, 
<x'/*y.og t or from his grandfather Alcasus. 

Alcimede, the mother of Ja- 
son, by .iEson. 

Alcimedon, a plain of Arca- 
dia, with a cave, the residence of Alci- 
raedon , whose daughter was ravished by 
Hercules. Pans. — An excellent carver. 
Ylrg. 

Alcixoe, one of Jupiter's 

nurses. She was honored with a statue 
in Minerva's temple at Tegaea. Pans. 

ALCiNOus,a son of Nausithous 
king of Phaeacia, praised for his love of 
agriculture. He kindly entertained Ulys- 
ses, who had been shipwrecked on his 
coast, and heard the recital of his ad- 
ventures : whence arose the proverb of 
the stories of Alcincus, to denote impro- 
bability.Hom. Orph. — There were others 
of inferior note of this name. 

Alciphbon, a philosopher of 

Magnesia, in the age of Alexander. 
There are some epistles in Greek, that 
bear his name, and contain a very per- 
fect picture of the customs and manners 
of the Greeks. 

Alcippe. The most remark- 
able of this name was a daughter of the 



god Mars, by Agraulos. She was ra- 
vished by Halirrhotius. Apollod. 

Alcithoe, a Theban woman 
who ridiculed the orgies of Bacchus. 
She was changed into a bat, and the 
spindle and yarn with which she worked 
into a vine and ivy. Ovid. 

Alcmak, a very ancient lyric 
poet born in Sardinia, and not at Lace- 
dasmon, as some suppose. He wrote in 
the Doric dialect six books of verses, in 
which, with the amorous strains for 
which he was remarkable, he celebrated 
his favourite mistress Megalostrata. He 
flourished B. C. 070. Some fragments 
of his verses have been preserved by 
Athenaeus and others. Pans. Pliri. &c. 

Alcm^ok, was son of the pro- 
phet Amphiaraus and of Eriphyie. His 
father, going to the Theban war, where 
he was to perish, charged him to revenge 
his death upon Eriphyie, who had be- 
trayed him. [Fid. Eriphyie.] As soon 
as he heard of his father's death, he 
murdered his mother, for which crime 
the Furies persecuted him, till Phlegeus 
purified him and gave him his daughter 
Alphesibcea in marriage. AlcmaDon gave 
her the fatal collar which his mother had 
received to betray his father, and after- 
wards divorced her, and married Calli- 
rhoe the daughter of Achelous, to whom 
he promised the necklace he had given 
to Alphesibcea. "When he attempted to 
recover it, Alphesiboea's brothers mur- 
dered him, on account of the treatment 
he had given their sister, and left his 
body a prey to wild beasts. [ Vid. Al- 
phesibcea,Amphiaraus.] Pans. Ovid. <fec. 

ALCMiEoxiDiE, a noble family 
of Athens, descended from Alcmaeori, 
who delivered their country from the 
tyranny of Pisistratus. Herodot. Ac. 

Alcmena, was daughter of 
Electrion king of Argos, wife of Am- 
phitryon, and mother of Hercules, whom 
she conceived of Jupiter, who had as- 
sumed the form of Amphitryon. For 
further particulars relating to'Alcmena, 
Vid. Amphitryon, Hercules, Euri>-theus. 

Alcon, an archer, much cele- 
brated for having aimed at a serpent, 
who had attacked his son, and killing 
it without touching any part of his son's 
body ; though the serpent had twined 
round him in many folds. 

Alcyone, or Halcyone, 

daughter of .3£olus, married Ceyx, who , 
was drowned as he was going to consult 
the oracle. The gods apprized Alcyone, 
in a dream, of her husband's fate ; and 
when she found, on the morrow, his 
body washed on the sea-shore, she threw 
herself into the sea, and was with her 
husband changed into birds of the same 
name. Virg. Ovid.— One of the Pleiades, 
daughter of Atlas. She had Arethusa Dy 
Neptune, and Eleuthera by Apollo. She, 
with her sisters, was changed into a con- 
stellation. [ Vid. Pleiades.] Pa us. Hi'giv. 



ALE 



ALE 



— The daughter of Evenus,carried away 
by Apollo after her marriage. Her hus- 
band pursued the ravisher with bows 
and arrows, but was not able to recover 
her. Upon this, her parents called her 
Alcyone, and compared her fate to that 
of the wife of Ceyx. Homer. 

Alcyoneus, a giant, brother 
to Porphyrion. He was killed by Her- 
cules. His daughters, mourning his 
death, threw themselves into the sea, 
and were changed into Alcyons, by 
Amphitrite. Apottod. &c. 

Aldescls, a river rising 
among the Riphaean mountains and 
falling hi to the North sea. 

A lea, a surname of Minerva, 
from her temple, built by Aleus, son of 
Aphidas, in Tegsea in Arcadia. Fans. — 
A town of Arcadia, built by Aleus. It 
had three famous temples, that of Mi- 
nerva, Bacchus, and Diana the Ephe- 
sian. Pans. 

Alebas, a tyrant of Larissa, 
killed by his own guards for his cruel- 
ties. In his imprecations against his 
enemy in the Ibis, Ovid wishes he may 
meet the fate of this savage tyrant. Ov. 
in lb. 

Alebiox and Dercixtjs, sons 
of Neptune, were killed by Hercules, 
for stealing his oxen in Africa. Apollod. 

Alecto, one of the Furies. 
[Vid. Eumenides.] 

Alectryon, a youth whom 
Mars, during his amours with Venus, 
stationed at the door to watch against 
the approach of the Sun. He fell asleep, 
and Apoilo came and discovered the 
lovers, who wereexposedby Vulcan, in 
each other's arms, before all the gods. 
Mars was so incensed that he changed 
Alectryon into a cock, who, still mind- 
ful of his neglect, early announces the 
approach of the Sun. Lucian. 

Alectus, a British tyrant, 
living in the reign of Diocletian. 

Aleius Campus, a place in 

Lycia, where Bell eroph on fell from the 
horse Pegasus, and wandered over the 
country till the time of his death, rffo- 
mesa'. <fec. 

Alemanni or Alamanni, a 
people of Germany, unknown till the 
reign of Caracalla. 

Alemon, the father of Mys- 
cellus. He built Crotona in Magna 
Graecia. Myscellus is often called Ale- 
monides. Ovid. 

Alesia or Alexia, a famous 

city of the Mandubri, in Gaul, founded 
on a high hill by Hercules as he returned 
from Iberia. Cess. 

Aletes, a son of /Egisthus, 
[Fid.xEgisthus] murdered by Orestes. 

Alethes, the first of the He- 
raclida?, who was king of Corinth. Pans. 



— A companion of ^Eneas, described as 
a prudent and venerable old man. Virg. 

Aletidas, (from aXao^i, to 
zvander) certain sacrifices at Athens, in 
remembrance of Erigone,who wandered 
with a dog after her father Icarus. 

AiEUADiE, a royal family of 
Larissa, in Thessaly, descended from 
Aleuas, king of that country. They 
betrayed their country to Xerxes. He- 
rodot. &c. 

Aleus, a son of Aphidas, king 

of Arcadia, famous for his skill in build- 
ing temples. He married Nerrcea, daugh- 
ter of Pereus, by whom he had Lycur- 
gus, Amphidamus, Cepheus, and also 
Auge, who became celebrated as the 
mother of Telephus by Hercules. Apol. 

Alexander I. son of Amyn- 
tas, was the tenth king of Macedonia. 
He reigned 43 years, and died 451 B. C. 

Alexander II. son ofAmyn- 

tas, second king of Macedonia, was trea- 
cherously murdered B. C. 370 : by his 
younger brother Ptolemy. Justin. 

Alexander III. surnamed 

the Great, was son of Philip and Olym- 
pias. Olympias, during her pregnancy, 
declared that she was with child by a 
dragon ; and the day that Alexander was 
born, two eagles perched for some time 
on the house of Philip, as if foretelling 
that his son would become master of 
Europe and Asia. He was pupil to Ari- 
stotle during five years, and he received 
his learned preceptor's instructions with 
much deference and pleasure, and al- 
ways respected his abilities. "When Phi- 
lip went to war, Alexander, in his 15th 
year, was left governor of Macedonia, 
where he quelled a dangerous sedition, 
and soon after followed his father to the 
field, and saved his life in a battle. He 
was highly offended when Philip di- 
vorced Olympias to marry Cleopatra, 
and even caused the death of Attalus, 
the new queen's brother. After this he 
retired from court to his mother Olym- 
pias, but was recalled ; and when Philip 
was assassinated, he punished his mur- 
derers ; and, by his prudence and mo- 
deration, gained the affection of Ins sub- 
jects. He conquered Thrace and Illyri- 
cum, and destroyed Thebes ; and, after 
he had been chosen chief commander of 
all the forces of Greece, he declared war 
against the Persians, who, under Darius 
and Xerxes, had laid waste and plun- 
dered some of the Grecian cities. With 
32,000 foot and 5,000 horse, he invaded 
Asia, and, after the defeat of Darius, at 
the Granicus, he conquered all the pro- 
vinces of Asia Minor. He obtained two 
other celebrated victories over Darius 
at Issus and Arbela, took Tyre after an 
obstinate siege of seven months, and the 
slaughter of 2,000 of the inhabitants in 
cold blood, and made himself master of 
Egypt, Media, Syria, and Persia. From 
Egypt he visited the temple of Jupiter 



ALE 



ALE 



Amnion, and bribed the priests, who 
saluted him as the son of their god, and 
enjoined his army to pay divine honors 
to him. He built a town, which he 
called Alexandria, in the most eligible 
situation on the western side of the 
Nile, near the coast of the Mediterra- 
nean. His conquests were extended to 
India, where he fought with Porus, a 
powerful king of the country ; and, after 
he had invaded Scythia, and visited the 
Indian ocean, he retired to Babylon, 
loaded with the spoils of the East. His 
entering the city was foretold, by the 
magicians, as fatal, and their prediction 
was fulfilled. He died at Babylon, the I 
2lst of April, in the 32d year of his age, ! 
after a reign of 12 years and s months 
of continual success, 323 B. C. During 
his conquests in Asia, he founded many 
cities, which he called Alexandria, after 
his own name. When he had con- 
quered Darius, he ordered himself to be 
worshipped as a god ; andCaliisthenes, 
who refused to do it, was shamefully 
put :.o death. He murdered, at a ban- 
quet, his friend Clitus, who had once 
saved his life in a battle, because he en- 
larged upon the virtues and exploits of 
Philip, and preferred them to those of 
his son. His victories and success in- 
creased his pride ; he dressed himself in 
the Persian manner, and gave himself 
up to pleasure and dissipation. On his 
death-bed he gave his ring tc Perdiccas, 
and it was supposed that, by this sin- 
gular present, he wished to make him 
his successor. Curt.Arrian. <&e. — Among 
the many others of this name, men- 
tioned in ancient history, the following 
were the most remarkable. — A king of 
Epirus, brother to Oiympias, and suc- 
cessor to Arybas. He baiushed Timo- 
laus to Peloponnesus, and made war in 
Italy against the Romans, and observed 
that he fought with men, while his ne- 
phew. Alexander the Great, was fight- 
ing with an army of women (meaning 
the Persians). He was surnamed Mo- 
lossus. Justin. — Ptolemy was one of the 
Ptolemean kings in Egypt. His mother, 
Cleopatra, raised him to the throne, in 
preference to his brother, Ptolemy La- 
thurus,and reigned conjointly with him. 
Cleopatra, however , expelled him, and 
soon after recalled him ; and Alexan- 
der, to prevent being expelled a second 
time, put her to death, and for this un- 
natural action was himself murdered by 
one of his subjects. Joseph. Justin. &c. 
—Ptolemy, king of Egypt, was son of 
the preceding. He was educated in the 
island of Cos, and, falling into the hands 
of Mithridates, escaped to Sylla, who 
restored him to his kingdom. He was 
murdered by his subjects a few days 
after his restoration. Appian.— Ptolemy 
was king of Egypt, after his brother 
Alexander, the last mentioned. After 
a peaceful reign, he was banished by his 
subjects, and died at Tyre, B. C. Go, 
leaving his kingdom to the Roman 
people. Cic—A name given to Paris, 



son of Priam. [Vid. Paris.] — A cruel 
tyrant of Phera?, inThessaly, who made 
war against the Thebans, and took 
Pelopidas prisoner. He was murdered. 
B. C. 357, by his wife called Thebe, 
whose room he had carefully searched 
every night, fearful of some dagger that 
might have been concealed to take away 
his life. Cic. — Severus, a Roman em- 
peror. [Vid. Severus.] 

Alexandriar^e, the bounda- 
ries, according to some, of Alexander's 
victories near the Tanais. Plin. 

Alexandria, the name of 

some cities which were founded by 
Alexander, during his conquests in Asia": 
the most famous are — A great and ex- 
tensive city, built B. C. 332, which be- 
came the capital of Egypt, on the west- 
ern side of the Delta. The commodi- 
ties of India were brought there, and 
thence dispersed among the different 
countries around the Mediterranean. 
Alexandria is famous, among other cu- 
riosities, for the large library which the 
pride or learning of the Ptolemies had 
collected there, at a vast expense, from 
all parts of the earth. This valuable 
repository was burnt by the orders of 
the caliph Omar, in the 7th century ; 
and it is said that during six months, 
the numerous volumes supplied fuel 
for the 4000 baths, which contributed 
to the health and convenience of the 
populous capital of Egypt. The modern 
town of Scanderoon has been erected 
upon its ruins. Curt. — Another in Al- 
bania — Another in Arachosia, in India. 
— The capital of Aria, between Heca- 
tompylon and Bactra. — Another of Car- 
mania. — Another in Cil.icia. — Another, 
the canital of Margiana. — Another of 
Troas. 

Alexaxdropolis, a city of 
Parthia, built by Alexander the Great. 
mn. 

A lex an or, a son of Machaon, 

who built, in Sicyon, a temple to his 
grandfather jEsculapius, and received 
divine honors after his death. Vans. 

Alexas, of Laodicea, was re- 
commended to M. Antony by Tima- 
genee. He was the cause that Antony 
repudiated Octavia to marry Cleopatra. 
Augustus punished him severely after 
the defeat of Antony. Plut. 

Alexicacus, a surname of 
Apollo, from his delivering mankind 
from plagues. 

Alexinus, remarkable for his 
attachment to argument. His death 
was occasioned by a sharp-pointed reed, 
with which he was wounded, as he swam 
across the river Alpheus. 

Alexiox, a celebrated Roman 
physician, intimate with Cicero. 

Alexirhoe, fabled to be the 
daughter of the river Granicus. 
ALEXis,a comic poet,336B. C. 



ALL 



ALP 



of Thurium, who wrote 245 comedies, 
of whiclrsomefew fragments remain. — 
An ungrateful youth of whom a shep- 
herd is deeply enamoured, in Virgil's 
Eel. 2. A person of Samos, who at- 
tempted to find out the borders of his 
country by his writings. " 

Alfenus, a native of Cremona, 
who, by the force of his genius, and his 
application, raised himself, from his 
original professionof a cobbler, to offices 
of trust at Rome., and at last became 
consul. Horai. 

Alcidum, a town of Latium, 
near Tusculum, about 12 miles from 
Rome. There is a mountain of the same 
name in the neighbourhood. Horat. 

Aliacmon andHALiACMON, 
a river of Macedonia, separating it from 
Thessaly. It flows into the xEgean sea. 
Plin. 

Al i art u s and H AL I AR T u s,a 

J;own of Bosotia, near the river Permes- 
sus. — Another in Peloponnesus, on the 
coast of Messenia. Stat. 

AliEnus (Lecina, a quaestor 
in Bceotia, appointed, for his services, 
commander of a legion in Germany , by 
Galba. The emperor disgraced him for 
his bad conduct, for which he raised 
commotions in the empire. Tacit. 

Alif^e, Alifa, or Alipha, 

a town of Italy, near the Vulturnus, fa- 
mous for the making of cups. Liv. 
Horat. 

Aliment us, C. an historian in 
the second Punic war, who wrote in 
Greek an account of Annibal, besides a 
treatise on military affairs. Liv. 

Alikrothius, a son of Nep- 
tune. Hearing that his father had been 
defeated by Minerva, in his dispute 
about giving a name to Athens, he went 
to the citadel, and endeavoured to aut 
down the olive, which had sprung from 
the ground, and given the victory to 
Minerva ; buc, intheattempt, he missed 
his aim, and cut his own legs so severe- 
ly, that he instantly expired. 

Alledius Severus, a noted 

glutton in Domitian's reign. Juv. 

All I A, a river of Italy, falling 
into the Tiber. The Romans were de- 
feated en its banks by Brennus and the 
Gauls, who were going to plunder P^ome, 
17th July, B. C. 390. Phct. Virg. &c. 

Allobroges, a warlike nation 
of Gaul, near the Rhone, in that part 
of the country now called Savoy. The 
Romans destroyed their city, because 
they had assisted Annibal. Their am- 
bassadors were allured by great promises 
to join in Catiline's conspiracy against 
his country, but they scorned the offers, 
and discovered the plot. Sallust, &c. 

Allutius, a prince of the Cel- 
tiberi,to whom Scipio restored the beau- 
tiful princess he had taken in battle. 



i Almo, a small river near Rome, 

falling into the Tiber, in which what- 
ever was consecrated to Cybele was pre- 
viously purified. The irnaee of the 
goddess was there annually washed on 
the 25th of March. It is now called Rio 
d'Appio, as it crosses the Appian way. 
Ovid. Lvcan. <fcc. 

Almon, the eldest of the sons 

of Tyrrheus. He was the first Rutulian 
killed by the Trojans ; and from the 
skirmish which happened before and 
after his death, arose the enmities which 
ended in the fall of Tumus. Virg. 

Aloa, festivals at Athens in 
honor of Bacchus and Ceres. 

Aloeus, a giant, son of Titan 
and Terra. He married Iphimedia, by 
whom Neptune had two sons, Othus 
and Ephialtus. Aloeus educated them 
as his own, and, from that circumstance, 
they have been called Aloides. They 
made war against the gods, and were 
killed by Apollo and Diana. They grew 
up nine inches every month, and were 
only nine years old when they undertook 
their war. Homer. Virg. &c. 

Aloides and Aloid^e, the 

sons of Aloeus. [Vid. Aloeus.] 

Alope, daughter of Cercyon, 
king of Eleusis, had a child by Neptune, 
whom she exposed in the woods. The 
child was preserved, and carried to 
Alope's father, who, upon knowing the 
gown in which the child was exposed, 
ordered his daughter to be put to death. 
Neptune, who could not save his mis- 
tress, changed her into a fountain. The 
child was called Hippothoon , and placed 
by Theseus on his grandfather's throne. 
Pans. Hh'gin.—A town of Thessaly. 

Alopeces, a small village of 
Attica, remarkable for being the birth- 
place of Socrates and Aristides. 

Alotia, festivals in Arcadia, 
in commemoration of a victory gained 
over Lacedasmon by the Arcadians. 

Alpexus, the capital of Le- 
er is. 

Alpes, high mountains that se- 
parate Italy from Spain, Gaul, Rhaetia, 
and Germany. They are covered with 
perpetual snows. A traveller is generally 
five days in reaching the top in some 
parts. They were supposed for a long 
time to be impassable. Annibal marched 
his army over them, and made his way 
through rocks, by softening and break- 
ing them with vinegar. Strab. Liv. <Spc. 

Alpheia, a surname of Diana, 
in Elis. It was given her when the river 
Alpheus attempted to ravish herwithout 
success. — A surname of the nymph Are- 
thusa, because loved by the Alpheus. 
Ovid. 

Alphenor, one of the sons of 

Niobe. 

Alphesibgea, daughter of the 



ALY 



AMA 



river Phlegeus, married Alcmseon, son 
of Amphiaraus, who had tied to her fa- 
ther's court after the murder of his mo- 
ther. \_Vid. Alcmaeon.] 

Alpkesihceus, a shepherd, 
often mentioned in Virgil's eclogues. 

Alphfus, a famous river of 
Peloponnesus, which rises in Arcadia, 
and, after passing through Elis and 
Acha'ia, falls into the sea. The god of 
this river fell in love with the nymph 
[Vide] Arethusa, and pursued her till 
she was changed into a fountain by Di- 
ana. Virg. Ovid. &e. 

Alphius or Alfecs, a cele- 
brated usurer, ridiculed in Horat. Epod. 
2. 

Alpinus (Cornelius), a con- 
temptible poet, whom Horace, in one 
of his Satires, ridicules for the awkward 
manner in which he introduced the 
death of Memnon in a tragedy, and the 
pitiful style with which he described the 
Rhine, in an epic poem. 

Althaea, daughter ofThestius 

and Eurythemis, married (Eneus, king 
of Calydon, by whom she had many 
children, among whom was Meleager. 
[Vid. Meleager.] Ovid. Homer. &c. 

Alth.emenes, a son of Crete- 
us, king of Crete. Hearing that either 
he or his brother was to be his father's 
murderer, he fled to Rhodes, where he 
made a settlement, to avoid becoming 
a parricide. After the death of all his 
other sons, Creteus went after his son 
Althasmenes ;when he landed in Rhodes, 
the inhabitants attacked him, supposing 
him to be an enemy, and he was killed 
by the hand of his own son. When Al- 
thgemenes knew that he had killed his 
father, he entreated the gods to remove 
him, and the earth immediately opened, 
and swallowed him up. Apollod. 

Althepus, a son of Neptune, 
and Leis, daughter of Orus, who reigned 
at Troezene, in Peloponnesus, and was 
succeeded by Saroh. His country re- 
ceived the name of Althepia from him. 
Pans. 

Altinum, a flourishing city of 
Italy, near Aquilea, famous for its wool. 
Plin. Tacit. 

Altis, a sacred grove round 
Jupiter's temple at Olympia. Pans. 

Alt us, a city of Peloponne- 
sus. 

Alus, a village of Arcadia, fa- 
mous for its temple of ^Esculapius. 

Alyattes I. a king of Lydia, 
descended from the Heraclidae. II. Of 
the family of the Mermnadas, was father 
to Croesus. He made war against the 
Medes. He died when engaged in a war 
against Miletus. A monument was raised 
on his grave, with the money which the 
women of Lydia had obtained by prosti- 
tution. An eclipse of the sun terminated 



a battle between him and Cyaxares. He- 
rodot. 

Alyba, a territory near Mysia. 

ALYMON,the husband of Circe. 

Alyssus, a fountain of Arca- 
dia, whose waters could cure the bite of 
a mad dog. Pans. 

Alyzia, a town of Acarnania, 
on the banks of the Achelous. 

Amadocus, a king of Thrace, 
defeated by his antagonist Seu the s. Ari- 
stot. 

Amalthjea, daughter of Me- 

lissus, king of Crete, fed Jupiter with 
goat's milk. Hence some authors have 
called her a goat, and have maintained 
that Jupiter, to reward her kindnesses, 
placed her in heaven, as a constellation, 
and gave one of her horns to the nymphs 
who had taken care of his infant years. 
This horn was called the horn of plenty, 
and had the power to give the nymphs 
whatever they desired. [Vid. Sibylla?.] 
Diod. Ocid. 

Amaltheum, a public place 
which Atticus had opened in his coun- 
try-house, and provided with every 
thing which could furnish entertain- 
ment and convey instruction. Cic. 

Amana or A max as, a part of 
Mount Taurus, in Cilicia. Lucan. 

Cn. Sal. Amandus, a rebel 

general, under Dioclesian, who assumed 
imperial honors, and was at last con- 
quered by Dioelesian's colleague. 
Amantes or Amantini, a 

peopleof Illyricum, descended from the 
Abantes of Phocis : their c apital town, 
called Amantia, was on the sea-coast, at 
the south of Apollonia. Cic. Cces. 

Amanus, one of the deities 
worshipped in Persia. Strab. 

Am Alt ac us, one of Cinyras' 
officers, who was changed into sweet 
marjoram. 

Amaryllis, the name of a 

countrywoman in Virgil's eclogues.Soroe 
commentators have supposed that the 
poet spoke of Rome under this ficti- 
tious name. 

Amarynthus, a village of 
Euboea, whence Diana is called Amary- 
sia, and her festivals in that town Ama- 
rynthia. Pans. 

A mas en us, a small river cf 
Latium falling into the Tyrrhene sea. 
Virg. 

Amasia, a city of Pontus, where 
Mithridates the Great, and Strabo the 
geographer, were born. Strab. 

Amasia or Amisia, a river of 
Germany, now the Ems, which falls into 
the German ocean, near Embden. Tacit. 
Mela. 

Amasis, a man who, from a 
common soldier, became king of Egypt. 



AMA 



AAIB 



He made war against Arabia, and died 
before the invasion of his country by 
Cambyses, king of Persia. When Cam- 
byses came into Egypt, he ordered the 
body of Amasis to be dug up, and to be 
insulted and burnt ; an action which was 
very inimical to the religious notions of 
the "Egyptians. Herodot. 

Am asters, the wife of Dio- 

nysius, the tyrant of Sicily. She was 
sister to Darius, whom Alexander con- 
quered. Strab. — Also the wife of Xerxes, 
king of Persia. [Vid. Amestris.] 

Amastrus, a friend ofiEneas, 
killed by Camilla in the Rutulian war. 
Virg. 

Amata. the wife of king La- 
tinus. She had betrothed her daughter 
Lavinia to Turnus, before the arrival of 
JEneas in Italy. She zealously favored 
the interest of Turnus ; and when her 
daughter was given in marriage to 
iEneas, she hung herself to avoid the 
sight of her son-in-law. Virg. 

A math us {gen. untis), now 
Limiftso, a city on the southern side of 
the island of Cyprus, particularly dedi- 
cated to Venus. The island is sometimes 
called Amathusia, a name not unfre- 
quently applied to the goddess of the 
place. Ovid, Catul. 

Amaxampeus, a fountain of 
Seythia, the waters of which embittered 
those of the Hypanis. 

Amazon es or Amazoktdes, 

a nation of famous women who lived 
near the river Thermodon, in Cappado- 
cia. All their life was employed in wars 
and manly exercises. They never had 
any commerce with the other sex, but 
only for the sake of propagation. Justin 
says they strangled the males, and the 
females were carefully educated, as their 
mothers, in the labors of the field ; their 
right breast was burnt off, that they 
might hurl a javelin with more force, 
and make a better use of the bow ; from 
that circumstance, therefore, their name 
is derived a non ^/.a£a mamma)' They 
founded an extensive empire in Asia 
Minor, along the shores of the Euxine 
sea, and near the Thermodon. Themy- 
scyra was the most capital of their towns. 
Dicdorus mentions a nation of Amazons 
in Africa, more ancient than those of 
Asia. Some authors, among whom is 
Strabo, deny the existence of the Ama- 
zons, but Justin and Diodorus particu- 
larly support it ; and the latter says that 
Penthesilea, one of their queens,' came 
to the Trojan war on the side of Priam, 
and that she was killed by Achilles. 
They were conquered by Bellerophon 
arid Hercules. Among their queens, Hip- 
polyte, Antiope, Lampeto, and Marpe- 
sia, are the most famous. Curtius says 
that Thalestris, one of their queens, 
cane to Alexander, whilst he was pur- 
suing his conquests in Asia*, for the sake 



of raising children from a man of such, 
military reputation ; and that after she 
had remained with him thirteen days, 
she retired into her country.— Amazo- 
nia, the country of the Amazons, near 
the Caspian sea. 

Amazoxius, a surname of 
Apollo at Lacedsemon. 

A mb Ait it i, a people of Gallia 
Celtica. C&s. — A people of Gaul, whose 
territories lay along the banks of the 
Arar. 

A m e A e, v a l i a, processions 
round the ploughed fields, in honor of 
Ceres, the goddess of corn, celebrated 
by the Romans, one about the month 
of April, the other in July. They went 
three times round their fields, crowned 
with oak leaves, singing hymns toCeres, 
and entreating her to preserve their corn. 
The word is derived ab ambiendis arvis, 
i. e. going round the fields. A sow, a 
sheep, and a bull, called ambarvalice 
hostice, were afterwards immolated, and 
the sacrifice has sometimes been called 
suovetaxirUia, from sus, ovis, and tau- 
rus. 

Ambiatixam, a village of 
Germany; the birth-place of Caligula. 

A mb ig at us, a king of the 
Celts, in the time of Tarquinius Pris- 
cus. The population of his country 
having become very great, he sent hi* 
nephews, Sigovesus and Be!!ovesus,with 
two colonies, in quest of new settle- 
ments; the former towards the Hercy- 
nian forest, and the other towards Italy. 
Liv. 

Ambiorix, a king of the Ebu- 
rones, in Gaul. He was a great enemy 
to Rome, and was killed in a battle with 
Julius Caesar, in which 60,000 of his 
countrymen were slain. Gss. 

A mb r ac i a, a city of Epirus, 
near the Acheron, the residence of kir^ 
Pyrrhus. Augustus, after the battle of 
Actium, called it Nicopolis. Mela. 

Ambracius Six us, a bay of 
the Ionian sea, near Ambracia, about 
COO stadia deep, narrow at the entrance, 
but within near 100 stadia in breadth. 
Polyb. 

AmbrSxes, certain nations of 
Gaul, who lived upon rapine and plun- 
• der. They were conquered by Marius. 
Plut. 

Ambrosia, festivals observed 
in honor of Bacchus, in some cities in 
Greece, the same as the Bruraalia of the 
Romans. — One of the daughters of Atlas, 
changed into a constellation after death. 
— The food of the gods was called am- 
brosia, and their drink nectar. The word 
signifies immortal. It had the power of 
giving immortality to all those who ate 
it. It was sweeter "than honey, and of a 
most odoriferous smell. Berenice, Ti- 
thonus, and others, were rendered im- 
mortal by eating of it. It had also the 



AMI 



AMCE 



power of healing wounds. Apollo, in 
Homer's Iliad, saves Sarpedon's body 
from putrefaction by rubbing it with 
ambrosia ; and Venus heals the wounds 
of her son JEneas, in Virgil's iEneid, 
with it. Homer. &c. 

A mbrosius, bishop of Milan? 
obliged the emperor Theodosius to make 
penance for the murder of the people of 
Thessalonica, and distinguished himself 
by his writings, especially against the 
Arians. His three books de offieiis are 
still extant. He died A. D. 397.^ 

Ambrysstjs, a city of Phocis ; 
so called from a hero of that name. 

Ambubaj^e, Syrian women of 
immoral lives and manners, who, in the 
dissolute period of Rome, attended fes- 
tivals and assemblies as minstrels. Ho- 
rat. Suet, in Ner. 

Ambulli, a surname of Castor 
and Pollux, in Sparta. # 

Amburbia, festivals at Rome, 
which consisted in a solemn procession 
round the walls of the city {ambire ur- 
ban), and in the neighbouring fields. 
Songs in honor of Ceres were sung at 
them, and her protection implored for 
agriculture. Set v. in Virg. 

Ameles, a river of hell, whose 
waters no vessel could contain. Plut. 

Amenocles.s Corinthian, said 
to be the first Grecian who built a three- 
oared galley at Samos and Corinth. 
Thucyd. 

A me st rat us, a Sicilian town 
the inhabitants of which were sold for 
slaves by the Romans after three sieges. 

Amestris, queen of Persia, was 
wife to Xerxes. She cruelly treated the 
mother of Artiante, her husband's mis- 
tress, and cut off her nose, ears, hps, 
breast, tongue, and eyebrows. She also 
sacrificed 14 noble Persian youths, to 
appease the deities under the earth. 
Herodot. 

Am Ida, a city of Mesopotamia, 
taken by Sapor, king of Persia, after a 
long siege. 

Amilcar. There were many 
Carthaginians of this name, the most 
celebrated of whom was Amilcar, sur- 
named Barcas, father to the celebrated 
Annibal.He was general in Sicily during 
the first Punic war ; and after a peace 
had been made with the Romans he 
quelled a rebellion of slaves, who had 
besieged Carthage, and taken many 
townsof Africa, and rendered themselves 
so formidable to the Carthaginians, that 
they begged and obtained assistancefrom 
Rome: after this he passed into Spain 
with his son Annibal, who was but nine 
years of age, and laid the foundation of 
the town of Barcelona. He was killed 
in a battle against the Vettones, B. C. 
287. He had formed the plan of an in- 
vasion of Italy, by crossing the Alps, 



which his son afterwards carried into ex- 
ecution. [Vid. Annibal.] His great en- 
mity to the Romans was the cause of the 
second Punic war. He used to say of 
his three sons, that he kept three lions 
to devour the Roman power. C. Nep. 
&c. — There was also another son of 
Hanno, defeated in Sicily by Gelon, the 
same day that Xerxes was defeated at 
Salamis by Themistocles. 

Amimoke, a daughter of Ba- 
naus, changed into a fountain near Ar- 
gos. Ovid. 

A mine a, or Amminea, a part 
of Campania, where the inhabitants are 
great husbandmen. Virg. 

Amite rnum, a town of Italy, 

where Sallust was born. The inhabit- 
ants assisted Turnus against ./Eneas. 
Virg. 

Amizenes, a prince who ac- 
companied Nearchus and the Macedo- 
nians in their expedition to Asia. 

Amizonium, a plain on which 
Theseus was reported to have con- 
quered the Amazons. 

Ammalo, a festival in honor of 
Jupiter in Greece. 

Ammiaxus, [Vid. Marcelli- 
nus.] 

Ammon and Brothas, two 
brothers, famous for their skill in box- 
ing. Ovid. 

AMMONandHAMMON, a name 
of Jupiter, worshipped in Libya. He 
appeared under the form of a ram to 
Bacchus, who, with his army, suffertr. 
extreme thirsts in the deserts of Africa, 
and shewed him a fountain : upon this 
Bacchus erected a temple to his father, 
under the name of Jupiter Ammon, i. e. 
sandy, with the horns of a ram. The 
temple of Jupiter Ammon was in the 
deserts of Libya,nine days' journeyfrom 
Alexandria. It had a famous oracle, 
which was consulted by Hercules, Per- 
seus, and others ; but when it pro- 
nounced Alexander to be the son of Ju- 
piter, such flattery destroyed its long 
established reputation. Ovid. Herodot. — 
There was also an oracle of Jupiter 
Ammon in ^Ethiopia. Plin. — A king of 
Libya, father to Bacchus. He gave hin 
name to the temple of H ammon, ac- 
cording to_Diod. 

Ammonia, a name of Juno in 
Elis. 

Ammonii, a nation of Africa, 
who derived their origin from the Egyp- 
tians and ^Ethiopians. 

Ammonius, a Platonic phi- 
losopher, who had for his pupils Origen 
and Plotinus. 

AMMOTHEA, one of the Ne- 
reides. Hesiod. 

Amnisus, a port of Gnossus in 
Crete, with a small river of the same 
name. Callim. 

C2 



AMP 



AM? 



Amcebceus, a celebrated player 
of Athens, who sung at the nuptials of 
Demetrius. 

Amor, the son of Venus, was 
the' God of Love. [Vid. Cupido.] 

Amorges, a Persian general, 
killed in Caria, in the reign of Xerxes. 
Herodot. 

Amorgos, an island among the 
Cvclades, where Simonides was born. 
Strab. 

Ampelus, a promontory of 

Sarnos. — A town of Crete. — A favorite 
of Bacchus; son of a satyr and a nymph, 
who lived onthe shores of the Euphrates, 
in Armenia. He was presented with a 
vine by the god whose favor he enjoyed ; 
and some time after, while he amused 
himself in collecting the finest grapes 
from the branches, he fell down, and 
was killed on the spot. The god honor- 
ed his memory by placing him among 
the constellations. Ovid. Fast. 

Ampelus ja, a promontory on 

the coast of Mauritania. 

AMPHiALAirs,a famous dancer 
in the island of the Pha^acians. Ho- 
mer. 

Amphiaraus, son of Oicleus, 

or, according to others, of Apollo, ac- 
companied the Argonauts in their expe- 
dition. He was famous for his know- 
ledge of futurity. He married Eriphyle, 
the sister of Adrastus. king of Argos, 
by whom he had two sons, Alemaeon and 
Amphilochus. When Adrastus, at the 
request of Polynices, declared war 
against Thebes, Amphiaraus secreted 
himself, not to accompany his brother- 
in-law in an expedition in which he knew 
he was to perish. But Eriphyle, who 
knew where he had concealed "himself, 
was prevailed upon to betray him by 
Polynices, who gave her, as a reward for 
her perfidy, a famous golden necklace 
set with diamonds. Amphiaraus, being 
thus discovered, went to the war ; but 
previously charged his son Alcmaeon to 
put to death his mother Eriphyle, as 
soon as he was informed that he was 
killed. Amphiaraus was swallowed up 
in his chariot by the earth as he attempt- 
ed to retire from the battle. The news 
of his death was brought to Alcmaeon, 
who immediately executed his father's 
command, and murdered Eriphyle. Am- 
phiaraus received divine honors after 
death, and he had a celebrated temple 
a*id oracle at Oropos in Attica. Cic. Ov. 
&e. 

A MPHIARA1DES, a patronymic 

of Al cm aeon, as being son of Amphia- 
raus. Ovid. 

Amphicrates. The most Ce- 
lebrated of this name is an Athenian 
Sophist, banished from his country. He 
retired to Seleucia, but despising the 
place, he observed, with all the arro- 



gance of laise philosophy, that the fish 
was too largefor the dish. Pint, in Lu- 
cid. 

Amphictyon, son of Deuca- 
lion and Pyrrha, reigned at Athens after 
Cranaus. Justin. — The son of Heleims, 
whofirst established the celebrated coun- 
cil of theAmphictyons, composed of the 
wisest and most virtuous men of some 
cities of Greece. This august assembly 
consisted of 12 persons, originally sent 
by the following states: the Ionians, 
Dorians, Perhaebians, Boeotians, Mag- 
nesians, Phthians, and .Eninians, &c. 
Other cities in process of time sent also 
some of their citizens to the council of 
the Amphictyons, and in the age of An 
toninus Pius they were increased to the 
number of 30. They generally met twice 
every year at Delphi', and sometimes sat 
at Thermopylae. The purpose of their 
institution was the taking into consi- 
deration all matters of difference which 
might exist between the various stares 
of Greece. Their decisions were held 
sacred and inviolable, and even arms 
were taken up to enforce them. Paus.&c. 

Amphidamus, a sen of Aleus. 
brother of Lycurgus. Pans. — One of the 
Argonauts.— A son of Busiris, killed by 
Hercules. 

Amphidromia, a festival ob- 
served by private families at Athens, the 
fifth day after the birth of every child. 
It was customary to run round the fire 
with a child in their arms ; whence the 
name of the festivals. 

Amphigexia, a town of Mes- 

senia, in Peloponnesus. 

Amphilochus, a son of Am- 
phiaraus and Eriphyle. After the Tro- 
jan war he lefcArgos, his native country, 
and built Amphilochus, a town of Ep'i- 
rus. Strab. 

Amprilytus, a soothsayer of 
Acarnania, who encouraged Pisistratus 
to seize the sovereign power of Athens. 
Herodot. 

Amphimachtj s,one of Helen's 
suitors. He went to the Trojan war. 

Amphimedon, a Libyan, kill- 
ed by Perseus in the ccurt of Cepheus. 
Ovid.— One of Penelope's suitors, killed 
by Telemachus. Homer. 4 

Amphinome, the name of one 
of the attendants of Thetis. How. 

Amphinomus, one of Pene- 
lope's suitors, killed by Telemachus. 
Homer. 

Amphinomus and Anapius, 

two brothers, who, when Catana and the 
neighbouring cities were in flames by an 
eruption from Mount iEtna, saved their 
parents upon their shoulders. Pluto, to 
reward their uncommon piety, placed 
them after death in the island of Leuce, 
and they received divine honors in Si- 
cily. Vah Max. &c. 



AMP 



AMP 



Amphion was son of Jupiter, 

by Antiope. He was born at the same 
birth as Zethus, on Mount Cytheron, 
whither Antiope had fled to avoid the re- 
sentment of Dirce; andthe two children 
were exposed in the woods, but preser- 
ved by a shepherd. [ Via. Antiope.] When 
Amphion grew up , lie made such un- 
common progress in music, that he is 
said to have been the inventor of it, and 
to have built the walls of Thebes a: the 
sound of his lyre. Mercury taught him 
music and gave him the" lyre. The 
fable of Amphion's moving stones and 
raising the walls of Thebes by his har- 
laony , has been explained by supposing 
that 'he persuaded by his eloquence a 
wild and 'uncivilized people to unite to- 
gether and build a town to protect them- 
selves against the attacks 'of their ene- 
mies. Homer. Sec — Another, the son of 
Jasus, king of Orchomenos, by Perse- 
phone, daughter of Mius, who married 
Xiobe daughter of Tantalus, by whom 
he had many children, among whom 
was Chloris, the wife of Neleus. Homer. 

A3iphip6les, magistrates ap- 
pointed at Syracuse, by Timoleon, after 
the expulsion of Dionysiusthe younger. 
The office existed for above 30 j years. 
D'od. 

Aviphipolis, a town on the 

Strymon, between Macedonia and 
Thrace. An Athenian colony, who 
built it, called it Amphipolis, i. e. a 
town surrounded on all sides, because 
the Strymon flowed all around it. It 
was the cause of many wars between the 
Athenians a net Spartans. Thucyd. 

AmphipyROS, a surname of 
Oi^n?., because she carries a torch in 
both her hands. Sophocles. 

Amphiroe, one of the Ocean- 
ides. Hesind. 

A31PHIS, a Greek comic poet 
of Athens, contemporary with Plato. 

Amphisejexa, a two-headed 
serpent in the deserts' of Libya, whose 
bite was venomous and deadly. Lucan. 

A 31 phiss a, a daughter of Ma- 
careus, beloved by Apollo. She gave 
her name to a city of Locris, near Pho- 
cis, in which was a temple of Minerva, 
Ovid. 

Amphisthexes, a native of 

Sparta, who in sacrificing to Diana be- 
came delirious. 

Amphistides, a man so na- 
turally destitute of intellects, that he 
seldom remembered he ever had a fa- 
ther. H2 wished to lsarn arithmetic, 
but never could comprehend beyond the 
/igure4. Aristot. 

A mphitea, the mother of 

Agialeus, by Cyanippus, and of three 
daughters, Argia, Deipvle, and .Egialea, 
by Adrastus, king of Argos. She was 



daughter to Pronax. Apollod. — The wife 
of Autolycus, by whom she had Anti- 
clea, the wife of Laertes. Horner. 

Amphitheatr.lt 31, a large 
oval erection at Rome, in which com- 
bats of wild beasts were exhii ited. 
They were built of wood till the time 
of Augustus, when Statilius Taurus 
erected one of stone. 

A3iPKiTHE3iis,a Theban, who 
involved his country in a war with 
Sparta. 

A31PHITHOE, one of the Ne- 
reides. 

A3iphitrIte, daughter of 

Oceanus and Tethys, married Neptune, 
though she had made a vow of perpetual 
celibacy. She had by him Triton, one 
of the sea deities. She had a statue at 
Corinth, in the temple of Neptune. She 
is sometimes called Salatia, and is often 
taken for the sea itself. Hesiod. Odd. 

Amphitryon^ a Theban 

prince, son of Aleaeus and Hyppononie. 
His sister Anaxo had married Eleetrydn 
king of Mycenae, whose sons were killed 
in a battle by the Teleboans. Eleetrydn 
promised his crown, and daughter Alc- 
mena, to him who could revenge the 
death of his sons upon the Teleboans : 
Amphitryon offered himself, and was re- 
ceived, on condition that he should not 
approach Alcmena before he had ob- 
tained a victory. Jupiter, who was cap- 
tivated with the charms of Alcmena, 
borrowed the features of Amphitryon 
when he was gone to the war, and in- 
troduced himself to Electryon's daugh- 
ter, as her husband returned victorious. 
Alcmena became pregnant of Hercules 
by Jupiter, and of Iphielus by Amphi- 
tr y« n after his retu rn. [ rid . Alcmena. ] 
When Amphitryon returned from the 
war, and had brought back to Eiectryori 
the herds which the Teleboans had taken 
from him, he accidentally killed Elee- 
tryon, but did not enjoy the kingdom, 
it being seized by Sthenelus, Electryon's 
brother, who forced him to retire to 
Thebes with Alcmena. Apollod. 

A31PHIUS, a son of Merops the 

soothsayer, who, in spite of his father's 
prophecies, attended the siege of Troy, 
at the head of the inhabi tants of some of 
the Peloponnesian cities. Hotner. 

A3iPHOTEitus was appointed 

commander of a fleet in the Hellespont 
by Alexander. Curt. 

A3iPHitYsus, a river of Thes- 

saly, near which Apollo, when banished 
from heaven, fed the flocks of king Ad- 
metus. Virg. 

Amfia Labiena Lex. This 

law was enacted to enable Pompcy to 
appear with a golden crewn at theatri- 
cal exhibitions ; and to grant him !he 
privilege of appearing in triumnhai 
robes at the Circus. 



AMY 



ANA 



AmpysIdes, a patronymic of 
Mopsus. 

Amsactus, a lake about the 
middle of Italy, whose waters are so 
sulphureous, that they infect and destroy 
whatever animals come near the place. 
Virg. 

Amulius, king of Alba, was 

son of Procas, and youngest brother of 
Numitor. The crown belonged to Nu- 
mitor by right of birth ; but Amulius 
dispossessed him of it, and even put to 
death his son Lausus, and consecrated 
his daughter Rhea Sylvia to the service 
of Vesta, to prevent her ever becoming 
a mother. Vet, in spite of all these pre- 
cautions, Rhea became pregnant by the 
god Mars, and brought forth twins," Ro- 
mulus and Remus. Amulius ordered 
the mother to be buried alive for vio- 
lating the laws of Vesta, which enjoined 
perpetual chastity, and the two children 
to be thrown into the river. They were 
providentially saved by some shepherds, 
or, as others say, by a she-wolf; and 
when they had attained the years of 
manhood, they put to death the usurper, 
and restored "the crown to their grand- 
father. Ovid. Plat. &c. 

Amyci Portus, a place in 

Pontus, in which was erected a tomb to 
the memory of Amycus, king of Bebry- 
ces. 

Amycla, a daughter of Niobe, 

who, with her sister Meliboea, was spared 
by Diana, when her mother boasted her- 
self greater than Diana. Paus. — Homer 
says that all the daughters perished 
[Vid. Niobe.] 

Amyclje. There were two 
towns of this name, one in Italy,between 
Caieta and Terracina, to which Virgil 
gives the epithet taeitcs, in consequence 
of a law forbidding the report of the 
attack of the enemy ; and the other in 
Peloponnesus, where Castor and Pollux 
were born. Paus. &c. It was built by 
Amyclas, son of Lacedsemon and Sparta. 

Amyclas, the master of a ship 
in which Csesar embarked in disguise. 
When Amyclas wished to put back to 
avoid a violent storm, Caesar, unveiling 
his head, discovered himself ; and bid- 
ding the pilot pursue his voyage, ex- 
claimed, Ccesarem vehis, Cce sari sque for - 
tunam. Lucan. 

Amycus . The most remarkable 

of this name was the son of Neptune,by 
Melia. He was king of the Bebryces", 
and famous for his skill in the manage- 
ment of the eestus, at which he chal- 
lenged all strangers to a trial of strength. 
When the Argonauts, in their expedi- 
tion, stopped on his coasts, he treated 
them with great kindness, and Pollux 
accepted his challenge, and killed him 
when he attempted to overcome him by 
fraud. Thcocrit. 



A MY d ox, a city of Pasonia, in 

Macedonia, which sent auxiliaries to 
Priam during the Trojan war. Homer. 

AmymOne, daughter of Danaus 
and Europa, married Enceladus, son of 
iEgyptus, whom she murdered the first 
night of her nuptials. It was said that 
she was the only one of her 50 sisters 
who was not condemned to fill a leaky- 
tub with water in hell. Neptune be- 
came enamoured of her, carried hex- 
away, and in the place where she stood 
he raised a fountain, by striking a rock, 
called Amymone. She had Nauplius by 
Neptune. " Ovid. &c. 

Amyntas, the name of three 
Macedonian kings, the second of whom 
was succeeded by his son Philip, after 
he had murdered all his brothers. This 
Philip was father of Alexander the Great. 
Justin. &c. — There were also many 
others of less note of this name among 
the ancients. 

Amyntianus, a historian in 
the age of Antoninus, who wrote a trea- 
tise in commendation of Philip, Olym- 
pias, and Alexander. 

Amyntor, king of Argos, son 

of Phrastor. He deprived his son Phoe- 
nix of his eyes, to punish him for the 
violence he had offered to Clytia, his 
concubine. Ovid. 

AmyrIcus Campus, a plain 

in Thessaly, near Amyris. 

Amyris, a town in Thessaly. 
Amyrius, a king by whom 

Cyrus was killed in battle. Ctesias. 

Am vst is, an Indian river, 
emptying itself into the Ganges. 

Am vtkaox, a son of Cretheus^ 
king of Iolchos. He married Idomene, 
by whom he had Bias and Melampus. 
After his father's death he established 
himself in Messenia, with his brother 
Neleus. He re-established or regulated 
the Olympic games. — A son of Hippasus, 
who assisted Priam in the Trojan war, 
and was killed by Lycomedes. Homer. 

Amvtis, a daughter of Astya- 
ges, whom Cyrus married. Ctesias. — A 
daughter of Xerxes, who married Mega- 
byzus, and disgraced herself by her de- 
baucheries. 

Ajjaces, Axactes, a name 
given to Castor and Pollux. Their fe- 
stivals were called Anaceia. Plut. 

Axacharsis, a Scythian phi- 
losopher, 592 B. C, who, on account of 
his extensive knowledge, has been called 
one of the seven wise men. He made 
use of a cart instead of a house. He 
used to compare laws to cobwebs, which 
can only stop small flies, and are unable 
to resist the superior force of large in - 
sects. When he returned to Scythia, 
from Athens, where he had been in the 
friendship of Solon, he attempted to in- 



ANA 



ANA 



troduce his laws, which so irritated his 
brother, who was then on the throne, 
that he killed him with an arrow. Ana- 
charsis has rendered himself famous 
among the ancients by his poems on war, 
the laws of Scyfhia, &c. Later authors 
have attributed to him the invention of 
anchors, and the potter's wheel. The 
nam-, of Anacharsis is become very fa- 
miliar to modern ears., by that elegant, 
valuable, and truly classical work of 
Barthelemi, called the Travels of Ana- 
charsis. Herod. 

Anacixjm, a mountain in the 
Peloponnesus sacred to Castor and Pol- 
lux. 

A nacre on, a famous lyric poet 
of Teos, in Ionia. He was of a lascivious 
disposition, much given to drinking, 
and deeply enamoured of a youth called 
Bathyllus. His odes are still extant, and 
the uncommon sweetness and elegance 
of his poetry have been the admiration 
of every age and country. He lived to 
his 85th year, and after much pleasure 
and debauchery, choked himself with a 
grape stone and expired. His statue was 
placed in the citadel of Athens, repre- 
sented as an old drunken man, singing, 
with every mark of dissipation and in- 
temperance. Anacreon flourished 532 
B. C. All that he wrote is not extant. 

Anactohia and Anacto- 

RIUM, a town of Epirus, in a peninsula 
towards the Gulf of Ambracia. It was 
founded by a Corinthian colony, and 
was the cause of many quarrels between 
the Corcyreans and Corinthians. Strab. 
— An ancient name of Miletus. 

Anadyomene a picture of 
Venus, painted by Apelles. Augustus 
gave a large sum for it, and hung it in 
the temple, dedicated to Julius Caesar. 

Anagnia, a city of the Hernici 
in Latium. 

Anagyros, a place of Attica 

which produced an offensive plan t , called 
Anagyris, which grew more fetid the 
more it was touched : whence arose the 
proverb of Anagyrum commovere, to 
signify the bringing of misfortunes on 
one's self. Strab. Plin. 

Anaitis, a goddess of Arme- 
nia. The virgins who were consecrated 
to her service esteemed themselves more 
dignified by public prostitution. The 
festivals of the deity are called Saaarum 
Festa ; and when they are celebrated, 
both sexes assist at the ceremony, and 
inebriate themselves to such a degree, 
that the whole is concluded by a scene of 
the greatest lasciviousness and intem- 
perance. They were first instituted by 
Cyrus when he marched against the 
Sacae. Strab. 11. — Diana is also wor- 
shipped under this name by the Lydians. 
Plin. 

An apauomenos, a fountain in 

the grove of Dodona.whose waters could 
light an extinguished torch. Plin. Mela. 



A nap he, an island that rose 
out of the Cretan sea, near Thera, and 
received this name from the /Argonauts, 
who, in the middle of a storm, suddenly 
saw the new moon. Apollo was wor- 
shipped there, and called Anaphceus. 
Ovid. Apollod. 

Anatole, one of the Hora?. 

Hygin. — A mountain near the Ganges, 
where Apollo ravished a nymph called 
Anaxibia. 

An ax, a son of Ccelus and 
Terra, from whom Miletus has been 
called Anactoria. Paus. 

An ax ag or as succeeded his 
father Megapenthes on the throne or" 
Argos. He shared the sovereign power 
with Bias and Melampus, who had cured 
the women of Argos of madness. Pans. 
— A Clazomenian philosopher, disciple 
to Anaximenes, and preceptor to Socra- 
tes and Euripides. He disregarded wealth 
and honors to indulge his fondness for 
meditation and philosophy. He travelled 
into Egypt for improvement, and used 
to say he preferred a grain of wisdom to 
heaps of gold. Pericles was in the num- 
ber of his pupils, and often consulted 
him in matters of state. The ideas of 
Anaxagoras concerning the heavens were 
extravagant. He supposed that the sun 
was inflammable matter, about the big- 
ness of Peloponnesus ; and that the moon 
was inhabited. The heavens he believed 
to be of stone, and the earth of similar 
materials. He at last was accused of 
impiety, and condemned to die; but he 
ridiculed the sentence, and said it had 
long been pronounced upon him by na- 
ture. He died in the 72d year of his age, 
428 B. C. Biog. Plut.—0£ this name 
there were others also of inferior note. 

Anaxander, of the family of 

the Heraclidse, was son of Eurycrates, 
and king of Sparta. The second Mes- 
senian war began in his reign, in which 
Aristomenes so egregiously signalized 
himself. Herodot. — A general of Mega- 
lopolis, taken by the Thebans. 

Anaxandrides, son of Leon, 
and father to Cleomenes 1st, and Leoni- 
das, was king of Sparta. — A comic poet 
of Rhodes, in the age of Philip and Alex- 
ander. He was the first poet who intro- 
duced intrigues and rapes upon the stage. 
He composed about a hundred plays, of 
which ten obtained the prize. He was 
starved to death by order of the Athe- 
nians, for satirizing their government. 
At. 

ANAXARCHUS,a philosopher of 

Abdera, one of the followers of Demo- 
critus, and the friend of Alexander. 
When the monarch had been wounded 
in a battle, the philosopher pointed to 
the place, adding, ' ' that is human blood, 
and not the blood of a god." The free- 
dom of Anaxarchus offended Nicocreon 
at Alexander's table, and the tyrant, 
in revenge, seized the philosopher, and 



ANA 



ANC 



pounded him in a stone mortar with iron 
hammers. He bore this with much re- 
signation, and exclaimed, " Pound the 
body of Anaxarchus ; for thou dost not 
pound his soul" Upon this, Nicocreon 
threatened to cut his tongue, and Anax- 
archus bit it off with his teeth, and spit 
i t out into the tyrant's face. Odd. — A 
Theban general. 

ANAXARETE,a girl of Salamis, 
who so arrogantly despised the addresses 
of Iphis, a youth of ignoble birth, that 
the lover hung himself at her door. She 
saw this sad spectacle without emotion 
or pity, and was changed into a stone. 
Ovid. Diog. &c. 

Anaxenor, a musician to 
whom Anthony presented the tribute of 
four cities. 

Anaxtas, a general among the 
Thcbans. 

Anaxibea, a daughter of Bias, 
brother to Melampus. She married Pe- 
lias, king of Iolchos. Apollod. She is 
called daughter of Dymas by Hygin. 

Anaxi crates, an Athenian 

archon, mentioned by Pausanias. 
Anaxidames succeeded his 

father Zeuxidamus cn the throne of 
Sparta. Pons. 

Anaxilas and Anaxilaes. 

The most remarkable of this name was 
a Messenian, tyrant of Rhegium, who 
took Zancle, and was so popular during 
his reign, that when he died, he left his 
iifant sons to the care of one of his ser- 
vants, whom the citizens chose rather 
to obey than revolt from their benevo- 
lent sovereign's children. Justin. 

Anaximander, a Milesian 
philosopher, the companion and disciple 
of Thales, w-as thefiist who constructed 
spheres, asserted that the earth was of a 
cylindrical form, and taught that men 
were born of earth and water mixed to- 
gether, and heated by the beams of the 
sun, that the earth moved, and that the 
moon received light from the sun. He 
made the first geographical maps and 
sun-dials. He died in the 64th year of 
his age, B. C. 547. Cic. 

Anaximenes, a philosopher, 
son of Erasistratus. He w r as the disciple 
of Anaximander, and succeeded him in 
his school. He said that the air was the 
cause of every created being, and a self- 
existent divinity, and that the sun, the 
moon, and thestars, had beenmadefroin 
the earth. He died 504 years B. C. Cic. 
— A native of Lampsacus, son of Aristo- 
eles. He was pupil to Diogenes the Cy- 
nic, and preceptor to Alexander the 
Great, of whose life, and that of Philip, 
he wrote the history. Besides the life of 
Philip,, he wrote a history of Greece, in 
12 books. Pa us. 

Axaxipolis. There were two 
of this name, living at Thasos one a 



writer of comedies, the other of agri- 
culture. 

Anaxippes, a comic writer in 

the age of Demetrius. He used to say 
that philosophers were wise only in their 
speeches, but fools in their actions. 
Athen. 

Anaxis, a Theban historian, 

author of a history to the time of Philip 
of Macedon. 

Anaxo, a virgin of Troezene, 
carried away by Theseus. Pint. 

AivciEEs. There are two re- 
corded of this name, both of whom were 
in the expedition of the Argonauts, and 
one succeeded Tiphis as pilot of the ship 
Argo ; he afterwards reigned in Ionia, 
where he married Samia, daughter of the 
Ma?ander. Grj'heus Argon. He was once 
told by a servant whom he pressed with 
hard labor in his vineyard, that he never 
would taste of the produce of his vines. 
He had already the cup in his hand, t ad 
called the pro'phet to convince him of 
his falsehood; when the servant, yet 
firm in his prediction, uttered this w'ell 
known proverb : 

IIoAAa uet&.Z'j ttsKei y.vKtHog y.txi 

■£Ei?.£cg axpou. 
Multa cadunt inter calicem supremaque 

labra. 

Aug. — There is many a slip between the 

cup and the lip. 
And that very moment Ancanis was told 
that a wild bcrr had entered his vine- 
yard ; upon which he threw down the 
cup, and ran to drive away the beast. 
He was killed in the attempt. 

An c a lit e s, a people of Britain 
near the Trinobantes. 

Anche moles, son of Ehcetus, 
king of the Marrubii, in Italy, ravished 
his mother-in-law, Casperia, for which 
he was expelled by Ins father. He fled 
to Turnus, and was killed by Pallas, son 
of Evander, in the wars of .rEneas against 
the Latins. Virg. 

Anchiale and Axchiala, a 
city on the sea-coast of Phoenicia. Sar- 
danapalus, the last king of Assyria, built 
it in one day. The founder was buried 
there, and had a statue, under which 
was a famous inscription, denoting the 
great dissipation which distinguished all 
his life. Plin. — There were two ether 
cities of this name, one in Thrace, and 
the other in Epirus. 

Axchimolius, a Spartan ge- 
neral sent against the Pisistratidse, and 
killed in the expedition. Herodot. — Ax 
son of Rhcetus. 

Ax chistoe. a daughter ofN-ilus, 
and wife of Belus. Apollod. 

Anchise, a city of Italy. 
Axchises, a son of Capys, by 

Themis, daughter of Ilus. He was of 
such a beautiful complexion, that Venus 



ANC 



AND 



came down from heaven on Mount Ida 
to enjoy his company. The goddess be- 
came pregnant, and forbade Anchises 
ever to mention the favors he had re- 
ceived, on pain of being struck with 
thunder. The child which Venus brought 
forth was called -Eneas; he was educated 
as soon as born by the nymphs of Ida, 
and,, when of a proper age,'was entrusted 
to the care of Chiron, the centaur. When 
Troy was taken, he accompanied his son 
in his voyage towards Italy, and died in 
Sicily in the 80th year of his age, and the 
anniversary of his death was afterwards 
celebrated by his son and the Trojans 
on his tomb on Mount Eryx. Some au- 
thors have maintained, that Anchises 
was struck blind with thunder because 
he forgot the injunctions of Venus, and 
boasted at a feast that he had enjoyed 
her favors. H»siod, ike. — Virgil, in the 
'3:h book of the JSneid, introduces him 
in the Elysian fields, relating to his son 
the fates that attended him, and the for- 
tune of his descendants, the Romans. 
[ Vid. .Eneas.] Virg. 

Axchisia, a mountain, at the 
foot of which stood the monument of 
Anchises. _ 

Anchisiades, a patronymic of 
JB&eas, as being son of Anchises. Virg. 

Axchoe, a lake. — A town 
near the mouth of the Cephisus. 

Axchurus, a son of Midas, 

king of Phrygia, who sacrificed himself 
tor the good of his country, when the 
earth had opened and swallowed up many 
buildings. The oracle had given for an- 
swer, that the gulf would never close if 
Midas did not throw into it that which 
he held most precious. Though the 
king had parted with many things of 
immense value, yet the gulf continued 
open, till Anchuvus, thinking himself 
the most precious of his father's posses- 
sions, took a lender leave of his wife and 
family, and leaped into the earth, which 
dosed immediately over his head. Putts. 

AxcIle and Axcyle, a sacred 
shield, which, according to the Roman 
authors, fell from heaven in the reign of 
Xuma, when the Roman people labored 
under a pestilence. The origin of the 
word may be collected from the follow- 
ing two verses of Ovid : 
Inque Anct/le vucat, quod ah omni parte 

recisum est, 
tyuemqtte notes oculis, angittus omnis 

abest. 

Upon the preservation of this shield de- 
pended the fate of the Roman empire. 
Xuma ordered il of the same form to be 
made ; that if any attempt to carry 01T 
the real one was made, it might be fo'und 
difficult to distinguish it. They were 
kept in the temple of Vesta, and an order 
of priests was chosen to watch over their 
safety. These priests were called Salii, 
and were twelve in number ; they carried 
every year, on the 1st of March, the 



shields in a solemn procession round the 
walls of Rome, dancing and singing 
praises to the god Mars. This Ancylio- 
r umfestum continued three days, during 
which everv important business was 
stopped. Virg. Odd. &c. 

Axcox and Axcona, a town 
of Picenum, built by the Sicilians, with 
a harbour in the form of a crescent, on 
the shores of the Adriatic. Pin. Luc. 

Axcus Martius, the 4th king 

of Rome, w r as grandson to Numa, by his 
daughter. He waged a successful war 
against the Latins, Veientes, Fidenates, 
Yolsci, and Sabines, and joined Mount 
Janiculum to the city by a bridge, and 
inclosed Mount Martius and the Aven- 
tiue within the walls of the city. He 
extended the confines of the Roman ter- 
ritories to the sea, where he built the 
town of Ostia,at the mouth of the Tiber. 
He inherited the valor of Romulus with 
the moderation of Numa. He died B.C. 
Gi 6, after a reign of 24 years, and was 
succeeded by Tarquin the elder. Lie. 
dec. 

AxcyR.E, a town in Phry- 
gia.— a town in Sicily. 

An da, a city of Africa. 

Axdabatje, certain gladiators 
who fought blindfolded. Cic. 

Andania, an Arcadian city, 
deriving its name from the Gulp, near 
which it is situated.— The birth-place of 
Philopcemen. 

Ande ga v i a, a country of Gaul, 
near the Turones and the ocean. Tacit. 

Axdes, a nation among the 
Celtaj. Cess. — A village of Italy, near 
Mantua, where Virgil was born. 

AxDocir^s, an Athenian ora- 
orr, w ho lived in the age of Socrates the 
philosopher, and was intimate with the 
most illustrious men of his age. Plu- 
tarch has written his life in 10 otat. 
Four of his orations are extant. 

Andragathls, a person, 
whom Lysander bribed to betray his 
country. 

Andr.emox, the father of 

Thoas, married Gorge, daughter of 
(Eneus, whom he succeeded on the 
throne of Calydon. He died at Am- 
phissa, where his tomb was still to be 
seen in the age of the Antonines. Homer. 
Apollod. 

Axdramyles, a king of Ly- 

dia,who castrated women, and made use 
of them as eunuchs. Athen. 

Andreas, a man of Panor- 

mum, who wrote an account of all the 
remarkable events that had happened in 
Sicily. Athen. 

Andriclus a river falling into 
the Scamander. — A mountain in Cilicia. 

Axdriclus, author of a hi- 
story of the Island of Naxos. 

C 5 



AND 



AND 



Axdriscus, a worthless person 

called Pseudo-philippus, on account of 
the likeness of his features to king Philip. 
He incited the Macedonians to revolt 
against Rome. He was conquered and 
led in triumph hy Metellus. Flor. 

AxdroclIa, a daughter of 
Antipcenus of Thebes. She, with her 
sister Alcida, sacrificed herself in the ser- 
vice of her country, when the oracle had 
promised the victory to her countrymen, 
who were engaged in a war against Or- 
chomenos, if any one of noble birth de- 
voted himself for the glory of his nation. 
Antipcenus refused to do it, and his 
daughters cheerfully accepted it. They 
received great honors after death. Pans. 

Axdroclides, a noble The- 

ban, who defended the democratical 
against the encroachments of the oligar- 
chical power. He was killed by one of 
his enemies. 

Axdroclus, the son of Cod- 
rus. He reigned in Ionia, and took 
Sarnos and Ephesus. 

AxDRocYDEs,a physician,who 
wrote the following letter to Alexander : 
—Vinum potaturus, Rex, memento te 
bibere sayiguinemterree, siciiti u&nenum 
est homini cicuta, sic et vinwn. Plin. 

Axdrodus, a slave, who in 

the Roman circus was recognised by a 
lion, from the foot of which he had ex- 
tracted a thorn. The history is related 
in full by Aulus Gellius. 

Andro&eos, son of Minos and 

Pasiphae, was famous for wrestling. He 
overcame every antagonist at Athens, 
and became the favorite of the people. 
JEgeus, king of Athens, grew jealous of 
his popularity, and caused him to he 
assassinated as he was going to Thebes. 
Some say that he was killed by the wild 
bull of Marathon. Minos declared war 
against Athens to revenge the death of 
his son ; and peace was at last re-esta- 
blished, on condition that iEgeus sent 
yearly seven boys and seven girls from 
Athens to Crete, to be devoured by the 
minotaur. [ Vid. Minotaurus.] Virgil. 
Ac. 

Ax D R o G Y x jE, a nation of 

Africa, bearing the characteristics of the 
male and female sex, one of their breasts 
being that of a man, and the other that 
of a woman. Plin. 

Andromache, daughter of 

Eetion, king of Thebes in Cilicia, mar- 
ried Hector, son of Priam, king of Troy, 
by whom she had Astyanax. During 
the Trojan war she remained employed 
in her domestic concerns. Her parting 
with Hector has always been deemed 
the best and most pathetic of all the 
^passages in Homer's Iliad. She received 
the news of her husband's death with 
extreme sorrow; and, after the taking 
of Troy, she had the misfortune to see 



her only son Astyanax thrown headlong, 
by Neoptolemus, from the walls of the 
city. (Seneca in Troad.) In the division 
of the prisoners by the Greeks, she fell 
to the share of Neoptolemus, who treated 
her as his wife, and carried her to Epirus, 
He afterwards repudiated her, and she 
then married Helenus, son of Priam, 
who,as herself, was a captive of Pyrthus. 
Hornet: &c. She reigned with her hus- 
band over part of the country, and she 
received there .Eneas and his* followers, 
on their w^ay to Italy. Homer. Vxrg. ^c. 

Axdromachus. There were 
many of this name, the mostremarkable 
of whom was a general of Alexander, to 
whom Parmenio gave the government 
of Syria. He was burnt alive by the Sa- 
maritans. Curt. 

Axdromeda, a daughter of 
Cepheus, king of .Ethiopia, by Cassiope. 
She was promised in marriage to Phi- 
neus,her uncle, when Neptune drowned 
the kingdom, and sent a sea monster to 
ravage the country, because Cassiope had 
boasted herself fairer than Juno and the 
Nereides. The oracle of Jupiter Am- 
nion was consulted, and nothing could 
stop the resentment of Neptune if An- 
dromeda was not exposed to the sea 
monster. She was accordingly tied naked 
on a rock, and at the moment that the 
monster was going to devour her, Per- 
seus, who returned through the air from 
the conquest of the Gorgons, saw her, 
and was captivated with her beauty. He 
promised to deliver her, and destroy the 
monster, if he received her in marriage 
as a reward for his trouble. Cepheus con- 
sented. andPerseus changed the sea mon- 
ster in to a rock ,by shewing him Medusa's 
head, and untied Andromeda, and mar- 
ried her. The marriage was opposed bv 
Phineus, who, after a bloody battle, was 
changed into a stone by Perseus. Some 
say that Minerva made Andromeda a 
constellation in heaven after her death. 
[Vid. Medusa, Perseus.] Cic. &c. 

Axdrox. The most remarkable 
of this name was a man set over the 
citadel of Syracuse by Dionysius. Her- 
mocrates advised him to revolt from the 
tyrant, which he refused to do. The 
tyrant put him to death for not discover- 
ing that Hermocrates had incited him 
to rebellion. Poly an. 

Andronicus. The most 

notable of this name was a peripatetic 
philosopher of Rhodes, who flourished 
59 years B. C. He was the first who 
published and revised the works of Ari- 
stotle and Theophrastus. His peri- 
phrasis is still extant. Livius. [Vid. 
Livius.] — An Athenian astronomer, who 
erected a marble octagonal tower to the 
eight principal winds, on which was 
placed a Triton by way of a weather-cock . 

Axdrophagi, a savage nation 
of European Scythia. Herodot.^ 

Axdropompus, a native of 



A'NGr 



ANN 



Thebes, who by a fraud killed Xanthus 
In single combat. 

ANDUOS,an island in the iEgean 
sea, known by the different names of 
Enagrys, Antandros, Lasia, Caurcs, Hy- 
drussa, Nonagria. Its chief town was 
called Andros. 

Axdrosthexes, one of Alex- 
ander's generals. — A governor of Thes- 
saly, who favored the interests of Pom- 
pey. He was conquered by J.Caesar. 
Cces. 

Axeloxtis, a river near Co- 
lophon. 

Axeuastus, a king of Gaul. 
Axfixomus and Axapius, 

two wealthy brothers, who neglected all 
their possessions to save the life of their 
aged parents from the consuming lava of 
.Etna. The fire, adds the fabulous hi- 
story, spared them while it consumed 
others by their side. Stmb. Arist. 

Axgelia, one of the daughters 
of Mercury. 

Axgeliox, the statuary who 
made the statue of Apollo at Delphi. 

Axglt, a people of Germany, at 
the north of the Elbe, from whom, as 
being a branch of the Saxons, the En- 
glish have derived their name. Tacit. 

Ax git it I a, a wood in the coun- 
try of the Marsi, between the lake Fuci- 
mis and Alba. Serpents, it is said, could 
not injure the inhabitants, because they 
were descended from Circe, whose power 
over these venomous creatures has been 
much celebrated. Virg. 

Ax i A, a Roman widow, cele- 
brated for her beauty. One of her 
friends advised her to marry again. 
*' No," said she, " if I marry a man as 
affectionate as my first husband, 1 shall 
be apprehensive lor his death ; and if he 
is bad, why have him, after such a kind 
and indulgent one ?" 

Axicius Gallus triumphed 
over the lllyrians and their king Gen- 
tius,and was propraetor of Rome,A.U.C. 
585.— A consul with Corn. Cethegus, 
A. U. C. 594. — Probus, a Roman coimil 
in the fourth century, famous for his 
Tmmanity. 

AxiGTtus, a river of Thessaly, 
where che Centaurs washed the wounds 
which they had received from Hercules, 
and made the waters unwholesome. Ovid. 
The nymphs of this river are called Ani- 
gviades. 

Axio and Axiex, a river of 

Italy, flowing through the country of 
Tibur, and falling into the river Tiber, 
about five miles to the north of Rome. 
It receives its name from Anius, a king 
of Etruria, who drowned himself there. 
Stat. &c. 

Axitorgis, a city of Spain, 



near v/hich a battle was fought between 
Asdrubal and the Scipios. Liv. 

Axius, son of Apollo and Rhea, 
was king of Delos, and father of Andrus. 
He had by Dorippe three daughters, 
Oeno, Spermo, and Elais, to whom Bac- 
chus had given the power of changing 
whatever they pleased into wine, corn, 
and oil. When Agamemnon went to the 
Trojan war, he wished to carry them 
with him to supply his army with pro- 
visions ; but they complained to Bac- 
chus, who changed them into doves. 
Ovid. 

Axxa, a goddess, in whose ho- 
nor the Romans instituted festivals. She 
was, according to some,Anna,the daugh- 
ter of Belus and sister of Dido, who, af- 
ter her sister's death, fled from Carthage, 
which Jarbas had besieged, and came to 
Italy, where /Eneas met her as he walked 
on the banks of the Tiber, and gave her 
an honorable reception for the kindness 
she had shown to him when he w T as at 
Carthage. In consequence of the jea- 
lousy of Lavinia, she fled to the river 
Numicus, of which she became a deity. 
Her festivals were celebrated the 16th of 
March, and sacrifices were offered to her 
under the name of Anna Perenna, to 
obtain a long and happy life : and hence 
the words Annare Perennare. The 
ancients entertained different opinions 
respecting this goddess. 

Anna Comxexa, a princess of 

Constantinople, known to the world for 
the Gresk history which she wrote of her 
father Alexius, emperor of the east. 
Gibbon says, that an elaborate affecta- 
tion of rhetoric and science betrays in 
every page the vanity of a female author. 

Annales, a chronological his- 
tory, which gives an account of all the 
important events of every year in a 
state, without entering into the causes 
which produced them. The Annals of 
Tacitus may be considered in this light. 

Axxibal, a celebrated Cartha- 
ginian general, son of Amilear. He was 
educated in his father's camp.and enured 
from his early years to the labors of the 
field. He passed into Spain when nine 
years old, and, at the request of his fa- 
ther, took a solemn oath he never would 
be at peace with the Romans. After his 
father's death ,he was appointed over the 
cavalry in Spain ; and some time after, 
upon the death of Asdrubal, he was in- 
vested with the command of all the 
armies of Carthage,thcugh not yet in the 
25th year of his age. In three years of 
continual success, he subdued all the 
nations of Spain which opposed the Car- 
thaginian power, and took Saguntum, 
after a siege of eight months. This was 
the cause of the second Punic war. He 
levied three large armies, one of which 
he sent to Africa, he left another in 
Spain, and marched at the head of the 
third towards Italy. He came to the 



ANN 



ANT 



Alps, deemed almost inaccessible, and 
gained the top in nine days, having 
softened the rocks with fire and vinegar. 
After he had defeated P. Corn. Scipio 
and Sempronius, near the Rhone, the 
Po, and the Trebia , he crossed the Apen- 
nines, and invaded Etruria. He de- 
feated the consul Flaminius, near the 
lake Trasimenus, and soon after met 
the two consuls, C. Terentius and L. 
/Emilius, at Cannas. His army con- 
sisted of 40,0' foot, and 10,000 horse, 
when he engaged the Romans at the 
celebrated battle of Canna?. No less 
than 40,000 Romans were killed ; and, 
as a sign of his victory, he sent to Car- 
thage three bushels of gold rings which 
had been taken from 5630 Roman 
knights slain in the battle. He did not 
make a proper use of his victory by not 
inarching immediately to Rome, which 
gave the enemy some respite, and con- 
tributed to renovate their spirits ; but 
retired to Capua, which, on account of 
its pleasures and luxury, became a Can- 
nes toYAm. After the battle of Cannae 
the Romans became more cautious; and, 
after many important debates in the se- 
nate, it was decreed that war should be 
carried into Africa, to remove Annibal 
from the gates of Rome ; and Scipio, 
who proposed the p!an, was empowered 
to put it into execution. This recalled 
Annibal from Italy. The seat of war 
being thus transferred, he and Scipio 
met near Carthage, and determined to 
come to a general engagement. The 
battle was fought near Zama : Scipio 
made a great slaughter of the enemy, 
20,000 were killed, and the same number 
made prisoners. Annibal, after he had 
lost the day , fled to Adrumetnm, after- 
wards to Syria, to king Antiochus,whom 
he advised to make war against Rome. 
Antiochus being conquered by the Ro- 
mans, and distrusting Annibal, agreed 
ro deliver him up to them; being ap- 
prised of this, Annibal left the court of 
Antiochus, and fled to Prusias, king of 
Bithynia, whom he encouraged to de- 
clare* war against Rome. The senate 
having received intelligence that An- 
nibal was in Bithynia, immediately sent 
ambassadors to demand him of Prusias. 
The king was u willing to betray An- 
nibal, though he dreaded the power of 
Rome ; but Annibal extricated him from 
his embarrassment by taking a dose of 
poison which he always carried with him 
in a ring on his finger. As he breathed 
hislast he exclaimed Solvamus diuturna 
cv.ra populam Romanian, quando mortem 
senisexpectarelongnmccnset. He died in 
his 70th year, according to some, about 
182 years B.C. That year was famous 
for the death of the three greatest gene- 
rals of the age, Annibal, Scipio, find 
I'iiilopoemeu. Livy has painted the cha- 
racter of Annibal like an enemy ; and it 
is much to be lamented that a great hi- 
storian has withheld the tribute due to 
the merits and virtues of the greatest 
general. Liv. &c< — The son of the great 



Annibal was sent by Himilco to Lily- 
baeum, which was besieged by the Ro- 
mans, to keep the Sicilians in their duty. 
Polyb.— There were also other Cartha- 
ginians of inferior note of this name. 

An nicer is, who from being 
actuated with the desire of excelling in 
driving a chariot, became a philosopher, 
and established a sect at Cyrene, which 
taught that all good consisted in plea- 
sure. 

Annius Scapula, a Roman 

of great dignity, put to death for con- 
spiring against Cassius. Hiri. Alex. 

Anno and Hanno. This name 
has been common to many Carthaginians 
who signalized themselves among their 
countrymen during the Punic wars 
against Rome, and in their wars against 
the Sicilians. The most conspicuous, 
hov 'ever, is the general who was con- 
quered in Spain by Scipio, and sent to 
Rome. He was the son of Bomilcar, 
whom Annibal sent privately over the 
Rhone to conquer the Gauls.' Liv. 

Anser, a Roman poet, ridiculed 
by Ovid, Virgil, and Propertius. 

Ansibarii, a people of Ger- 
main-. Tacit. 

Antjea, the wife of Proteus. 

Homer. 

AxTiEus, a king of Scythia, 
who said that the neighing of a horse was 
far preferable to the music of Istmenias, 
a famous musician, who had been taken 
captive. Phct. 

Antaeus, a giant of Lixus, in 

Libya ; son of Terra and Neptune. He 
was so strong in wrestling, that he 
boasted that he would erect a temple to 
his father with the skulls of his con- 
quered antagonists. Hercules attacked 
him, and, as he received new strength 
from his mother as often as he touched 
the ground, the hero lifted him up in 
the air, and squeezed him to death in his 
arms. J a v. — A friend of Turnus killed 
by .Eneas. 

ANTAGORAS. The most re- 
markable of this name was a Rhodian 
poet, much admired by Antigonus. One 
day, as he was cocking some flsh, the 
king asked him whether Homer ever 
dressed any meals when he was recording 
the actions of Agamemnon. " And do 
youthmk," replied the poet, "that he 

U, KtZOl t' STTlTSTpOC^XXTOCl y.OLl TZCCOL 

y.E[AYiXs y ever inquired whether any in- 
dividual dressed fish in his army ?" Plut. 

Antalcidas of Sparta, son of 
Leon, was sent into Persia, where he 
made a peace with Artaxerxes very dis- 
advantageous to his country, by which, 
B. C 387, the Greek cities of Asia be- 
came tributary to the Persian monarch. 
Plut. 

Antander, a brother of Aga- 

thocles, tyrant of Sicily. Justin. 



ANT 



ANT 



Axtaxdros, a city of Troas, 
inhabited by the Leleges, near which 
.-Eneas built his fleet after the destruc- 
tion of Troy. Virg. 

Axteius Publius was ap- 
pointed over Syria, by Nero. He was 
accused of sedition and conspiracy, and 
drank poison, which, operating slowly, 
obliged him to open his veins. Tacit. 

Axtemxje, a city of the Sa- 
bines, between Rome and the Anio. 
Virg. 

Antexius, a celebrated sculp- 
tor, architect, &c. distinguished for the 
erection of the church of St. Sophia, at 
Constantinople, assisted by Isidorus, un- 
der the auspices of the emperor Jus- 
tinian. Gibbon has given an elegant 
description of this famous edifice. Ro- 
man Hist. c. 40. 

AxtEXOR, a Trojan prince, re- 
lated to Priam. It is said that, during 
the Trojan war, he always kept a secret 
correspondence with the Greeks. In the 
council of Priam, Homer introduces him 
as advising the Trojans to restore Helen, 
and conclude the war. He advised Ulys- 
ses to carry away the Trojan palladium, 
and encouraged the Greeks to make the 
wooden horse, which, at his persuasion, 
was brought into the city of Troy by a 
breach made in the walls. .-Eneas has 
been accused of being a partner of his 
guilt. After the destruction of his coun- 
try, Antenor migrated to Italy, near the 
Adriatic, where he built Padua. Virg, 
Horner. 

Ax t enid ores , a patronymic 
given to the thiee sons of Antenor, all 
killed during the Trojan war. Virg. 

AxTEROS, (<r,T< epwg against 
love) , a son of Mars and Venus. He did 
not, as the name imports, preside over 
an opposition to love, but he was the 
god of mutual love, &e. Venus had 
complained to Themis that her son Cu- 
pid always continued a child, and was 
told that, if he had another brother, he 
would grow up in a short space of time. 
As soon as Anteroswas born, Cupid felt 
his strength increase, and his wings en- 
large ; but, if ever his brother was at a 
distance from hirn, he found himself re- 
duced to his ancient shape. From this 
circumstance it is seen that return of 
passion gives vigor to love. They were 
always painted in the Greek academies, 
to inform the scholars that it is their 
immediate duty to be grateful to their 
teachers, and to reward their troubles 
with love and reverence. Cic — A gram- 
marian of Alexandria in the age of the 
emperor Claudius. 

Ax the as, a son of Eumelus, 
killed in attempting to sow corn fiom 
the chariot of Triptolemus drawn by 
dragons. Pans. 

Axthedox, a city of Bceotia, 
formerly inhabited by Thraciaus. Horn. 



Ax themis, an island in the 
Mediterranean, the same as the Ionian 
Sam os. Strab. 

Anthemus, a city of Mace- 
donia. 

Anthemusia, a city of Meso- 
potamia*. 

Anthene, a town of Pelopon- 
nesus. 

Ax thermits, a Chian sculp- 
tor. He and his brother Bupalus made 
a statue of the poet Hipponax, which 
caused universal laughter, on account of 
the deformity of its countenance. The 
poet, upon this, inveighed with so much 
bitterness against the statuaries, that 
they hung themselves. Plin. 

AXTHESPHORIA, festivals ce- 
lebrated in Sicily, in honor of Proser- 
pine, who was carried away by Pluto as 
she was gathering flowers. Claud. — Also 
at Argos, in honor of Juno, who was 
called Antheia. Paus. 

A nth esteria , festivals in ho- 
nor of Bacchus, among the Greeks, ce- 
lebrated in the month Anthesterion, 
whence the name is derived. They con- 
tinued three days. The best drinker 
was rewarded with a crown of leaves, 
or rather of gold, and with a cask of 
wine, and the slaves had the permission 
of being merry and free during these 
festivals. On the second day it was cus- 
tomary to ride out on chariots, and ridi- 
cule the passers by. Mlian. 

Axthetjs, a son of Antenor, 
much esteemed by Paris. — One of the 
companions of JEneas. Virg. 

AxthIa, a sister of Priam, 
seized by the Greeks. She compelled 
the people of Pallene to burn their ships, 
and built Scione. Polycen. 

Anthium a city of Italy 

A town of Thrace, called afterwards 
Apollonia. 

Axthitjs, (ftoxvery), a name of 
Bacchus worshipped at Athens. 

AxthOres, a companion of 
Hercules, who followed Evandc-r, and 
settled in Italy. He was killed in the 
war of Turnus" against vEneas. Virg. 

Anthropophagi, a people 

of Scythia that fed on human flesh. 
They lived near the country of the Mes- 
sageta?. Pun. 

Axthylla, a city of Egypt, 

on the Canopic mouth of the Nile' It 
maintained the queens of the country in 
shoes, or, according to Athenaeus I. in 
girdles. Hcroibit. 

AXTIA LEX was, for the sup- 
pression of luxury at Rome, enacted 
by Antius Restio, who fifrerwards never 
supped abroad for fear of being himself 
a witness of the profusion and extrava- 
gance which his law meant to destroy, 
but without effect. 



ANT 



ANT 



Antias, the goddess of fortune, 
shiefly worshipped at Antiura. 

Anticlea, a daughter of Au- 
tolyeus and Amphithea. Her father, 
who was a famous robber, permitted 
Sisyphus, son of iEoius, to enjoy the 
favors of his daughter, and Anticlea was 
really pregnant of Ulysses when she mar- 
ried "Laertes, king of Ithaca. Laertes 
was nevertheless the reputed father of 
Ulysses. Ulysses is reproached by Ajax 
in Ovid. Met. as being the son of Sisy- 
phus. It is said that Anticlea killed her- 
self when she heard a false report of her 
son's death. Homer. — A daughter of 
Diocles, who married Machaon, the son 
of ^Esculapius, by whom she had Nieo- 
aiachus and Gorgasus. Pans. 

Anticles, an Athenian victor 
at the Olympian games. — A person, who 
conspired with Hermolaus against the 
life of Alexander. 

An t i cl IDE s,aGreek historian , 
whose works are now lost. They are 
often quoted by Athenceus $ Plut. in 
Ales. 

Anticyra, two towns of 
Greece, the one in Phoeis, and the other 
near Mount Oeta, both famous for the 
hellebore which they produced. This 
plant was of infinite service to cure dis- 
eases, and particularly insanity; hence 
the proverb Naviget Aniicyram. Hoi . 
&c. 

Antidottjs, an excellent 

painter, pupil of Euphranon. PI in. 

ANTiGENES,one of Alexander's 
generals, publicly rewarded for his valor. 
Curt, 

Antigen id as, a famous mu- 
sician of Thebes, disciple to Philoxenus. 

Axtig .xa, daughter of Bere- 
nice, was wife to king Pyrrhus. Plut. 

Antigone, daughter of (Edi- 
pus king of Thebes, by his mother Jo- 
easta. She buried by night her brother 
Polvnices, against the positive orders of 
Creon,who, when he heard of it, ordered 
her to be buried alive. She however 
killed herself before the sentence was 
executed ; and Ksemon, the king's son, 
who was passionately fond of her, and 
had not been able to obtain her pardon, 
killed himself on her grave. The death 
of Antigone is the suojeet of one of the 
tragedies of Sophocles. The Athenians 
were so pleased" with it at the first repre- 
sentation, that they presented the author 
with the government of Saraos. This 
tragedy was represented 32 times at 
Athens without interruption. Sophocl. 
&e. — A daughter of Laomedon. She 
was the sister of Priam,and was changed 
into a stork for comparing herself to 
Juno. Ovid. 

Antigonia, a name common 
to six different towns in Europe and 
Asia. 



ANTiGONUS^oneof Alexanders 
generals, supposed to be the illegitimate 
son of Philip. In the division of the 
provinces after Alexander's death, he 
received Pamphylia,Lycia, and Phrygia. 
He united with Antipaterand Ptolemy, 
to destroy Perdiccas and Eumenes ; and, 
after the death of Perdiccas, he made 
continual war against Eumenes, whom, 
after three years of various fortune, he 
took prisoner, and ordered to be starved. 
He afterwards declared war against Cas- 
sander, whom he conquered. He obliged 
Seleucus to retire from Syria, and fly 
for refuge and safety to Egypt. Pto- 
lemy, who had established himself in 
Egypt, promised to defend Seleucus; 
and, from that time, all friendship 
ceased between Ptolemy and Antigonus, 
and a new war was begun, in which De- 
metrius, the son of Antigonus, con 
quered the fleet of Ptolemy, near the 
island of Cyprus, and took 16.000 men 
prisoners, and sunk 200 ships. After 
this famous naval battle, which hap- 
pened 26 years after Alexander's death, 
Antigonus and his son assumed the title 
of kings, and their example was followed 
by all the rest of Alexander's generals. 
The power of Antigonus was now be- 
come so formidable, that Ptolemy, Se- 
leucus, Cassander, and Lysimachus, 
combined together to destroy him ; yet 
Antigonus despised them, and said that 
he would disperse them as birds. He 
attempted to enter Egypt, in vain, and 
gained many victories over them ; but, 
at last, he received so many wounds in 
a battle that he could not survive them, 
and died in the soth year of his age, 301 
B. C. During his life he was master of 
all Asia Minor, as far as Syria. — There 
were many others of this name, two of 
them kings of Macedonia, and one of 
Judea. Justin. &c. 

Antilco, tyrant of Colchis. 

At his death the principal citizens esta- 
blished an oligarchy. 

Antilibantjs, a mountain of 
Syria, opposite Mount Libanus, near 
which the Orontes flows. Strab. 

Antilochus, a Trojan, bribed 

by Paris to oppose the restoration of 
Helen to the Greek ambassadors, Mene- 
laus and Ulysses. — A king of Messenia. — 
The eldest son of Nestor by Eurydice. 
He went to the Trojan war with his 
father, and was killed by Memnon, the 
son of Aurora. Hyginus mentions 
(fab. 252.) that he was exposed on the 
day of his birth, on Mount Ida, and 
preserved by a bitch. 

Antimachus. The most Ce- 
lebrated of this name was a Greek poet 
of Ionia, in the age of Socrates. He 
wrote a treatise on the age and genea- 
logy of Homer, and proved him to be a 
native of Colophon. He repeated one 
of his compositions before a large au- 
dience, but'his diction was so obsciire 



ANT 



ANT 



and unintelligible that all retired except 
Plato ; upon which he said, Legam nihil- 
ominus, Plato enim mild est unus instar 
omnium. He wrote a poem upon the 
Theban war ; and, before he had brought 
his heroes to the city of Thebes, he had 
filled 24 volumes. Pans. — A Trojan, 
whom Paris bribed to oppose the re- 
storing of Helen to Menelaus and Ulys- 
ses, who had come as ambassadors to 
recover her. His sons, Hippolochus and 
Pisander, were killed by Agamemnon. 
Horner.— A native of Heliopolis, who 
wrote a poem on the creation of the 
world, in 3780 verses.— A son of Her- 
cules by Eleuchea, the daughter of Thes- 
pius. Apollod. 

Antinoeia, annual sacrifices, 
and quinquennial games, in honor of 
Antinous, instituted by the emperor 
Adrian, at Mantinea, where Antinous 
was worshipped as a divinity. 

Antinous, a youth of Bithy- 
nia, so great a favorite of the emperor 
Adrian, that, at his death, he erected 
a temple to him, and wished it to be 
believed that he had been changed into 
a constellation.— A native of Ithaca, son 
cf Eupeithes. He was one of Penelope's 
suitors, brutal and cruel in his manners. 
He advised his companions to destroy 
Telemachus, whose advice comforted 
his mother Penelope. When Ulysses 
returned home, he came to the palace 
in a beggar's dress, and begged for bread, 
which Antinous refused, and even struck 
him. After Ulysses had discovered him- 
self to Telemachus and Eumaeus, he at- 
tacked the suitors, who were ignorant 
who he was, and killed Antinous among 
the first. Homer. 

Antiochia, a name common 
to several Asiatic cities; the most fa- 
mous of which is that of Syria, once the 
third city in the world for beauty, great- 
ness, and population. It was built by 
Antiochus and Seleucus Nicanor, partly 
on a hill, and partly in a plain. It has 
the river Orontes in its neighbourhood, 
with a celebrated grove called Daphne ; 
whence, for the sake of distinction, it 
has been called Antic chia, near Daphne. 
Dionys. 

Antiochis, mother of Antio- 
chus the son of Seleucus. 

Antiochus, a name common 

to eleven kings of Syria, the most cele- 
brated of whom was Antiochus III. sur- 
named the Great, brother to Seleucus 
Ceraunus. He was defeated by Ptolemy 
Philopater, at Raphia, after which he 
made war against Persia, and took 
Sardes. After the death of Philopater 
he endeavoured to crush his infant son 
Epiphanes ; but his guardians solicited 
the aid of the Romans, and Antiochus 
was compelled to resign his pretensions. 
He conquered the greatest part of Greece, 
of which some cities implored the aid of 
Rome; and Annibal, who had taken re- 



fuge at his court, encouraged him to 
make war against Rome. He was glad 
to find himself supported by the abilities 
of such a general ; but his measures being 
dilatory, and not agreeable to the advice 
of Annibal, he was conquered, and 
obliged to retire beyond Mount Taurus, 
and pay a yearly fine of 2000 talents to 
the Romans. His revenues being unable 
to pay the fine, he attempted to plunder 
the temple of Belus, in Susiana, which 
so incensed the inhabitants, that they 
killed him, with his followers, 187 years 
before the Christian aera, after he had 
reigned &6 years. In his character of 
king, Antiochus was humane and liberal, 
the patron of learning, and the friend of 
merit ; and he published an edict order- 
ing his subjects never to obey, except 
his commands were consistent with the 
laws of the country. He had three sons, 
Seleucus Philopater, Antiochus Epi- 
phanes, and Demetrius. The first suc- 
ceeded him, and the two others were 
kept as hostages by the Romans. Just . 
Liv. — They were all distinguished by 
the following surnames, Soter. Theos, 
the Great ; Epiphanes, or illustrious ; 
Entheus, or noble ; Sidelas, Grypus, 
Cyzonicus, Pius, and Asiaticus. The 
last being deposed by Pompey the Great 
B. C. 65. Syria became a Roman pro- 
vince, and the race of Antiochus was 
extinguished. — The tutor of Lucullus, 
Brutus, Cicero, and other eminent per- 
sons. — A sophist, who, conscious of the 
violence of his own passions, refused to 
undertake the government of a state.— 
A sculptor, who made the statue of Pal- 
las, preserved in the Ludovisi Gardens. 
— Son of Xenophanes, author of a hi- 
story of Sicily, beginning with the age 
of Cocalus. — There are also many 
other illustrious men of this name, 
kings, generals, &e. recorded in the 
writings of the ancients. 

An t i ope , daughter of Nycteus, 
king of Thebes, was beloved by Jupiter, 
who, to deceive her, changed himself 
into a satyr. She became pregnant, and, 
to avoid the resentment of her father, 
she fled to Mount Cytheron, where she 
brought forth twins, Amphion and Ze- 
thus. She was afterwards deprived of 
her senses by Bacchus. In this forlorn 
situation she wandered all over Greece, 
and at last found relief from Phocus, son 
of Ornytion, who cured her of her dis- 
order, and married her. Ovid. &c. — A 
daughter of Mars, queen of the Ama- 
zons, taken prisoner by Hercules, and 
given in marriage to Theseus. She is 
also called Hippolyte. [Vid. Hippolyte.] 
Ant I par os, an island in the 
Egean sea, opposite Paros ; remarkable 
for a vast cavern, or grotto. 

Antipater, son of Iolaus, was 
soldier under king Philip, and raised to 
the rank of a general under Alexander 
the Great. When Alexander went to 
invade Asia, he left Antipater supreme 



ANT 



ANT 



governor of Macedonia,and of all Greece. 
Antipater exerted himself in the cause 
uf his king ; he made war against Sparta, 
and was soon after called into Persia, 
with a reinforcement, by Alexander. — 
After Alexander's death, his generals 
divided the empire among themselves, 
and Macedonia was allotted to Antipater. 
The wars which Greece, and chiefly 
Athens, had meditated during Alexan- 
der's life, now burst forth with uncom- 
mon fury as soon as the news of his 
death was received. The Athenians 
levied an army of 30,000 men, and 
equipped 20J ships against Antipater, 
who was master of Macedonia. Their 
expedition was attended with much suc- 
cess. Antipater was routed in Thessaly, 
and even besieged in the town of Lamia. 
But when Leosthenes, the Athenian 
general; was mortally wounded under 
the walls of Lamia, the fortune of the 
war was changed. Antipater obliged the 
enemy to raise the siege, and soon after 
received a reinforcement from Craterus, 
from Asia, with which he conquered 
the Athenians at Cranon, in Thessaly. 
After this defeat, Antipater and Crate- 
rus granted peace to the Athenians, on 
the 'conditions which Lecsthsnes had 
proposed to Antipater when besieged in 
Lamia, i. e. that he should be absolute 
master over them. Besides this, An- 
tipater demanded that the orators De- 
mosthenes and Hyperides, whose elo- 
quence had inflamed the minds of their 
countrymen, and had been the primary 
causes of the war, should be delivered 
into his hands. The conditions were 
accepted. Antipater and Craterus were 
the first who made hostile preparations 
against Perdiccas ; and,during that time, 
Polyperchon was appointed over Mace- 
donia. Polvperchon defeated the Mto- 
lians, who had made an invasion upon 
Macedonia. Antipater gave assistance 
to Eumenes. in Asia, against Autigonus, 
according to Justin. At his death, B. C. 
319, Antipater appointed Polyperchon 
master of all his possessions." But his 
son, Cassander, was of too aspiring a 
disposition tamely to obey his father's 
injunctions. He recovered Macedonia, 
and made himself absolute. Curt.— 
A Sidonian knprovisatore, who is said 
to have had a fever every birth-day. 
Several of his epigrams are inserted in 
the Antholog: a. — A king of Macedon, 
whose reign lasted only 45 days. There 
were also many other men of this name 
conspicuous among the ancients. 

Ax tip atria, a city of Mace- 
donia. Liv. 

Axtipatris, a city of Pales- 
tine. 

Axtiphaxes, a comic poet of 
Rhodes, or rather of Smyrna, who wrote 
above 90 comedies, and died in the 7-ith „ 
year of his age, by the fall of an apple 
upon his head. 

Axtiphates, a king of the 



Leestiygoues. Ulysses, returning from 
Troy," came upon his coasts, and sent 
three men to examine the country. 
Antiphates devoured one of them, and 
pursued the others, and sunk the fleet 
of Ulysses with stones, except the ship 
in which Ulysses was. Ovid. 

Antjphili Port us. a harbour 
in the Red Sea on the side of Africa. 

Axtiphilus, a noble painter, 
who represented a youth leaning over 
a fire and blowing it, from which the 
whole house seemed to be illuminated. 
He was an Egyptian bv birth, and imi- 
tated Apelles. * Plin. 

An tip hox. The most re- 
markable of this name were an orator 
who promised Philip, king of Mace- 
donia, that he would set on fire the cita- 
del of Athens, for which he was put 
to death at the instigation cf Demo- 
sthenes. Pint. and — A poet of Attica, 

who wrote tragedies, epic poems, and 
orations. Dionysius put him to death 
because he refused to praise his compo- 
sitions. Being once asked by the tyrant 
what brass was the best, he answered, 
that v. iih which the statues of [Hrf.] 
Harmcdius and Aristogiton are made. 
Pint. 

AyiirHOxrs, a son of Priam, 

who went with his father to the tent of 
Achilles to redeem Hector. Homer. 

Axtiphus. The most re- 
markable of this name is a brother of 
Ctimenusj and sen of Ganyctor, the 
Naupactian. These two brothers mur- 
dered the poet Hesiod, on the false sus- 
picion that he had offered violence to 
their sister, and threw his body into the 
sea. The poet's dog discovered them, 
and they were seized and convicted of 
the murder. Plut. 

Axtipcexus, a noble Theban, 
whose daughters sacrificed themselves 
for the public safety. [Fid. Androclea.j 

Antipoxis, a city of Gaul, 
built by the people of Marseilles, on the 
coast of the Mediterranean, nine miles 
to the west of Nice. 

Axtierhiu:>i, a promontory 
of yEtolia. about a mile distant from the 
opposite shore of Rhium, in Peloponne- 
sus : whence the name. These two pro- 
montories form the Dardanelles of Le- 
panto, the modern name of the bay of 
Corinth. Strab. 

AifTiSTHENES, a philosopher 
who taught rhetoric, and had among his 
pupils the famous Diogenes ; but when 
he had heard Socrates he shut up his 
school,and told his pupils, " Go seek for 
yourselves a master, I have now found 
one." He was the head of the sect of the 
Cynic philosophers. One of his pupils 
asked him what philosophy had taught 
him ? ''To live with myself," said he. 
He sold his all, and preserved only a 
very ragged coat, which drew the zU 



ANT 



ANT 



tendon of Socrates, and tempted him to 
say to the Cynic, who carried his con- 
tempt of dress too far, *' Antisthenes, I 
see thy vanity through the holes of thy 
coat." Antisthenes taught the unity of 
God, but he recommended suicide. Some 
of his letters are extant. He flourished 
39G vears B. C. Cic. — An historian of 
Rhodes. Biog. 

Axtistitjs Labeo, an excel- 
lent lawyer at Rome, who defended the 
liberties of his country against Augus- 
tus, for which he is taxed with madness 
by Horat. l Sat. 

Antitausus, one of the 
branches of mount Taurus, in Asia 
Minor, running in a north-east direction 
through Cappadocia, towards Armenia 
and the Euphrates. 

Axtium, a maritime town of 
Italy, built upon a promontory 32 miles 
from Ostium. It was the capital of the 
Volsci. Camillus took it, and carried 
all the beaks of their ships to Rome, and 
placed them in the Forum, on a tribu- 
nal, which, from thence, was called R os- 
tium. This town was dedicated to the 
goddess of fortune. The emperor Nero 
was born here. Ovid. 

AntomENES a king of Corinth, 
at whose death magistrates with sove- 
reign authority were chosen every year. 

A xt oni a Lex a law which 
made it capital to propose ever after the 
ejection of a Dictator, and for any per- 
son to accept of the office. 

Ah T ONI A. The name of some 
eminent Roman ladies, the most re- 
markable of whom was the wife of Dru- 
sus, the son of Livia, and brother of Ti- 
berius. She became mother of three 
children, Germanicus, Caligula's father ; 
Claudius, the emperor ; and the de- 
bauched Livia. Her husband died very 
early, and she would never marry again", 
but spent her time in the education of 
her children. Some people suppose her 
grandson, Caligula, ordered her to be 
poisoned, A. D. 38. VaL Max. 

Axtoxixa the wife of Belisa- 
riuc. 

Axtoxixus, surnamed Plus, 
was adopted by the emperor Adrian, to 
whom he succeeded. This prince is 
remarkable for all the virtues that can 
form a perfect statesman, philosopher, 
and king. In cases of famine or inun- 
dation, he relieved the distressed, and 
supplied their wants with his own mo- 
ney. Ill his conduct towards his subjects 
h e beh a v ed w i th affabi li r y and h u m a n i t y , 
and listened wiih patience to every com- 
plaint brought before him. When told 
of conquering enemies, he said, with 
Scipio, *• I prefer the life and preserva- 
tion of a citizen to the death of 100 ene- 
mies." He did not petsecute the Chris- 
tians like his predecessors, but his life 
was a scene of universal benevolence. 
I lis. last moments were easy, though pre- 



ceded by a lingering illness. He ex- 
tended the boundaries of the Roman 
province in Britain, bv raising a rampart 
between the friths of Clyde and Forth ; 
but he waged no wars during his reign, 
and only repulsed the enemies of the 
empire who appeared in the field. He 
died in the 75th year of his age, after a 
reign of 23 years, A. D. 161, and was 
succeeded by his adopted son, M. Au- 
relius Antoninus, surnamed the philoso- 
pher, a prince as virtuous as his father. 
— Bassianus Caracalia was son of the 
emperor Septimius Severus. He was 
appointed, with his brother Geta, to 
succeed to the empire ; but the ani- 
mosity of these two brothers, against 
each other, was so violent, that nothing 
could produce a reconciliation. Geta's 
more popular conduct at last brought 
down upon him the malicious vengeance 
of his brother, and he was stabbed in his 
mother's arms. Caracalia was, to the 
universal joy of the Roman people, as- 
sassinated by Macrinus, whom he had 
devoted to death, April 8, in the 43d 
year of his age, A. D. 217. He was suc- 
ceeded by his murderer. 

Axtoxius Gxipho- a rheto- 
rician, who never made any charge for 
his lectures ; on which account his pu- 
pils were the more liberal. 

M. Axtoxius, a name com- 
mon to many illustrious Romans, the 
most conspicuous of whom was Marcus, 
the triumvir, grandson to the orator M. 
Antonius, and son of Antonius, sur- 
named Creteusis. He was augur and 
tribuns of the people, in which he di- 
stinguished himself by his ambitious 
views. He always entertained a secret 
resentment against Cicero ...for having 
put to death Corn. Lentulus, who was 
concerned in Catiline's conspiracy. W hen 
the senate was torn by the factions of 
Pompey's and Caesar's adherents, An- 
tony privately retired from Rome to the 
camp of Cassar, advised him to march 
his army to Rome, took the command 
of the left wing at Pharsalia, and, ac- 
cording to apremeditated scheme, offered 
him a diadem in the presence of the 
Roman people. When Ca?sar was assas- 
sinated, Antony pronounced an oration 
over his body. He besieged Mutina, 
which had been allotted to D. Brutus, 
for which the senate judged bin an 
enemy to the republic, at the remon- 
strance of Cicero. He was conquered 
by the consuls Hirtius and Pansa, and 
by young_Caesar, who soon after joined 
his inteiest with that of Antony, and 
formed the triumvirate celebrated for 
its cruel proscriptions. The triumvirate 
divided the Roman empire among them- 
selves. He then assisted Augustus, at 
the battle of Phiiippi, against the mur- 
derers of Julius Caesar, and he buried 
the body of M. Brutus, his enemy, in a 
most magnificent manner. During his 
residence in the East, he became en- 
amoured of the fair Cleopatra, queen of 



AOL 



APE 



Egypt, and repudiated Octavia to marry 
her.' This divorce incensed Augustus, 
who now prepared to deprive Antony 
of all his power. Antony assembled all 
the forces of the East, and, with Cleo- 
patra, marched against Octavius Csesar. 
These two enemies met at Actium, 
where a naval engagement soon began, 
and Cleopatra, by flying with GO ships, 
drew Antony from the battle, and ruined 
his cause. "After the battle of Actium, 
Antony followed Cleopatra into Egypt, 
where he found himself abandoned by 
all his allies, and saw the conqueror on 
his shores. He stabbed himself, and 
Cleopatra likewise killed herself with 
the bite of an asp. Antony died in the 
56th year of his age, B. C. 30, and the 
conqueror shed tears when he was in- 
formed that his enemy was no more. 
He has been blamed for his great effe- 
minacy, for his uncomman love of plea- 
sures, and his fondness of drinking. In 
his public character he was courageous, 
but with the intrepidity of Caesar, he 
possessed ail his voluptuous inclinations. 
His fondness for low company, and his 
debauchery, form the best parts of Cice- 
ro's Philippics. It has been said that 
the night of J. Caesar's murder, Cassius 
supped with Antony ; and, being asked 
whether he had a dagger with him, an- 
swered, " Yes, if you, Antony, aspire 
to sovereign power." Plutarch has 
written an account of his life. 

Anubis, an Egyptian deity, re- 
presented under the form of a man with 
the head of a dog, because when Osiris 
went on his expedition against India, 
Anubis accompanied him, and clothed 
himself in a sheep's skin. His worship 
was introduced from Egypt into Greece 
and Italy. He is supposed by some to 
be Mercury, because he is sometimes 
represented" with a caduceus, or wand. 
Some make him son of Osiris, others 
his brother. And they say that when 
Isis, the wife of Osiris, heard of his 
birth, she sought him, and, by means 
of her dogs, found him, and educated 
him with such tenderness, that he be- 
came her guardian and faithful com- 
panion. Diod. Lucan. Ovid. &c. 

Anxur, a city of the Volsci, 
taken by the Romans, A. U. C. 348. It 
was sacred to Jupiter, who is called Ju- 
piter Anxur. Liv. 

Axyta, a Greek woman, some 
of whose excellent verses are still ex- 
tant. 

Anytus, an Athenian rheto- 
rician, who, with Melitus and Lycone 
accused Socrates of impiety, and was 
the cause of his condemnation. These 
false accusers were afterwards put to 
death by the Athenians. Biog. 

Anzabe, a river near the Ti- 
gris. 

Aollius, a son of Romulus by 

llersilia, afterwards called Abilius. 



Aon, a son of Neptune, who 
came to Eubcea and Bceotia, from Apu- 
lia, where he collected the inhabitants 
into cities, and reigned over them. 
They were called Aones, and their coun- 
try Aonia, from him. 

Aones, the inhabitants of 
Aonia, called afterwards Bceotia. The 
Muses have been called Aonides, be- 
cause Aonia was more particularly fre- 
quented by them. Paus. 

Aon ia. [ Vid. Aones. ] 

A oris, a hunter of Corinth, so 

attached to his sister, that he gave her 
name to a part of that state. 

Aornos, Aornus, Aornis, a 

lofty rock in India, taken by Alexander. 
Hercules had besieged it, but was never 
able to conquer it. Curt. — A lake near 
Baise and Puteoli. It is called A vermis. 

A o t i, a people of Thrace, 
near the Getae, on the Ister. Plin. 

Apait^e, a people of Asia 
Minor. 

Apama, a daughter of Arta- 

xerxes,who married Pharnabazus, satrap 
of Ionia. 

Apame, the mother of Nico- 

medes, by Prusias king of Bithynia. — 
The mother of Antiocnus Soter, by Se- 
leucus Nicanor. Soter founded a city, 
which he called by his mother's name. 

Apamia, Apamea, a name 
common to five cities in Asia. 

Aparn i, a people near the Cas- 
pian sea, attached to pasturage and 
the keeping of sheep. 

A p a t u R i A, a festival at 
Athens which received its name from 
aTraT?], deceit, because it was instituted 
in memory of a stratagem by which 
Xanthus, king of Bceotia, was killed 
by Melanthus, king of Athens. The 
festival lasted three days, and two ewes 
and a she goat were generally sacrificed 
to Diana.— A surname of Minerva — of 
Venus. 

Apella, a word, Horat. 1 Sat. 

5. v. 10, which has given much trouble 
to critics and commentators. Some sup- 
pose it to mean circumcised (sine pell e), 
an epithet highly applicable to a Jew. 
Others maintain that it is a proper 
name, upon the authority of Cicero ad 
Attic, c. 10. 

Apelles, a celebrated painter 
of Cos, or, as others say, of Ephesus, 
son of Pithius. He lived in the age of 
Alexander the Great, who honored him 
so much that he forbade any man but 
Apelles to draw his picture. He was 
so attentive to his profession, that he 
never spent a day without employing 
his pencil, whence the proverb of Nulla 
dies sine linea- His most perfect picture 
was Venus Anadyomene, which was not 



APH 



API 



totally finished when the painter died. 
He made a painting of Alexander hold- 
ing thunder in his hand, so much like 
life, that Pliny who saw it, says that 
the hand of the king with the thunder 
seemed to come out of the picture. 
This picture was placed in Diana's tem- 
ple at Ephesus. He painted another of 
Alexander, but the king expressed not 
much satisfaction at it ; and, at that mo- 
ment, a horse passing by neighed at the 
horse which was represented in the 
piece, supposing it to be alive; upon 
which the painter said, " One would 
imagine that the horse is a better judge 
of painting than your majesty." He 
wrote three volumes upon painting, 
which were still extant in the age of 
Pliny. Apelles never put his name to 
any pictures but three ; namely, a sleep- 
ing Venus, Venus Anadyomene, and an 
Alexander. Phn. &c. 

Ape l Lie ox, a Teian peripa- 
tetic philospher, whose fondness for 
books was so great that he is accused of 
stealing them, when he could not obtain 
them with money. The extensive li- 
brary which he had collected at Athens 
was "carried to Rome when .Sylla con- 
quered the capital of Attica, and in it 
was found an original manuscript of 
Aristotle. He died about 86 years before 
Christ. Strab. 13. 

Apennintts, a ridge of high 
mountains which run in a longitudinal 
direction through the middle of Italy, 
from Liguria to Ariminum. They join 
the Alps. 

Aper, Marcus, a Latin ora- 
tor of Gaul, who distinguished himself 
as a politician as well as by hi.-, ganius. 
The dialogue of the orators, inserted 
with the works of Tacitus and Quin- 
tilian, is attributed to him. He died 
A.D. 85. 

Aperopia, an island on the 

coast of Argolis. Pans. 

Apesus, Apesas, or Apesan- 

TUS, a mountain of Peloponnesus, near 
Leraa. Stat. 

' Aphaca, a town of Palestine, 
where Venus was worshipped, and where 
she had a temple and an oracle. 

ApHiEA, a name of Diana, who 

had a temple in JEgina. Pans. 

Aphar, the capital city of 
Arabia, near the Red sea. Arrian. 

Aphareus, a king of Mes- 
senia, son of Perieres and Gorgophone, 
who married Arene, daughter of CEba- 
lus, by whom he had three sons, Idas, 
Pisus, and Lynceus. He had reigned 
some time conjointly with his brother 
Leuciphns, but he soon after seized upon 
the undivided sovereignty. Ovid. — A 
relation of Isocrates, author of 37 trage- 
dies. 

A phellas, a king of Cyrene, 



who, with the aid of Agathocles, en- 
deavoured to reduce all Africa under his 
power. Justin. 

Aphesas, a mountain in Pelo- 
ponnesus, whence, as the poets have 
imagined, Perseus attempted to fly to 
heaven. Stat. 

Aphetje, a Magnesian city, 
celebrated on account of the ship Argo 
having been launched there. 

Aphenus, a surname of Mars, 
from a temple he had in Arcadia, on 
Mount Cresius, after his amour with 
JEmpe, the daughter of Cepheus, as 
mentioned by Paus. 8. c. 44. 

Aphrices, an Indian prince, 

who defended the rock Aornus with 
20,000 foot, and 15 elephants. He was 
killed by his troops, and his head sent 
to Alexander. 

Aphrodisia, an island in the 
Persian gulf, where Venus was worship- 
ped. — Festivals in honor of Venus, ce- 
lebrated in different parts of Greece, but 
chiefly in Cyprus. They were instituted 
by Cinyras, and all those that were ini- 
tiated offered a piece of money to Ve- 
nus, as a harlot, and received, as a mark 
of the favors of the goddess, a measure 
of salt and a ci(p?<?.og, the salt because 
V enus arose from the sea, and the <paXXo; 
because she is the goddess of wanton- 
ness. Strab. 

Aphrodisium, a town of 

Apulia, built by Diomede in honor of 
Venus. 

Aphrodisum, an island on 

the coast of Spain. Plin. 

Aphrodite, the Grecian name 

of Venus, from <£>a>foc, because Venus 
is said to have been born from the froth 
of the ocean. 

Aphyte, or Aphytis ? a city 
of Thrace, near Pallena, where Jupiter 
Ammon was worshipped. 

Apia, an ancient name of Pelo- 
ponnesus, which it received from king 
Apis. It was afterwards called ^Egialea, 
Pelasgia, Argia, and, at last, Pelopon- 
nesus, or the island of Pelops. Homer. 
—Also the name of the earth, worshipped 
among the Lydians as a powerful deity. 
Herodot. 

Apian us or Apion, succeeded 
Theus in the profession of rhetoric in 
the reign of Tiberius ; and wrote a book 
against the Jews, which Josephus re- 
futed. 

Apicata, married Sejanus, by 
whom she had three children. She was 
repudiated. Tacit. 

Apicius, a famous glutton in 
Rome. There were three of the same 
name, all famous for their voracious ap- 
petite. The first lived in the time of the 
republic, the second in the reign of A.U- 



APO 



APO 



gustus and Tiberius, and the third under 
Trajan. The second was the most fa- 
mous, as he wrote a book on the plea- 
sures and incitements of eating. He 
hanged himself after he had consumed 
the greatest part of his estate. 

Apiola and Apiol.e, a town 
of Italy, taken by Tarquin the proud. 
The Roman capitol was begun with the 
spoils taken from that city. Plin. — A 
grammarian. \_Vid. Apianus.] 

Apis, one of the ancient kings 

of Peloponnesus, son of Phoroneus, and 
descended from Inaehus. Some say- 
that Apollo was his father, and that he 
was king of Argos, while others call him 
kiug of Sicyon, f.nd fix the time of his 
reign above 200 years earlier, which is 
enough to show he is but obscurely 
known, if known at all. He received 
divine honors after death, as he had 
been humane to his subjects. The coun- 
try where he reigned was called Apia ; 
and aftei wards Pelasgia, Argia, or Ar- 
golis; and, at last, Peloponnesus, from 
Pelops. Mschyl. — A god of the Egyp- 
tians, worshipped under the form of an 
ox. Some say that Isis and Osiris are 
the deities worshipped under this name, 
because, during their reign, they taught 
the Egyptians agriculture. The Egyp- 
tians believed that the soul of Osiris had 
really departed into the ox, where it 
wished to dwell, because that animal 
had been of the most essential service in 
the cultivation of the ground, which 
'Osiris had introduced into Egypt. [Vid. 
Osiris.] The manner in which this ox 
was chosen by the Egyptians, and their 
mode of worshipping it, are amply de- 
tailed by Herodotus, Sirabo, Pliny, and 
other ancient writers. — A town in Egypt 
on the lake Mareotis. 

Apisaon, son of Hippasus, as- 
sisted Priam against the Greeks, at the 
head of a Pa?onian army, and was killed 
by Lycomedes. Homer. — Another on the 
same" side, killed by Euripylus. Id. 

Apitius Galba, a buffoon 
who engaged much attention during the 
reign of Tiberius. 

Apollikares Ludi, games 
celebrated at Rome in honor of Apollo. 
They originated from the following cir- 
cumstance : an old prophetic poem in- 
formed the Romans, that, if they in- 
stituted yearly games to Apollo, and 
made a collection of money for his ser- 
vice, they would be able "to repel the 
enemy, whose approach already threat- 
ened their destruction. The first time 
they were celebrated, Rome was alarmed 
by the approach of the enemy, and in- 
stantly the people rushed out of the 
city, and saw a cloud of arrows dis- 
charged from the sky on the troops of 
the enemy. With "this heavenly as- 
sistance they easily obtained the victory. 
Tr.e people" generally sat crowned with 
laurel at their representation, which 



was fixed by law for the nones of July. 
Liv. 

Apollinaris, C. Sulpicius, a 

grammarian of Carthage, in the second 
century, who is supposed to be the au- 
thor of the verses prefixed to Terence's 
plays as arguments. He was succeeded 
in his school by his pupil Pertinax, who 
afterwards became emperor. He had 
also in his school Aulus Gellius, who 
speaks in the highest commendation of 
his learning. — A writer better known by 
the name of Sidonius. \_Vid. Sidonius.] 

Apol lines, a Grecian in the 
wars between Alexander and Darius. 

Apollinis Arx, a place at 

the entrance of the Sibyl's cave, Virg. 

Apollo, son of Jupiter and 

Latona, called also Phoebus, is Oi'ten 
confounded with the Sun. According to 
Cicero, 3. de Nat. Deor. there were four 
persons of this name. To the son of 
Jupiter and Latona, however, all the 
actions of the others seem to have been 
attributed. — When Latona was pregnant 
by Jupicer, Juno, who was ever jealous 
of her husband's amours, raised the ser- 
pent Python to torment Latona, who 
was refused a place to give birth to her 
children, till Neptune, moved 3 at the 
severity of her fate, raised the island of 
Delos from the bottom of the sea, where 
Latona brought forth Apollo and Diana. 
As soon as he was born, Apol!o destroyed 
with arrows the serpent Python, which 
Juno had sent to persecute Latona. 
Hence he was called Pythius. Apollo 
was the god of all the fine arts, of me- 
dicine, music, poetry, and eloquence, of 
all which he was deemed the inventor. 
He had received from Jupiter the power 
of knowing futurity, and he was the 
only one of the gods whose oracles were 
in general repute over the world. When 
his son, iEsculapius, had been killed 
with the thunders of Jupiter, for raising 
the dead to life, Apollo, in his resent- 
ment, killed the Cvelops, who had fabri- 
cated the thunderbolts. Jupiter was in- 
censed at this act of violence, and he 
banished Apollo from heaven , and de- 
prived him of his dignity. The exiled 
deity came to Admetus, king of Thes- 
saly, and hired himself to be one of his 
shepherds, in which ignoble employment 
he remained nine years, During his re- 
sidence in Thessa'ly, he rewarded the 
tender treatment of Admetus.— He as- 
sisted Neptune in building the walls of 
Troy ; and, when he was refused the 
promised reward by Laomedon, he 
stroyed the inhabitants by pestilence. 
Apollo is generally represented with long 
hair, tall, beardless, with a handsome 
shape, holding in his hand a bow, and 
sometimes a Tyre; his head is generally 
surrounded with beams of light. He 
had temples and statues in every country, 
particularly in Egypt, Greece, and Italy. 
The cock, the grasshopper, the wolf, the- 



APO 



APO 



crow, the swan, the hawk, the olive, the 
laurel, the palm-tree, &c. were sacred to 
him ; and in his sacrifices, wolves and 
hawks were offered, as they were the 
natural enemies of the flocks over which 
he presided. Bullocks and lambs were 
also immolated to him. As he presided 
over poetry, he was ofcen sseii on mount 
Parnassus 'with the nine Muses. His 
most famous oracles were at Delphi, 
Deios, Claros, Tenedos, Cyrrha, and Pa- 
tara. His most splendid temple was at 
Delphi, where every nation and indivi- 
dual made considerable presents when 
they consulted the oracle. He had a 
famous colossus in Rhodes, which was 
one of the seven wonders of the world. 
Homer. Virg. occ. — Also a temple of 
Apollo upon Mount Leucas, wdnch serv- 
ed as a guide to mariners, and reminded 
them to avoid the dangerous rocks that 
were along the coast. Virg. 

Apollodorus. Among the 
many eminent men of this name re- 
corded in ancient history, the most re- 
markable is the grammarian and my- 
cologist of Athens, son of Asclepias, 
and disciple to Pana?tius, the Rhodian 
philosopher. He flourished about 115 
years before the Christian asra. He 
wrote a history of Athens, besides other 
works. But of all his compositions no- 
thing is extant but his Bibliotheca, which 
is divided into three books. It is an 
abridged history of the gods, and of the 
ancient heroes, of whose actions and ge- 
nealogy it gives a true and faithful ac- 
count.— A disciple of Epicurus, the 
most learned of his school, and de- 
servedly surnamed the illustrious. He 
wrote about forty volumes upon differ- 
ent subjects. Diog. — An architect of 
Damascus who had the direction of the 
bridge built by Trajan over the Danube. 
Adrian put him to death, because he was 
in the habit of speaking rather too 
boldly. 

Apollonia, a festival at Mgi- 
alea in honor of Apollo and Diana. It 
arose from this circumstance : these two 
deities came to iEgialea after the con- 
quest of the serpent Python; but they 
were frightened away, and fled to Crete. 
vEgialea was soon visited with an epide- 
mical distemper, and the inhabitants, by 
advice of their prophets, sent seven 
chosen boys, with the same number of 
girls, to entreat them to return to Mgi- 
aleo. Apollo and Diana granted their 
petition, in honor of which a temple 
was raised to IlsiS'aJ, the goddess of per- 
suasion ; and ever after a number of 
youths of both sexes were chosen to 
march in solemn procession, as if an- 
xious to bring back Apollo and Diana. 
Pans. — Also the name of many cities and 
towns in Europe and Asia, mentioned 
in ancient writers. 

ApolloniAdes, a tyrant of 
Sicily, compelled to lay down his power 
by Timoleon. 



Apollonia s, the wife of Atta- 

lus, king of Phrygia. 

Apollonides, a writer of Ni- 

csea. — A physician of Cos, at the court 
of Artaxerxes, who became enamoured 
of Amytis, the monarch's sister, and was 
some time after put to death for slight- 
ing her after the reception of her favors. 

Apollonius. Ancient writers 

make mention of many of this name : 
the one of greatest note is a stoicphilo- 
sopher of Chalcis, sent for by Antoninus 
Pius, to instruct his adopted'son Marcus 
Antoninus. When he came to Rome he 
refused to go to the palace, observing, 
that the master ought not to wait upon 
his pupil, but the pupil upon him. The 
emperor, hearing this, said, laughing, 
" It was, then, easier for Apollonius to 
come from Chalcis to Rome, than from 
Rome to the palace.'" — A poet of Nau- 
cratis, in Egypt . generally callen Apol- 
lonius of Rhodes. He was pupil to Cal- 
limachus and Pansetius, and third libra- 
rian of the famous library of Alexandria, 
under Ptolemy Euergetes. Nothing re- 
mains of all his works but his poem on 
the expedition of the Argonauts. — Thy- 
aneus, a Pythagorean philosopher, we'll 
skilled in the secret arts of magic. Be- 
ing one day haranguing the populace 
at Ephesus, he suddenly exclaimed, 
" Strike the tyrant, strike him ; the blow 
is given, he is wounded, and fallen !" 
At that very moment the emperor Do- 
mitian had been stabbed at Rome. The 
magician acquired much reputationwhen 
this circumstance was known. He was 
courted by kings and princes, and com- 
manded unusual attention by his num- 
berless artifices. His friend and com- 
panion, called Damis, wrote his life, 
which 200 years after engaged the at- 
tention of Philostratus. In his history, 
the biographer relates so many curious 
and extraordinary anecdotes of his hero, 
that many have justly deemed it a ro- 
mance; yet for all this, Hierocles had 
the presumption to compare the impos- 
tures of Apollor.ius with the miracles of 
Jesus Christ. 

Apollophanes, a Stoic, who 

greatly flattered king Antigonus, and 
maintained that there existed but one 
virtue, prudence. Diog. 

Apomyios, a surname of Ju- 
piter, among the people of Elis, from his 
driving away flies, (oc7ro {xy[tt musca.) 
When Hercules was celebrating some 
mysterious ceremonies at Oiympia, he 
was attacked by a number of flies, which 
he was unable to drive away ; upon 
which he sacrificed a victim to Jupiter, 
and immediately the whole swarm dis- 
appeared . The circumstance was yearly 
commemorated by a sacrifice to the god, 
under the name of Apomyios. Pans. 

Aponiana, an island near Li- 
bybceum. 



APA 



AQU 



M. Aponius, a governor of 

Mresia, rewarded with a triumphal sta- 
tue, by Otho, for defeating 9000 bar- 
barians. Tacit, c. 79. 

Aponus, a fountain, with a 
village of the same name, near Pata- 
vium, in Italy. The waters of the foun- 
tain were supposed to have an oracular 
power. Lucan. 

Apostrophia, a surname of 
Venus in Bceotia, who was distinguished 
under these names : Venus, Urania, Vul- 
garia, and Apostrophia. The former 
was the patroness of a pure and chaste 
love, the second of carnal and sensual 
desires, and the last incited men to illicit 
and unnatural gratifications, to incests, 
and rapes. Venus Apostrophia was in- 
voked by the Thebans, that they might 
be saved from such unlawful desires. 
She is the same as the Verticordia of the 
Romans. Pans, 

Apotheosis, a ceremony ob- 
served by the ancient nations of the 
world, by which they raised their kings, 
heroes, and great men, to the rank of 
deities. The nations of the East were 
the first who paid divine honors to their 
great men, and the Greeks and Romans 
followed their example. The Apotheosis 
of a Roman emperor is minutely de- 
scribed by Herodian. 

Appia via, a celebrated road 

leading from Rome to Brundusium, 
through Capua. Appius Claudius made 
it as far as Capua, and it received its 
name from him. It was continued and 
finished by Gracchus, J. Caesar, and 
Augustus. Lucan. 

Appiades, a name given to 
these five deities, Venus, Pallas, Vesta, 
Concord, ^and Peace. A temple was 
erected to them near the Appiae Aqua?, 
by the forum of J. Csesar. Ovid. 

Appjanus, a Greek historian 
of Alexandria, who flourished A. D. 123. 
His Universal History, which consisted 
of 24 books, was a series of history of all 
the nations that had been conquered by 
the Romans in the order of time; and 
in the composition, the writer displayed 
with a style simple and unadorned, a 
great knowledge of military affairs, and 
described his battles in a masterly man- 
ner. This excellent history is greatly 
mutilated, and there is extant now only 
the account of the Punic, Syrian, Par- 
thian, Mithridatic, and Spanish wars, 
with those of Illyricum, and the civil 
dissensions, with "a fragment of the Cel- 
tic war. 

Appii forum, a little village 
not far from Rome, built by the consul 
Appius. Horat. 

Appius, the prsenomen of a 
powerful family at Rome, among whom 
ihe followidg were the most conspicuous : 
— Claudius, a decemvir, who obtained 



his power by force and oppression. He 
attempted the virtue of Virginia, whom 
her father killed to preserve her chastity. 
This act of violence was the cause of a 
revolution in the state, and the ravisher 
was banished. Lio. — Claudius Cascus, 
a Roman orator, who built the Appian 
way, and many aqueducts in Rome. 
When Pyrrhus, who was come to assist 
the Tarentines against Rome, demanded 
peace of the senators, Appius caused 
himself to be carried to the senate-house, 
and, by his authority, dissuaded them 
from granting a peace which would 
prove dishonourable to theRoman name. 
Ovid. — Clausu* , a genera] of the Sabines, 
who, upon being ill-treated by his coun- 
trymen, retired to Rome with 5000 of 
his friends, and was admitted into the 
senate in the early ages of the republic. 
Pint. — The name of Appius was com- 
mon in Rome, and particularly to many 
consuls whose history is not marked by 
any uncommon event. 

Apries and Aprius, one of 
the kings of Egypt in the reign of Cyrus, 
supposed to be the Pharaoh Hophra of 
Scripture: hetookSidon, and lived in 
great prosperity tiil his subjects revolted 
to Amasis. by whom he was conquered 
and strangled. Herodot. 

Apsi n th 1 1 ,a people of Thrace ; 
they received their name from a river 
called Apsinthus, which flowed through 
their territory. Dionys. Perieg. 

Apsinus, an Athenian sophist, 
author of Prcereptor de Arte PJietoricn . 

Apsus, a Macedonian river fall- 
ing into the Ion ; an sea. 

Apuleia Lex, a law enacted 

to inflict punishments on persons guilty 
of seditions, &c. 

Apuleia Varilia, a grand- 
daughter of Augustus, convicted of adul- 
tery with a certain Manlius, in the reign 
of Tiberius. Tacit. 

Apuleius, a learned man, who 

studied at Carthage, Athens, and Rome, 
where he married a rich widow, for 
which he was accused of using magical 
arts to win her heart : his apology was a 
masterly composition. He learnt Latin 
without a master. The most famous of 
his works extant is the Golden Ass, in 
eleven books, an allegorical piece re- 
plete with morality. 

Apulia, a country of Italy be- 
tween Daunia and Calabria, famous for 
its wools. Plin. 

ApusciDAMus,alake ofAfrica. 

All bodies, however heavy, were said to 
swim on the surface of its waters. Plin. 

Aquarius, one of the signs of 
the Zodiac, rising in January, and set- 
ting in February. 

Aquileia and Aquilegia, a 

town founded by a Roman colony, called 
from its grandeur, Roma secutida, and 



ARA 



ARA 



situated at thenorth of the Adriatic sea, 
on the confines of Italy. The Romans 
built it chiefly to oppose the frequent in- 
cursions of the barbarians. The Roman 
emperors enlarged and beautified it, 
and often made it their residence. Ital. 

Aquilius Sabixus, a lawyer 
of Rome, surnamed the Cato of his age. 
He was father to Aquila Severa, whom 
Heliogabalus married. 

Aquillia, and Aqjjilia, the 

"name of an illustrious family in Rome. 

Aqlilo, a wind blowing from 
the north. Its name is derived, accord- 
ing to some, from Aquila, on account of 
its keenness and velocity, so beautifully 
described by Virgil, G. 3.— Fest. de Verb, 
tig. 

Aquinius, a poet mentioned in 
Cicero's Tusculan Questions. 

Aquinum, a town of Latium, 
on the borders of the Samnites, where 
Juvenal was born. Strab. 

A quit A xi A, a country of Gaul, 
bounded on the west by Spain, north 
by the province of Lugdunum, south 
by the province called Gallia Narbonen- 
sis. Its inhabitants are called Aquitani. 
Plin. 

Aha, a constellation, consisting 
of seven stars, near the tail of the Scor- 
pion. Ovid. 

Arabarches, an expression 
used in reference to the Arabian leaders, 
who lived in Rome. 

Arabia, a large country of 
Asia, forming a peninsula between the 
Arabian and Persian gulfs. It is gene- 
rally divided into three different parts, 
Perra?a, Deserta, and Felix. It is fa- 
mous for its frankincense and aromatic 
plants. The country has often been in- 
vaded, but never totally subdued. The 
soil is rocky and sandy", the inhabitants 
are scarce, the mountains rugged, and 
the country without water. To the 
Arabians we are indebted for the inven- 
tion of algebra, or the application of 
signs and letters to represent lines, num- 
bers, and quantities, and also for the 
numerical characters of 1, 2, 8, &c. 
which were first used in Europe, A. D. 
1253, in the Alphonsian Tables, made 
by Alphonso, king of Castile. Herodot. 
— Also the name of a wife of ^Egyptus. 
Jpollod. 

Arabicus Stnus, a sea be- 
tween Egypt and Arabia. It is about 
40 days' sail in length, and not half a 
day's in its most extensive breadth. 
Plin. 

Arabis, an Indian river. 

Arabs and Arab us, a son of 
Apollo and Babylone,who first invented 
medicine, and taught it in Arabia, which 
is called after his name. Plin. 

Araciine of Colophon, daugh- 



ter of Idmon, a dyer, so skilful in work- 
ing with her needle, that she challenged 
Minerva to a trial of skill. She repre- 
sented on her work the amours of Ju- 
piter with Europa, Antiope, Leda, A- 
steria, Danae, Alcmena: though her 
piece was masterly, she was defeated by 
Minerva, and hanged herself in despair, 
and was charged by the goddess into a- 
spider. Ovid. — A city of Theasaly. 

ARACHOsiA,a city of Asia built 
by Semiramis. — The name of a Persian 
province beyond the Indus. Strab._ 

Arackotj, and Arackoti, 

a people of India. 

Aracthias, one of the four 
capital rivers of Epirus, near Nicopolis, 
falling into the bay of Ambiacia. Strab. 
7. 

Ar^e, rocks in the middle of the 

Mediterranean, between Africa and Sar- 
dinia, where the Romans and Africans 
ratified a treaty. It wps upon them that 
iEneas lost the greatest part of his fleet: 
they are supposed to be those islands 
which are commonly called Agates. 
Virg. 

Ar,e Phil^norum, a mari- 
time city of Africa, on the borders of 
Cyrene. Sallust. 

Arar, a river of Gaul, flowing 
into the Rhone, over which Caesar's sol- 
diers made a bridge in one day. Ckss. 

Arathyrea, a small province 
of Achaia, afterwards called Asophis, 
with a city of the same name. Homer. 

Aratus, a Greek poet of Ci- 
licia, about 277 B. C. He was greatly 
esteemed by Antigonus Gonatas, king 
of Macedonia, at whose court he passed 
much of his time. He wrote a poem on 
astronomy, in which he gives an account 
of the situations, rising and setting, num- 
ber and motion of the stars ; the work 
is without variety. He wrote besides, 
hymns and epigra'ms, &c. — The son of 
Clinias and Aristodama, was born at 
Sicyon in Achaia. When he was but 
seven years of age, his father, who held 
the government of Sicyon, was assassin- 
ated by Abantidas, who made himself 
absolute. After some revolutions, the 
sovereignty came into the hands of Ni- 
cocles, whom Aratus murdered, to re- 
store his country to liberty. He was so 
jealous of tyrannical power, that he even 
destroyed a picture which was the re- 
presentation of a tyrant. He joined the 
republic of Sicyon in the Achaoan league. 
He was chosen chief commander of the 
Achseans, drove the Macedonians from 
Athens and Corinth, and made war 
against the Spartans, but was conquered 
in a battle by their king Cleomenes. 
To repair his losses he solicited the as- 
sistance of king Antigonus, and drove 
Cleomenes from Sparta. The JEtolians 
soon after attacked the Achseans ; and 
Aratus was obliged to call to his ai<i 
Philip, king of Macedonia. His friend- 



ARC 



ARC 



ship with this new ally did not long con- 
tinue. Philip showed himself cruel and 
oppressive; and put to death some of 
the noblest of the Aehaeans, and even 
seduced the wife of the son of Aratus. 
Aratus, now advanced in years, showed 
his displeasure by withdrawing himself 
from the society and friendship of Phi- 
lip : this rupture was fatal. Philip dread- 
ed the influence of Aratus, and there- 
fore he caused him and his son to be 
poisoned. Some days before his death, 
Aratus was observed" to spit blood ; and 
when apprized of it by his friends, re- 
plied, " Such are the rewards which a 
connection ivith Icings will produce." 
Aratus died in the 62d year of his age, 
B. C. 213, and was buried with great 
pomp by his countrymen. He wrote a 
history of the Achaean league, much 
commended by Polybius. Plut. in vita. 

Araxes, a celebrated river 
which separates Armenia from Media, 
and falls into the Caspian sea. Lncan. — 
Another which falls into theEuphrates. 
— Another in Europe, now colled Volga. 

Arbaces, aMede, who revolted 
with Belesis against Sardanapalus, and 
founded the empire of Media upon the 
ruins of the Assyrian power, 820 years 
before the Christian aera. He reigned 
above 50 years, and was famous for the 
greatness of his undertakings, as well as 
for his valor. Justin. 

Arbela, a town of Persia, on 
the river Lycus, famous for a battle 
fought there between Alexander and 
Darius, the 2d of Oct. B. C. 331. Curt. 
According, however, to some authors, 
the battle was fought near the small 
village of Gaugamela, in the neighbour- 
hood, whose consequence, from this oc- 
currence, has been lost in the fame of 
the more populous town of Arbela. 

Arbela, a town of Sicily, whose 
inhabitants were very credulous. 

Arbtjscula, an actress on the 
Roman stage, who laughed at the hisses 
of the populace, while she received the 
applauses of the knights. Horat. 

Arcadia, an inland country 
of Peloponnesus, surrounded on every 
side by land, situated between Achai'a, 
Messina, Elis, and Argolis. It received 
its name from Areas, son of Jupiter. 
The country has been much celebrated 
by the poets, and was famous for its 
mountains. The inhabitants were able 
musicians, and Pan, the god of shep- 
herds, resided chiefly among them. It 
is asserted by Aristotle, that if the wine 
of Arcadia were put into a goatskin, it 
would first become chalky, and then 
turn into salt. 

Arcadius, elder son of Theo- 
dosius the Great, succeeded his father, 
A. D. 395. Under him the Roman em- 
pire was divided into eastern and west- 
ern. He made the eastern his choice, 



and fixed his residence at Constantino- 
ple ; while his brother Honorius was 
made emperor of the west, and lived in 
Rome. In his reign, Alaricus attacked 
the western empire.and plunderedRome. 
Arcadius died in the 31st year of his age, 
after a reign of 1 3 years, in which he 
bore the character of an effeminate 
prince, who suffered himself to be go- 
verned by favorites, and who abandoned 
his subjects to the tyranny of ministers, 
while he lost himself in the pleasures of 
a voluptuous court. 

Arcanum, one of Cicero's 

villas. 

Arc as, a son of Jupiter and 

Calisto. He reigned in Pelasgia, which 
from him was called Arcadia, and taught 
his subjects agriculture, and the art of 
spinning wool. After his death, Jupiter 
made him a constellation, with his mo- 
ther. 

Arce, a daughter of Thaumas, 

son of Pontus and Terra. She was born 
with wings, but she was deprived of them 
by Jupiter, because she assisted the Ti- 
tans against the gods, and the valuable 
present was given to Achilles, who, by 
fixing them to his feet, acquired a won- 
derful celerity : he was thence called 
Tro^apHvjj, the swift-footed. Ptolem, 
Hepk. 

Arcexa, a Phenician town, 

the birth-place of Alexander Severus. 

Arcens, a Sicilian, who per- 
mitted his son to accompany tineas 
into Italy, where he was killed by Me- 
zentius. Virg. 

Arcesilaus, the name of two 
kings of Cyrene.— One of Alexanders 
generals, who obtained Mesopotamia at 
the general division of the provinces 
after the king's death. — A philosopher 
of Pitane in ^olia, disciple of Polemon. 
He vjsited Sardes and Athens, and was 
the founder of the middle academy, as 
Socrates founded the ancient, and Car- 
neades the new one. He pretended to 
know nothing, and accused others of the 
same ignorance. He died in his 75th 
year, B.C. 241, or 300 according to some. 
Diod. 

Arcesius, son of Jupiter, said 

to be grandfather to Ulysses. Ovid. 

Archagathus, son of Archa- 
gathus, was slain in Africa by his sol- 
diers, B. C. 285. He killed his grand- 
father, Agathocles, tyrant of Syracuse. 
Diod. 

Arche, one of the Muses ac- 
cording to Cicero. 

Archegetes, a surname of 
Hercules. 

ArchjEA, a city of JStolia. 

Arch m an ax, a Mitylenian, a 
friend of Pisistratus, who fortified Si- 



ARC 



ARC 



geeum with materials brought from the 
ruins of Troy. Strabo. 

Archelaus. Ancient writers 
make mention of many of this name. 
It was common to some of the kings of 
Cappadocia. There was one also of 
Macedonia, who succeeded his father 
Perdiccas the second : as he was but a 
natural child, he killed the legitimate 
heirs to gain the kingdom. He proved 
himself to be a great monarch; but he 
was at last killed by one of his favorites, 
because he had promised him Lis daugh- 
ter in marriage and given her to another, 
after a reign of 23 years. He patronized 
the poet Euripides. Diod. — A king of 
the Jews, surnamed Herod. He married 
Slaphyre, daughter of Archelaus, king 
pf Macedonia, and widow of his brother 
Alexander. Caesar banished him, for his 

— A philosopher of Athens or Messenia, 
son of Apollo riorus, and successor to 
Anaxagoras. He was preceptor to So- 
crates, and was called Physicus. He 
supposed that heat and cold were the 
principles of all things. He first disco- 
vered the voice to be propagated by the 
vibration of the air.— A sculptor of 
Priene, in the age of Claudius. He made 
an apotheosis of Homer, a piece of 
sculpture highly admired, and said to 
have been discovered under ground, 
A. D. 165S. 

Archemachus, a son of Her- 
cules :— one of the sons of Priam. 
Archemorus, son of Lycur- 

g»s, king of Nemaea, by Eurydice, was 
brought up by Hypsipyle, queen of 
Lemnos, who had fled to Thrace, and 
was employed as a nurse in the king's 
family. Hypsipyle being met by the 
army of Adrastus, going against Thebes, 
was forced to shew them a fountain 
where they might quench their thirst. 
To do this more expeditiouslv, she put 
the child on the grass, and, at her re- 
turn, found him killed bv a serpent. 
The Greeks were so afflicted at this mis- 
foitune, that they instituted games in 
honor of Archemorus, which were called 
Nemaean, and king Adrastus enlisted 
among the combatants, and was victo- 
rious. Apollod. 

AiiCHErOLis, a conspirator 
against Alexander. Quint. Cart. 

Archeptolemus, son of Iphi- 
tus, king of Elis, went to the Trojan 
war, and fought against ihe Greeks. As 
he was fighting near Hector, he was 
killed by Ajax, son of Telamon. Horn. 

Archestratus, a person so 
diminutive, that he could i e placed in 
a dish, which would contain no more 
than an obolus. 

Archet^ius, the first philo- 
sophical writer in the age of the seven 
wise men of Greece. Diog. 

A item a, one of the Oceanides, 
wife to Inachus. Hygin. 



A r chi as. Ancient historians 

mention five of this name, the most 
conspicuous of whom is a poet of An- 
tioch, intimate with the Luculli. He 
obtained the rank and name of a Roman 
citizen by the means of Cicero, who 
defended* him in an elegant oration, 
when his enemies had disputed his pri- 
vileges of citizen of Rome. He wrote a 
poem on the Cimbrian war, and began 
another concerning Cicero's consulship, 
which are now lost. Some of his epi- 
grams are preserved in the Anthologia. 
Cic.pm Arch. — Apolemarch of Thebss, 
assassinated in the conspiracy of Pelo- 
pidas, which he could have prevented, 
if he had not deferred to the morrow 
the reading of a letter which he had re- 
ceived from Archias, the Athenian high- 
priest, and which gave him information 
of his danger. Plut. 
Archie iades, a philosopher 

of Athens, who, by his dress and long 
beard, affected the manners of the Spar- 
tans, and shewed himself very inimical 
to the views and measures of Phocion. 

Arc hid ami A, a priestess of 
Ceres. — A daughter of Cleadas, who 
upon hearing that her countrymen, the 
Spartans, were debating whether they 
should send away their women against 
the hostile approach of Pyrrhus, seized 
a sword, and ran to the "senate-house, 
exclaiming, that the women were as able 
to fight as the men. Upon this the 
decree was repealed. Plut. 

Arckidamus, a name common 
to many Spartans, &e. ; the most emi- 
nent of whom was the grandson of Leo- 
tyehidas, by his son Zeuxidamus. He 
succeeded his grandfather, and reigned 
in conjunction 'with Plistoanax. He con- 
quered the Argives and Arcadians, and 
privately assisted the Phocians in plun- 
dering the temple of Delphi. He was 
called to the aid of Tarentum, against 
the Romans, and killed there in a battle, 
after a reign of 33 years. Diod. — A son 
of Agesilaus, who led the Spartan auxi- 
liaries to Cleombrotus, at the battle of 
Leuctra, and was killed in a battle- 
against the Lucanians. \ 

Archigalltjs, the chief of the 
priests of Cybefe. 

Arch i genes, a physician born 
at Apamea, in Syria. He lived in the 
reign of Dcmitiau, Nerva, and Trajan, 
and died in the 73d year of his age. He 
wrote ten books on fevers. Jxv. 

Archilochus, a poet of Pa- 
ros, who wrote elegies, satires, odes, and 
epigrams, and was the first who intro- 
duced iambics in his verses. He had 
courted Neobule, the daughter of Ly- 
cambes, and had received promises of 
marriage; but the father gave her to 
another, superior to the poet in rank 
and fortune, upon which Archilochus 
wrote such a bitter satire, that Lycambes 
hanged himself in a fit of desuair. He 
flourished G85 B. C. Some fragments 



AKC 



ARC 



of his poetry remain, which display 
boldness and vehemence in the highes't 
degree. 

Archimedes, a famous geoj- 

metrician of Syracuse, who invented a 
machine of glass that faithfully repre- 
sented the motion of all the heavenly 
bodies. When Marcellus, the Roman 
consul, besieged Syracuse, Archimedes 
constructed machines which suddenly 
raised up in the air the ships of the 
enemy from the bay before the city, 
and then let them fall with such vio- 
lence into the water that they sunk. 
He set them also on fire with his burn- 
ing-glasses. When the town was taken, 
the Roman general gave strict orders to 
his soldiers not to hurt Archimedes, and 
even offered a reward to him who 
brought him alive and safe into his pre- 
sence. All these precautions were use- 
less : he was so deeply engaged in solv- 
ing a problem, that he was even igno- 
rant that the enemy were in possession 
of the town; and a soldier, without 
knowing who he was, killed him because 
he refused to follow him, B. C. 212. 
Marcellus raised a monument over him, 
and placed upon it a cylinder and a 
sphere. Many of his works are extant, 
especially treatises de sphcera cylindro, 
eirculi dimensio, de lineis spiralibus, de 
quadratura parabolas, de numero arence, 
§c. Poli/bius, &e. 

Archinus, a native of Argos, 
who made himself absolute upon hav- 
ing the opportunity given him by dis- 
tributing arms among the populace. 

Archipelagic, a part of a 
sea where a great number of islands are 
interspersed; such as that part of the 
Mediterranean which lies between 
Greece and Asia Minor, and is generally 
called Mare Mgeum. 

Archipolis, a soldier who 
conspired against Alexander with Dym- 
nus. Curt. 

Aschippe, a city of theMarsi, 
destroyed by an earthquake, and lost in 
the lake of Fucinus. Plin. 

Archippus, a king of Italy, 
fi\om whom, perhaps, the town of Ar- 
ch ippe received its name. Yirg. — A 
comic poet of Athens, of .whose 'eight 
comedies only one obtained the prize. 

ArchItis, a name of Venus, 
worshipped on Mount Libanus. 

Arce^on, one of Alexander's 
generals, who received the provinces of 
Babylon, at the general division after 
the king's death. Diod. 

Archon tes, the name of the 

chief magistrates of Athens. They were 
nine in number, and none were chosen 
after the death of king Codrus, but such 
as- were descended from ancestors who 
had been free citizens cf the republic 
for three generations. Their power was 



originally for life, but it was afterwards 
limited to ten years, and at last to one 
year. After some time, however, the 
qualifications which were required to 
become archon were not strictly ob- 
served. They took a solemn oath that 
they would observe the laws, administer 
justice with impartiality, and never suf- 
fer themselves to be corrupted. If they 
ever received bribes,they were compelled 
by the laws to dedicate to the god of 
Delphi a statue of gold, of equal weight 
with their body. They all had the 
power of punishing malefactors with 
death. The chief was called Archon, 
the year took its denomination from 
him ; he determined all causes between 
man and wife, took care of legacies and 
wills, provided for orphans, and pro- 
tected the injured. The second was 
called Basilcus ; it was his office to keep 
good order, and to remove all causes of 
quarrel in the families of those who 
were dedicated to the service of the 
gods. The profane and the impious 
were brought before his tribunal ; and 
he offered public sacrifices for the good 
of the state. He had a vote among the 
Areopagites, but was obliged to sit 
among them without his crown. The 
Polemarch was another archon of in- 
ferior dignity. He had the care of all 
foreigners, and provided a sufficient 
maintenance from the public treasury, 
for the families of those who had lost 
their lives in the defence of their coun- 
try. The six other archons were indi- 
stinctly called Taes-motheta, and received 
complaints against persons accused of 
impiety, bribery, &c. They settled all 
disputes between the citizens, redressed 
the wrongs of strangers, and forbade 
any laws to be enforced, but such as 
were conducive to the safety of the 
state. Archons after Codrus: Mecton, 
1070 ; — Acastus, 1050 ; — Archippus, 
1014 ; — Thersippus, 995 ; — Phorbas, 
054: Megacles., 923 ;— Diognetus, 893 ; 
— Pherecles, 865 ; — Ariphron, 84G ;— 
Thespius, 826 ;— Agamestor, 799 ;— 
schylus, 778 ; — Alcmsson, 756. From 
this time the authority of the archons 
was limited to ten years. Charops, 753 ; 
— jEsimedes, 744 ; — Clidicus, 734 ; — 
Hippomenes, 724 ;— Leocrates, 714;— 
Apsander, 70i;— Eryxias, 694.— From 
this time the office was confined to one 
year only. 

Archylus Thurius, one of 

Dionysius' generals. 

Archytas, a musician of Mi- 

tylene, who wrote a treatise on agricul- 
ture. Diod.— The son of Hestiseus of 
Tarentum, a follower of the Pythago- 
rean philosophy, and an able astrono- 
mer and geometrician. He redeemed 
his master, Plato, from the tyrant Dio- 
nysius, and for his virtues he was seven 
times chosen, by his fellow citizens, go- 
vernor of Tarentum. He invented some 
mathematical instruments, and made a 



ARE 



ARE 



wooden pigeon which could fly. He 
perished in a shipwreck, about 394 years 
before the Christian sera. He is also 
the reputed inventor of the screw and 
the pulley. Herat. &c. 

Arcitexexs, an epithet ap- 
plied to Apollo, from his. bearing the 
bow, with which, as soon as born, he 
destroyed the serpent Python. Virg. 

Arctophyl ax, generally call- 
ed Bootes, near the greater Bear. 

Arctos, a mountain near Fro- 

pontis. Two constellations near the 

north pole, commonly called Ursa Major 
and Minor. Virg. 

Arcturus, a star near the tail 
of the Great Bear, the rising and setting 
of which was generally supposed to por- 
tend great tempests. Horat.— The name 
is derived from its situation, c&fxro; 
urs^is, ovpct cauda. 

Ardalus, a son of Vulcan, 
said to have been the first who invented 
the pipe. He gave it to the Muses, who, 
on that account, have been called Arda- 
lides. Paus. 

Ardea, formerly Ardua, a 
town of Latium, built by Danae, or, ac- 
cording to some, by a son of Ulysses 
and Circe. It was the capital of the 
Rutuli. Some soldiers set it on nre, 
and the inhabitants publicly reported 
that their city had been changed into a 
bird, called, by the Latins, Ardea. It 
was rebuilt, and became a rich and 
magnificent city : its enmity to Rome 
rendered it famous. Tarquin the Proud 
was pressing it with a siege when his son 
ravished Lucretia. 

ARDLiEi, a people of IUyricum. 

Ar due xx a, a large forest of 
Gaul, in the time of J. Caesar, which 
extended 50 miles from the Rhine to 
the borders of the Nervii. 

Arduine, the goddess of hunt- 
ing among the Gauls. 

Ardys, a son of Gyges, king 
of Lydia, who reigned 49 years, took 
Priene, and made war against Miletus. 
Herodot. 

Aeeithous, a king of Arne, 
in Peloponnesus, father, by Philome- 
dusa, of Mecesthius, who perished at 
the Trojan war by the hand of Paris. 
Homer. 

Arellius, a celebrated painter 
of Rome, in the age of Augustus. He 
painted the goddesses in the form of his 
mistresses. PI in. 

Are MO RICA, a part of Gaul, 
which afterwards received the name of 
Aquitania. PUn. 

Arena and Arexe, a city of 

Messenia, in Pejoponnesus. Horn. 

Areopagit.e, the judges of 
the Areopagus, a seat of justice on a 



small eminence, near Athens, whose 
name is derived from o.osiog vzdyof, the 
hill of Mars, because Mars was the first 
who was tried there, for the murder of 
Hallirhctius, who had offered violence 
to his daughter Alcippe. Apollod. Pans. 
—The time in which this celebrated 
seat of justice was instituted is un- 
known. Some suppose that Cecrops, 
the founder of Athens, first established 
it, while others give the credit of it to 
Cranaus, and others to Soion. The 
number of judges that composed this 
august assembly is not known. They 
have been limited by some to 9, to Si, 
to 51, and sometimes to a greater num- 
ber. The most worthy Athenians were 
admitted as members, and such archons 
as had discharged their dun* with faith- 
fulness. In the latter ages of the re- 
public, however, we find some of their 
members of loose and debauched mo- 
rals. If any of them were convicted 
of immorality, they were immediately 
expelled the assembly, and held in the 
greatest disgrace. The Areopagites took 
cognizance of murders, impiety, and 
particularly of idleness, which thev 
deemed the cause of all vice. They 
watched over the laws, they had the 
liberty of rewarding the virtuous, and 
of inflicting severe punishment upon 
such as blasphemed against the gods. 
They always heard causes and passed 
sentence in the night, that they might 
not be prepossessed in favor of the 
plaintiff or of the defendant by seeing 
them. Whatever causes were pleaded 
before them were to be divested of all 
oratory and fine speaking, lest eloquence 
should charm their ears and corrupt 
their judgment. Hence arose the most 
just and most impartial decisions. Their 
authority continued in its original state 
till Pericles, who, because he was re- 
fused admittance among them, resolved 
to lessen their consequence, and di- 
mmish -their power. From that time 
the morals of the Athenians were cor- 
rupted, and the Areopagites were no 
longer conspicuous for their virtue and 
justice. 

Areopagus, a hill in the 
neighbourhood of Athens. [Vid. Areo- 
pagitae.] 

Aresthaxas, a shepherd, 
whose goat gave suck to JEscuiapius, 
when exposed by his mother near Epi- 
dauris. [}'id. yEsculapius.] 

ArestorIdes, a patronymic, 
given to the hundred- eyed Argus, as son 
of Arestor. Ovid. 7 \ 

Areta. The most remarkable ' 
of this name was the daughter of Dio-' 
nysius, who married Dion. She was 
thrown into the sea. FZwf.— A daughter 
of Rhexenor, descended from Neptune, 
who married her uncle Alcinous, by 
whom she had Nausicaa. Homer. 

Aretveus, a physician of Cap- 
D 2 



ARGr 



ARG 



padoeia, very diligent in his researches 
into the operations of nature. His trea- 
tise on agues has been much admired. 

ARETA,the daughter of Rhexe- 
nor, the wife of Alcinous, and the 
mother of Nausicaa. 

Are t april a, the wife of Me- 
lanippus, a priest of Cyrene. 

Aretes, an officer of Alexan- 
der, mentioned by Quintus Curtius. 

Are th usa. The most cele- 
brated of this name was a nymph of 
Elis, daughter of Oeeanus, and one of 
Diana's attendants. As she returned 
one day from hunting, she sat near the 
Alpheus, and bathed in the stream. 
The god of the river was enamoured of 
her, and he pursued her over the moun- 
tains and all the country, when Are- 
thusa, ready to sink under fatigue, im- 
plored Diana, who changed her into a 
fountain. The Alpheus immediately 
mingled his streams with hers, and 
Diana opened a secret passage under 
tiie earth and under the sea, where the 
waters of Arethusa disappeared, and 
rose in the island of Ortygia, near Sy- 
racuse, in Sicily. The "river Alpheus 
followed her also under the sea, and 
rose also in Ortygia; so. that, as my- 
thologists relate," whatever is thrown 
into the Alpheus. in Elis, rises again, 
after some time, in the fountain Are- 
thusa, near Syracuse. [_Vid. Alpheus.] 
Ovid. &c— A" lake of Upper Armenia, 
near the fountain of the Tigris. No- 
thing, it is said., can sink under its 
waters. Plin. 

A ret us, a warrior killed by 
Lycurgus, king of Arcadia. He had 
only one weapon ; and that an iron 
club. 

A reus, the name of two kings 
of Sparta. — A philosopher of Alexan- 
dria,, intimate with Augustus. Sueton. 

ARGxEus, and Argeus, a son 
cf Apollo and Cyrene. Justin. — A son 
of Perdiccas, who succeeded his father 
in the kingdom of Macedonia. Justin. 

Argalus, a king of Sparta, son 
of Amyclas. Paus. 

Argathona, a huntress of 
Ciosin Bithynia, whom Rhesus married 
before he went to the Trojan war. When 
she heard of his death, she died in de- 
spair. Parthen. Erotic. 

Argatho-nius, a king of Tar- 
tessus, who, according to Pliny, lived 
120 years, and 300 according to Ital. 

Arge, a beautiful huntress, 
changed into a stag by Apollo. Hygin. 
— One of the Cyclops. Hesiod. ApoUod. 

Aug e a, a place at Rome, where 
eeitain Argives were buried, and where, 
also, some sacred ceremonies were per- 
formed in honor of the gods, Var. 
Quid. 



Arges, a son of Coelus and 

Terra, who had only one eye in his 
forehead. ApoUod. 

Argestratus, a king of La- 
cedaemon, who reigned 35 years. 

Argeus, a son of Perdiccas, 
king of Macedonia, who obtained the 
kingdom when Amyntas was deposed 
by the Illyrians. Justin. 

ArgIa, daughter of Adrastus, 

married Polynices, whom she loved 
with uncommon tenderness. When he 
was killed in the war, she buried his 
body in the night, against the positive 
orde»e of Creon, for which pious action 
she was punished with death. Theseus 
revenged her death by killing Creon. 
Hygin. [T r id. Antigone and Creon.}— 
One of the Oceanides. Hygin. Prcef. — 
The wife of Inachus, and mother of lo. 
Id. — A daughter of Autesiom who mar- 
ried Aristodemus, by whom she had 
two sous, Eurysthenes and Procles. 
ApoUod. 

Argiletum, a place at Rome, 

near the Palatium, where the tradesmen 
generally kept their shops. The word 
is derived from Argiletum, because an 
Argive was said to have been slain there. 
Virg. Mart. 

Argil ius, a favorite youth of 
Pausanias, who revealed his master's 
correspondence with the Persian king to 
the Ephori. C. Nep. 

Arginuse, three small islands 
near the continent, between Mitylene 
and Methymna, where the Lacedaemo- 
nian fleet was conquered by Conon the 
Athenian. Strab. 13. 

Argiphontes, a surname 

given to Mercury, because he killed the 
hundred-eyed Argus, by order of Ju- 
piter. 

Argippei, a nation among the 

Sauromatians, born bald, and with flat 
noses. They lived upon trees. Herodot. 

Argivi, the inhabitants of the 
city of Argos, and the neighbouring 
country. The word is indiscriminately 
applied by the poets to all the inhabit- 
ants of Greece. 

Argo, the name of the famous 
ship which carried Jason and his 54 
companions to Colchis, when they re- 
solved to recover the golden fleece. The 
derivation of the word Argo has been 
often disputed. The ship Argo had 50 
oars. According to many authors, she 
had a beam on her prow, cut in the 
forest of Dodona, by Minerva, which 
had the power of giving oracles to the 
Argonauts. This ship was the first that 
ever sailed on the sea. as some report. 
Jason, after the expedition, consecrated 
her to Neptune. The poets have made 
her a constellation in heaven. Hygin. 
&c. 



ARG 



ARG 



Argolicus sinus, a bay on 
the coast of Argolis. 

- Argolis and Argia, a coun- 
try of Peloponnesus, between Arcadia 
and the ^Egean sea. Its chief city was 
called Argos. 

Argon, a descendant of Her- 
cules, who reigned in I.ydia 50S years 
before Gyges. ' Herodot. 

Argonauts, a name given to 
those ancient heroes who went with 
Jason, on board the ship Argo, to Col- 
chis, about 79 years before the taking of 
Troy, or 1263 B. C. The causes of this 
expedition arose from the following cir- 
cumstance : — Athamas, king of Thebes, 
had married Ino, the daughter of Cad- 
mus, whom he divorced to marry Ne- 
phele, by whom he had two children, 
Phryxus and Helle. As Nephele was 
subject to certain fits of madness, Atha- 
mas repudiated her, and took a second 
time Ino, by whom he had soon after 
two sons, Learchus and Melicerta. As 
the children of Nephele were to suc- 
ceed their father by right of birth, Ino 
conceived an immortal hatred agaiast 
them, and she caused the city of Thebes 
to be visited by a pestilence', by poison- 
ing all the grain which had been sown 
in the earth. Upon this the oracle was 
<x>nsulted ; and, as it had been corrupted 
by means of Ino, the answer was, that 
Nephele's children should be immolated 
to the gods. Phryxus was apprized of 
this, and he immediately embarked, 
with his sister Helle, and fled to the 
court of ./Eetes, king of Colchis, one cf 
his near relations. In the voyage Helle 
died, and Phryxus arrived safe at Col- 
chis, and was received with kindness by 
the king. The poets have embellished 
the flight of Phryxus, by supposing that 
he and Helle fled through the air on a 
ram, who had a golden fleece and wings, 
and was endowed with the faculties of 
speech. This ram, as they say, was the 
offspring of Neptune's amours, under 
the form of a ram, with the nymph 
Theophane. As they were going to be 
sacrificed j the ram took them on his 
back, and instantly disappeared in the 
air. On their way Helle was giddy, and 
fell in that part of the sea which, from 
her, was called the Hellespont. When 
Phryxus came to Colchis, he sacrificed 
the ram to Jupiter, or, according to 
others, to Mars, to whom he also dedi- 
cated the golden fleece. He soon after 
married Chalciope, the daughter of 
jEetes; but his father-in-law envied 
him the possession of the golden fleece, 
and, therefore, to obtain it he murdered 
him. Some time after this event, when 
Jason, the son of yEson, demanded of 
his uncle Pelias the crown which he had 
usurped \_Vid. Pelias, Jason, yEson], 
Pelias said that he would restore it to 
him, provided he revenged the death 
of their common relation Phryxus, 
whom ./Eetes had basely murdered in 



Colchis. Jason, who was in die vigor 
of youth, and of an ambitious soul, 
cheerfully undertook the expedition, 
and emharked with all the young princes 
of Greece in the ship Argo : after having 
encountered and undergone various ac- 
cidents and adventures in their voyage, 
they at last arrived safely in JEa, the ca- 
pital of Colchis. Jason explained the 
causes of his voyage to /Eetes, and by 
the assistance of Medea, the king's 
daughter, who had fallen in love with 
him, he conquered all the obstacles to 
the obtainment of the golden fleece in 
one day. Through her, whose know- 
ledge of herbs and magic was unparal- 
leled, he tamed the bulls with ease, 
ploughed the field, sowed the dragon's 
teeth, and, when the armed men sprang 
from the earth, he threw a stone in the 
midst of them, and they immediately 
turned their weapons one against the 
other, till they all perished. After this 
he went to the dragon, and, by means 
of enchanted herbs, and a draught which 
Medea had given him, he lulled the 
monster to sleep, obtained the golden 
fleece, and immediately set sail with 
Medea. He v/as soon pursued by Ab- 
syrtus, the king's son, who came up to 
them, and was seized and murdered by 
Jason and Medea. The Argonauts, after 
various disasters on their return, at last 
came in sight of the promontory of 
Malea in the Peloponnesus, where Jason 
was purified of the murder of Absyrtus, 
and soon after arrived safely in Thessaly. 
The impracticability of this voyage, as 
described by the poets, is manifest. Or- 
pheus was among the number of Jason's 
companions in it, and preserved them 
from the Syrens by his eloquence. [Fitf. 
Orpheus.] 

ArgonatjtiCA, ( — orum) ac- 
count of the expedition of the Argo- 
nauts for the recovery of the golden 
fleece ; such as that of Valerius Flaccus, 
Orpheus, &c [Vid. Jason.] 

Argos, (sing. neut. et Argi, 
masc. plur.) an ancient city, eapital of 
Argolis, in Peloponnesus, about two 
miles from the sea, on the bay called 
Argolicus sinus. Juno was the chief 
deity of the place. Its kingdom was 
founded by Inachus, 1856 years before 
the Christian a?ra, and afterwards it was 
united to the crown of Mycenae. The 
nine first kings of Argos were called Ina- 
chides, in honor cf the founder. The 
descendants of Danaus were called Be- 
lides. Agamemnon was king of Argos 
during the Trojan war; and 80 years 
afrer, the Heraclidae seized the Pelo- 
ponnesus, and deposed the monarchs. 
The inhabitants of Argos were called 
Argivi and Argolici ; arid this name has 
been often applied to all the Greeks, 
without distinction. 

Argus, a king of Argos, who 
reigned 70 years. — A son of Arestor, 
whence he is often called Aresiorides. 



ARI 



AM 



Ke married Ismene, the daughter of the 
Asopus. As he had a hundred eyes, of 
which only two were asleep at one time, 
Juno set him to watch Io, whom Jupi- 
ter had changed into a heifer ; hut Mer- 
cury, by order of Jupiter, slew him, by 
lulling all his eyes asleep with the sound 
of his lyre. Juno put the eyes of Argus 
on the tail of the peacock, a bird sacred 
to her. Ovid. — A dog of Ulysses, who 
knew his master after an absence of 20 
years. Homer. — A son of Jupiter and 
Niobe, was the first child whom the 
father of the gods had by a mortal. He 
succeeded Phorcneus as king of the 
country , and built Argos, which became 
the capital of his dominions. He mar- 
ried Evadne, the daughter of Strymon 
and Meaera,by whom he had Jasus, Py- 
ranthus, Epidaurus, cic. Apollod. Pans. 
&e. 

Argyraspides, a legion be- 
longing to Alexander, so called from 
their having helmets of silver. 

Argynnis, a name of Venus, 
which she received from Argynnus, a 
favorite youth of Agamemnon, who was 
drowned in the Cephisus. Property 

Argyra, a nymph greatly be- 
loved by a shepherd called Selimnus. 
She was changed into a fountain, and 
the shepherd into a -river of the same 
name, whose waters make levers forget 
the object of their affections.— The na- 
tive place of Dicdorus Siculus, in Si- 
cily. 

Argyre, an island near the 
mouth of the Indus, formerly abound- 
ing in metal. Pomp. Mela. 

Argyrxpa, a town of Apulia, 
built by Diomedes. — Polybius calls it 
Argipana ; now called Arpi. 

Art a, a country of Asia, situate 
at the east of Parthia. Mela. — The wife 
of Partus Cecinna, a Roman senator, 
who was accused of a conspiracy against 
Claudius, and carried to Rome by sea. 
She accompanied him, and in the boat 
she stabbed herself, and presented the 
sword to her husband, who followed 
her example. Plin. 

Ariadne, daughter of Minos, 
second king of Crete, by Pasiphae, fell 
in love with Theseus, who was shut up 
in the labyrinth to be devoured by the 
Minotaur. She gave him a clue of 
thread, by which he extricated himself 
from the different windings of his con- 
finement. After he had conquered the 
Minotaur, he carried her away and mar- 
ried her; but he afterwards forsook her, 
though already pregnant. Ariadne was 
so disconsolate upon being abandoned 
by Theseus, that she hung herself. Ac- 
cording to some writers, Bacchus loved 
her after Theseus had forsaken her, and 
he gave her a crown of seven stars, 
which, after her death, were made a 
constellation. The Argives shewed Ari- 



adne's tomb, and, when one of their 
temples was repaired, her ashes were 
said to have been found in an earthen 
urn. Pint. Ovid. &c. 

Ari^eus, an officer who suc- 
ceeded to the command of the surviving 
army after the death of Cyrus the 
younger, after the battle of Cunaxa. 
He made peace with Artaxerxes. Xe~ 
noph. 

Ariamnes, a king of Cappa- 

doeia, son of Aiiarathes III. 

Ariantas, a Scythian king, 

mentioned by Herodotus, who caused 
all his subjects to present him with an 
arrow every year. 

Ariarathes. The name of 
twelve successive kings of Cappadocia, 
whose history is for the most part blend- 
ed v/ith that of the Greeks and Romans. 
It is somewhat remarkable, that, when 
Nicomedes of Bithynia, dreading the 
power of Mithridates, interested the Ro- 
mans in the affairs of Cappadocia, and 
the arbiters wished to render the coun- 
try free, the Cappadoeians demanded a 
king, and received Ariobarzanes, B. C. 
91. 

Aricia, an Athenian girl, 

whom Hippolytus married after he had 
been raised from the dead by iEscula- 
pius. Ke had a son by her called Vir- 
bius. Ovid. Met. — A very ancient town 
of Italy, built by Hippolytus, son of 
Theseus, after he had been raised from 
the dead by iEsculapius, and transported 
into Italy by Diana. In a grove, in the 
neighbourhood of Ariea, Theseus built 
a temple to Diana, where he established 
the same rites as were in the temple of 
that goddess in Tauris. The priest of 
this temple was always a fugitive, and 
the murderer of his predecessor, and 
went always armed with a dagger, to 
prevent whatever attempts might be 
made upon his life by one who wished to 
be his successor. The Arician forest 
was very celebrated, and no horses would 
ever enter it, because Hippolytas had 
been killed by them. Egeria, whom 
Numa visited, generally resided in this 
famous grove, which was situated on the 
Appian wav, beyond Mount Albanus. 
Gvid. &c 

Aricina* a surname of Diana, 

from her temple near Aricia. [Vid, Ari- 
cia.]— The mother of Octavius. 

Arid^eus, a companion of Cy- 
rus the younger. After the death of his 
friend, he reconciled himself with Art- 
axerxes, by betraying to him the sur- 
viving Greeks in their return. Diod. — 
An illegitimate son of Philip, who, after 
the death of Alexander, was made king, 
till Roxana, who was pregnant by Alex- 
ander, brought into the world a legiti- 
mate male successor. Aridaius had not 
the free enjoyment of his senses, and 
therefore Perdiccas, one of Alexander's 



AM 



ARI 



generals, declared himself his protector, 
and even married his sister to strengthen 
their connexion. He was seven years in 
possession of the sovereign power, and 
was put to death, with his wife Eury- 
diee, by_01ympias. Justin. 

AriInts, wife of Astyages, 

king of Media. Herodot. 

Arig^um, a town of India, 
which Alexander found burnt, and with- 
out inhabitants. Arrian. 

Arii, the name of several 
people— -of India — of Arabia— of Scythia 
—of Germania. 

Arima, a place of Cilicia, or 
Syria, whereTyphceus was overwhelmed 
under the ground. Homer. ^ 

Arimasias, a Persian god; 
worshipped also in Media. 

Arimaspias, a river of Scy- 
thia with golden sands. The neighbour- 
ing inhabitants had but one eye in the 
middle of their forehead, arid waged 
continual war against the Griffins, mon- 
strous animals that collected the gold of 
the river. Plin. Herodot. 

Arimazes, a powerful prince 
of Sogdiana,who treated Alexander with 
much insolence,and even asked whether 
he could fly, to aspire to so extensive a 
dominion. He \ surrendered, and was 
exposed on a cross with his friends and 
relations. Curt. 

Arimi, a nation of Syria. 

Strab. ^ 

Ariminum, an ancient city of 
Italy, near the Rubicon, on the borders 
of Gaul. It was the cause of Csesar's 
civil wars. Lucan. 

Ariminus, a river of Italy, 
rising in the Apennine mountains. Pint. 

ARiMPHiEi, a people of Scy- 
thia, near the Riphaeaii mountains, who 
lived chie*ly upon berries in the woods, 
and were remarkable for their innocence 
and mildness. Plin. 

Ariobarzanes. The most re- 
markable of this name was a man made 
king of Cappadociaby theRomans, after 
the troubles which the false Ariarathes 
had raised had subsided. Mithridates 
drove him from his kingdom, but the 
Romans restored him. He followed the 
interest of Pompey, and fought at Phar- 
salia against J. Caesar. Hor. &c. — A 
general of Darius, who defended the 
passes of Susa with 15,000 foot against 
Alexander. After a bloody encounter 
with the Macedonians, he v/as killed as 
he attempted to seize the city of Perse- 
polis. A Mede of elegnr>t stature, and 
great prudence, whom Tiberius ap- 
pointed to settle the troubles of Arme- 
nia. Tacit.— A. satrap, who revolted 
from the king of Persia. 

Ariom andes, son of Gobryas, 
was general of Athens against the Per- 
sians. Plut. 



Ariom ard us, a son of Darius, 
in the army of Xerxes when he went 
against Greece. Herodot. 

A R ion, a famous lyric poet and 
musician of Methymna, in the island of 
Lesbos. He went into Italy with Peri- 
ander, tyrant of Corinth, where he ob- 
tained immense riches by his profession : 
wishing to revisit his country, the sailors 
of the ship in which he embarked re- 
solved to murder him, to obtain the 
riches which he was carrying to Lesbos. 
Arion, seeing their resolution, begged 
that he might be permitted to play some 
melodious tune ; which, as soon as he 
had finished, he threw himself into the 
sea. A number of dolphins had been at- 
tracted round the ship by the sweetness 
of his music ; and it is said thai one of 
them carried him safe on his back to 
Tsenarus, whence he hastened to the 
court of Periander, who ordered all the 
sailors to be crucified at their return. 
Hi/ gin. Herodot. — A horse, sprung from 
Ceres and Neptune. Ceres, when she 
travelled over the world in quest of her 
daughter Proserpine, had " taken the 
figure of a mare, to avoid the impor- 
tuning addresses of Neptune. The god 
changed himself also into a horse, and 
from their union arose the horse Arion, 
who had the power of speech, the feet 
on the right side like those of a man, 
and the rest of the body like a horse. 
Arion was brought up by the Nereides, 
who often harnessed him to his father's 
chariot, which he drew over the sea with 
uncommon swiftness. Neptune gave 
him to Copreus, who presented him to 
Hercules. Adrastus, king of Argos, re- 
ceived him as a present from Hercules, 
and with this wonderful animal he won 
the prize at the Nemasan games. Arion, 
therefore, is often called the horse of 
Adrastus. Paus. 

Ariovistus, a king of Ger- 
many, who professed himself a friend 
of Rome. When Caesar v/as in Gaul, 
Ariovistus marched against him, and 
was conquered, with the loss of 80,000 
men. C<ss. 

Arisba, a town of Lesbos — A 
colony of the Mityleneans in Troas. 
Virg. — The name of Priam's first wife, 
who was divorced in order that Priam 
might marry Hecuba. 

Abjst^eum, a city of Thrace, 
at the foot of Mount Haemus. Plin. 

Arist/eus, son of Apollo and 
the nymph Cyrene, was born in the de- 
serts of Libya, and brought up by the 
Seasons, and fed upon nectar and am- 
brosia. He came to settle in Greece, 
where hemarriedAutonoe, the daughter 
of Cadmus, by whom he had a son called 
Actaeon. He fell in love with Eurydice, 
the wife of Orpheus, and pursued her in 
the fields. She was stung by a serpent 
that lay in the grass, and died,for which 
the gods destroyed all the bees of Aris- 
taeus. In this calamity he applied to his 



ARI 



AM 



mother, who directed him to seize the 
sea-god Proteus, and consult him how 
he might repair the losses he had sus- 
tained. Proteus advised him to appease 
the manes of Eurvdice by the sacrifice 
of four hulls and'four heifers; and, as 
soon as he had done it, and left them in 
the air, swarms of bees immediately 
sprang from their rotten carcasses, and 
restored Aristseus to his former pro- 
sperity. Aristaeus is said to have learned 
from the nymphs the cultivation of 
olives, and the management of bees, &c. 
which he afterwards communicated to 
the rest of mankind. Virg. He was, 
after death, worshipped as a demi god. 
— A general, who commanded the Co- 
rinthian forcer, at the siege of Potidaea. 
He was taken by the Athenians, and put 
to death. 

Ae.istagor.as, a son- in-law of 

Histiaeus, tyrant of Myletus, who re- 
volted from Darius, and incited the 
Athenians against Persia, and burnt Sar- 
dis. This so exasperated the king, that 
every evening before supper he ordered 
his servants to remind him of punishing 
x\ristagoras. He was killed in a battle 
he fought against the Persians, B. C. 
"499. Herodot. 

Akistaxder, a celebrated 

soothsayer, greatly esteemed by Alexan- 
der. Plut. In Alex. — An Athenian, who 
wrote on agii culture. 

Aristarciie, an Ephesian 
matron, who sailed with the Phocians 
to the coasts of Gaul, by command of 
Diana, and was made Priestess. Sti-ab. 

ArISTARCHITS. The most Ce- 
lebrated of this name was a grammarian 
of Samos. He was famous for his cri- 
tical powers, and he revised the poems 
of Homer with such severity, that ever 
after all severe critics were called Aris- 
tarehi. He wrote above 800 commen- 
taries on different authors, much es- 
teemed in his age. Ho): &c. — An astro- 
nomer of Samos, who first supposed that 
the earth turned round its axis, and re- 
volved round the sun. This doctrine 
nearly proved fatal to him, as he was ac- 
cused of disturbing the peace of the gods 
Lares. The age in which he flourished 
is not precisely known. His treatise on 
the largeness of the sun, and its distance, 
js extant. 

Ae-isteas. The most eminent 

of this name was a poet of Proconnesus, 
who appeared seven years after his death 
to his countrymen, and 540 years after 
to the people of Metaponium in Italy, 
and commanded them to raise him a 
statue near the temple of Apollo. He 
wrote an epic poem on the Arimaspi, in 
three books, and some of his verses are 
quoted by Longinus. 

Aristeus, an Argive, who in- 
duced Pyrrhusto declare war against his 
own country. Poli/cen. 



Aristkexes, a shepherd who 

found vEseulapius when he had been 
exposed in the woods by his mother 
Coronis. 

Aristhcs, an Arcadian hi- 
storian, mentioned by Dionysius of 

Halicamassus. 

Aristides. Among the many- 
recorded of this name by ancient writers, 
none was so celebrated as an Athenian, 
son of Lysimachus, in the age of The- 
mistoeles, whose great temperance and 
virtue procured him the surname cf 
Just. He was rival to Themistocles, by 
whose influence he was banished for tea 
years, B. C. 484 ; but, before six years 
had elapsed, he was recalled. He was 
at the battle of Salamis, and was ap- 
pointed chief commander with Pausa- 
Jiias, against Mardonius, whom they de- 
feated at Plataea. He died so poor, that 
the expenses of his funeral were defrayed 
at the public charge; his two daughters, 
on account of their father's virtues, re- 
ceived a dowry from the public treasury 
when they were come to marriageable 
years. He was eminently conspicuous 
for his moral goodness. When he sat as 
judge, it is said that the plaintiff, in his 
accusation, mentioned the injuries his 
opponent had done to Aristides. " Men- 
tion the wrongs you have received," re- 
plied the equitable Athenian, "I sit 
here as judge 3 and the lawsuit is yours, 
and not mine." C. Nep.<§ Plut. in Vita. 
—A Greek orator, who wrote 50 orations, 
besides other tracts. When Smyrna was 
destroyed by an earthquake, he'wrote so 
pathetic a letter to M. Aurelius, that the 
emperor ordered the city immediately 
to be rebuilt, and a statue was in con- 
sequence raised to the orator. His works 
consi-t of hymns in prose in honor of 
the gods, funeral orations, apologies, 
panegyrics, and harangues. 

Ari still us, a philosopher of 
the Alexandrian school, who, about 300 
years B. C attempted, with Timocharis, 
to determine the place of the different 
stars in the heavens, and to trace the 
course of the planets. 

Aristio, a sophist of Athens, 
who, being supported by one of Mithri- 
dates' generals, acquired absolute au- 
thority. — Sylla defeated him, on whicji 
he poisoned himself. Livy. 

Aristippus the elder, a phi- 
losopher of Cyreue, disciple to Socrates, 
and founder of the Cyrenaic sect. He 
was one of the flatterers of Dionysius of 
Sicily , and distinguished himself for his 
epicurean voluptuousness. Many of his 
sayings and maxims are recorded by 
Diogenes, in his life.— His grandson, of 
the same name, called the younger, was 
a warm defender of his opinions, and 
supported that the principles of all things 
were pain and pleasure. He flourished 
about 3G3 years B. C. 



ART 



ARI 



Aristobula, a name given by 

Themistocles to Luna. 

Aristobulus, an author, who 
wrote a lifeof Alexander, remarkable for 
nothing but the untruths it contained, 
and the adulation by which it was dis- 
graced. 

ARiSTOBUL'Us,a name common 

to some of the high priests and kings of 
JudEea, &c. Joseph.— One of Alexander's 
-attendants, who wrote the king's life, 
replete with adulation and untruth. 

Aristoclea, a beautiful wo- 
man, seen naked by Strato, as she was 
offering a sacrifice. She was passionately 
loved by Callisthenes, and was equally 
admired by Strato. The two rivals so 
furiously contended for her hand, that 
she died during their quarrel, upon 
which Strato killed himself, and Calli- 
sthenes was never seen after. Plut. in 
Amat. 

Aristocles. This name is 

common to many Greeks, of whom few 
or no particulars are recorded ; but the 
most remarkable was a peripatetic phi- 
losopher of Messenia, who reviewed, in 
a treatise on philosophy, the opinions of 
his predecessors. The 14th book of this 
treatise is quoted, &c— He also wrote 
on rhetoric, and likewise nine books on 
morals. 

AristoclTdes, a tyrant of 

Orchomenus, who, because he could not 
win the affection of Stymphalis, killed 
her and her father, upon which all Ar- 
cadia took up arms /and destroyed the 
murderer. 

Aristocrates. A name com- 
mon to many Greeks, the most remark- 
able of whom was a king of Arcadia, put 
to death by his subjects for offering vio- 
lence to the priestess, of Diana. Paus. 
—His grandson, of the same name, was 
stoned' to death for taking bribes, during 
the second Messenian war, and being the 
cause of the defeat of his Messenian 
allies, B. C. G82. Id. 

Abistodeme, one of Priam's 
daughters. 

Aristodemus. An cien t writers 
mention many of this name, the most 
remarkable of whom is a sou of Aristo- 
machus,one of the Heraelida?. He, with 
his brothers Temenusand Chresphontes, 
invaded Peloponuesus,conquered it, and 
divided the country amoi g themselves, 
1 104 years B. C. Paws.— A king of Mes- 
serda, who maintained a famous war 
against Sparta. After some losses he 
recovered his strength, and so effectually 
defeated the enemy ',3 forces, that they 
were obliged to prostitute their women 
to repeople their country. The offspring 
of this prostitution were called P^rthe- 
nia?, and 30 years after their birth they 
left Sparta, and seized upon Tarentum. 
Aristodemus killed himself, after a reign 
tff-six years and seme months, in which 



he had obtained much military glory, 
B. C. 724. Paus.— The father of Eury- 
sthenes and Procles, was the first king of 
Lacedssmon, of the Heraclidas. 

Aristo genes, a physician of 
Cnidos. — A Thasian,who wrote 24 books 
on medicine. 

Aristogiton and Harmo- 

DIUS, two celebrated friends of Athens, 
who, by their joint efforts, delivered 
their country from the tyranny of the 
Pisistratidse, B. C. 5L0. They received 
immortal honours from the Athenians, 
and had statues raised to their memory. 
These statues were carried away by 
Xerxes when he took Athens. The con- 
spiracy of Aristogiton was so secret, that 
it is said, a courtezan bit her tongue off, 
not (o betray the trust reposed in her. 
Perns. Herodot. — An Athenian orator, 
surnamed Canis, for his impudence. He 
wrote orations against Timarehus, Ti- 
motheus, Hyperides, and Thrasyllus. 

Aristomache, the wife of 
Dionysius of Syracuse. Cic. — A daughter 
of Priam, who married Critolaus. Paus. 

Aristomachus, the son of 

Cleodasus, and grandson of Hyjlus, 
whose three sons, Chresphontes, Te- 
menus, and Aristodemus, called Hera- 
clidse, conquered Peloponnesus.— This 
name was common to some other Greeks 
of less note. 

Aristomenes, a commander 
of the fleet of Darius on the Hellespont, 
conquered by the Macedonians. Curt. 
— A famous general of Messenia,who en- 
couraged his countrymen to shake off the 
Lacedaemonian yoke, under which they 
had laboured for above 30 years. He 
refused to assume the title of king, and 
was satisfied with that of commander. 
He acquired the surname of Just.» from 
his equity, to which he joined the true 
valor, sagacity, and perseverance of a 
general. He was at last unfortunately 
killed, as he attempted to enter Sparta 
by stealth, and his body being opened*-. 
his heart was found all covered with 
hair. He died 671 years B. C. Diog. 

Arjston.. Among those of this 
name mentioned by ancient writers, the 
most remarkable was the son of Agasi- 
cles, king of Sparta. Being unable to. 
raise children by two wives, he married 
another, famous for her beauty, by whom 
he had, after se ven months, a son, whom 
he had the imprudence to call not his 
own. Herodot. — A philosopher of Chios, 
pupil to Zeno the stoic, and founder of 
a sect which continued but a little while. 
He supported that the nature of the di- 
vinity' is unintelligible.. It is said that he 
died by the heat of the sun, which fell 
too powerfully upon his bald head. In 
his old age he was much given to sen- 
suality. Biog. — A peripatetic philoso- 
pher of Alexandria, who wrote concern- 
ing the course of the Nile. Strab. 

Aristonicus, a grammarian 
D 5 



AM 



ARM 



ot Alexandra* who wrote a commentary 
on Ilesiod and Homer, besides a treatise 
on the Musseiim established at Alexan- 
dria by the Ptolemies. — Son of Eumenes, 
by a concubine of Ephesus, 123 B. C. 
invaded Asia and the kingdom ofPer- 
gamus, which Attains hall left by his 
will to the Roman people. He was 
conquered by the consul Perpenna, 
and strangled "in prison. Justin. Flor. 
&c. 

Aristoxymus, a ?omic poet 

under Philadelphia, keeper of the li- 
brary of Alexandria. » 

Abistophaxes, a celebrated 
comic poet of Athens, son of Philip of 
Rhodes. He wrote 5-i comedies, of which 
only eleven have come down to us. He 
lived in the age of Socrates, Demosthe : 
nes, and Euripides, B. C. 434, and' 
lashed the vices of the age with a mas- 
terly hand. The wit and excellence of 
his comedies are well known : but his 
attack upon the venerable character of 
Socrates has been always censured, and 
with justice. Aristophanes has been 
called the prince of ancient comedy, as 
Menander of t he new. The play called 
Nubes is pointedly against Socrates, and 
the philosopher is exposed to ridicule, 
and his precepts placed in a most ludi- 
crous point of view, by the introduction 
of one of his pupils in the character of 
the piece. Quintil. &e. — There were 
other Greeks of this name, but of in- 
ferior note. 

Aristopkiltdes, a king of 
Tarentum during the reign of Darius, 
the son of Kysiaspes. 

Aristophon, a painter in the 



Aristor, the father of Argus 
the hundred-eyed keeper of Io. 

Aristoteleia, festivals in 

honor of Aristotle, because he obtained 
the restitution of his country from Alex- 
ander. 

Apjstoteles, a famous phi- 
losopher, son of the physician Nicoma- 
ehus by Festiada, born at Stagira. Af- 
ter his father's death he went to Athens 
to hear Plato's lectures, where he soon 
signalized himself by the brightness of 
his genius. After he had spent 2o veers 
in hearing the instructions of Plato, he 
opened a school for himself, for which 
he was accused of ingratitude and iilibe- 
rality by his ancient master. He was 
moderate in his meals, and slept little. 
He was ten years preceptor to Alexan- 
der, who received his instructions with 
deference, and always respected him. 
Almost all his writings, which are com- 
posed on a variety of subjects, are ex- 
tant. Diogenes Laertes has given us a 
very extensive catalogue of them. He 
has' been called by Plato the philosopher 



of truth ; and Cicero compliments him 
with the title of a man of eloquence, 
universal knowledge, - readiness and 
acuteness of invention,-and fecundity of 
thought. He was so authoritative in "his 
opinions, that, as Bacon observes, he- 
wished to establish the same opinion 
over men's minds as his pupil over na- 
tions. Aristotle's logic has long reigned 
in the schools, an.l been regarded as the 
perfect model of all imitation. As he 
expired, the philosopher is said to have 
uttered the following sentiment : " Fcsde 
Lane mundum intravi, anxius urn, per- 
turbatus egredior, causa causarum mi- 
sere) e meif" The letter which Philip 
wrote to Aristotle has been preserved, 
and is in these words : " I inform vou 1 
have a son ; I thank the gods, not so 
much for making ine a father, as for 
giving me a son in an age when lie can 
have Aristotle for his instructor. I hope 
you will make him a successor worthy 
of me, and a king worthy of Macedo- 
nia." He died in the G3d year of his 
age, B. C. 322, and the people of Stagira 
instituted festivals in his honor, because 
he had been very Serviceable to their 
city. Diug. Pint.'— There were besides 
seven of the same name, but of inferior 
note. 

AristctImls, tyrant of Elis 

A. C. 271. 

Aristoxexus, a celebrated 

musician, disciple of Aristotle. He wrote 
453 different treatises on philosophy, hi- 
story, &c, but of all his works nothing 
remains 'out three books upon music^ 
the most ancient on that subject extant. 
— A philosopher of Cyrene. 

Aristus, a Greek historian of 
Salamis, who wrote an account of Alex- 
ander's expedition. Strab. 

Arius, a river of Gaul, and of 
Asia. — A celebrated writer, the origin of 
the Arian controversy, that denied the 
eternal divinity and consubstantialityof 
the Yv ord. Though greatly persecuted 
for his opinions, he gained "the favor of 
the emperor Constantine, and triumphed 
over his powerful antagonist Athanasius. 
He died the very night he was going to 
enter the church of Constantinople in 
triumph. Pressed by nature, he stepped 
aside to ease himself ; but his bowels 
gushed out, and he expired on the spot. 
Athanas. 

Armexes, the son of Nabis. 

Armenia, a large country of 

Asia, divided into Upper and Lower 
Armenia. Upper Armenia, called also 
Major, has Media on the east, Iberia on 
the north, and Mesopotamia on the 
south. Lower Armenia, or Minor, is 
bounded by Cappadocia, Armenia Major, 
Syria, Silicia, and the Euphrates. The 
country received its name from Arme- 
nus, who was one of the Argonauts, and 
of Thessalian origin. Armenia Major 
is now called Turcomania, and Minor 



ABE 



ARS 



Aladulia. Herodot. The Romans made 
it one of their provinces, and, under 
some of the emperors, the Armenians 
had the privilege of choosing their own 
kings ; but they were afterwards reduced. 
They borrowed the names and attributes 
of their deities from the Persians. He- 
rodot. Strah. &c. 

ArmehtaRius, raised to the 
dignity of Caesar, in the reign of Diocle- 
tian. 

Armillatus, a favourite of 

the emperor Domitian. 

Armilustrilm, a festival at 
Rome on the 19th of October. When 
the sacrifices were offered, all the people 
appeared under arms. It was instituted 
A. U. C. 543. 

Arminius, a warlike general of 
the Germans, who supported a bloody 
war against Rome for some time, and 
was at last conquered by Germanicus in 
two great battles. He was poisoned bv 
one of his friends, A. D. 19, in the 37th 
year of his age. Diod. 

Armoric^, cities of Celtic 
Gaul, famous for the warlike, rebellious, 
and inconstant disposition of the inha- 
bitants called Armorici. Caes. 

Arne, a city of Lycia, called 
afterwards Xanthus.— A town of Um- 
bria, in Italy.— A daughter of iEolus, 
who gave her name to two towns, one in 
Thessaly, the other in Boeotia. Neptune 
changed himself into a bull to enjoy her 
company. Strcib. 
-Artti, a people of Ausonia de- 
stroyed by Hercules. 

Arnobius, a philosopher in 
Diocletian's reign, who became a con- 
vert to Christianity. He applied for 
ordination, but was refused by the bi- 
shops till he gave them a proof of his 
sincerity. Upon this he wrote his cele- 
brated treatise, in which he exposed the 
absurdity of irreligion, and ridiculed the 
heathen gods. 

Aroma, the name of two towns, 
one in Cappadocia, the other in Caria. 

Arnus, a river of Etruria, 
rising on the A pen nine mountains, and 
falling into the Mediterranean. IAv. 

Arpi, a city of Apulia, built by 
Diomedes after the Trojan war. Justin. 

Arpinum, a town of the Vol- 
sci. famous for giving birth to Cicero 
and Marius. Juv, — A town of Magna 
Graecia. 

Arrhab^eus, king of a people 
hostile to Archelaus, king of Macedon. 

Arrianus. The most eminent 
of this name was a philosopher of Nico- 
media, priest of Ceres and Proserpine, 
and disciple of Epictetus, called another 
Xenophon, from the elegance and sweet- 
ness of his diction , and distinguished for 
his acquaintance with military and poli- 
tical life. He wrote seven books on Alex- 



ander's expedition, the Periplus of the 
Euxine and Red Seas, four books on the 
dissertations of Epictetus, besides an ac- 
count of the Alani, Bythinians, and Par- 
tisans. He flourished about the 140th 
year of Christ, and was rewarded with 
the consulship and government of Cap- 
padocia, by M. Antoninus. — A poet who 
wrote an epic poem, in 24 books, on 
Alexander; also another poem on At- 
tains, king of Pergamus. He likewise 
translated Virgil's Georgics into Greek 
verse. 

Arrius, a friend of Cicero, 

whose sumptuous feast Horace de- 
scribes, 2 Sat. 

Arrius and Arius, a philoso- 
pher of Alexandria, who so ingratiated 
himself with Augustus, after the battle 
of Actium, that the conqueror declared 
the people of Alexandria owed the pre- 
servation of their city to these three 
causes; because Alex'ander was their 
founder, because of the beauty of the 
situation, and because Arrius was a na- 
tive of the place. Pint. 

Arruntius, a famous geogra- 
pher, who, upon being accused of adul- 
tery and treason, under Tiberius, opened 
his veins. Tacit. 

Arsaces, a man of obscure 

origin, who, upon seeing Seleueus de- 
feated by the Gauls, invaded Parthia, 
and conquered the governor of the pro- 
vince called Andragoras, and laid the 
foundation of an empire 250 B. C. He 
added the kingdom of the Hyrcani to his 
newly acquired possessions, and spent 
his time in establishing his power, and 
regulating the laws. After death he was 
made a god of his nation, and all his 
successors were called, in honour of his 
"name, Arsacida?, whose power subsisted 
till the 229th year of the Christian asra, 
when they were conquered by Artax- 
erxes, king of Persia. Justin. — His son 
and successor bore the same name. — The 
3d king of Parthia, of the family of 
the Arsaeidae, bore the same name, and 
was also called Priapatius. He reigned 
twelve years, and left two sons, Mithri- 
dates and Phraates. Phraates succeeded 
as being the elder, and at his death lie 
left his kingdom to his brother, though 
he had many children ; observing, that 
a monarch ought to have in view, not 
the dignity of his family, but the pro- 
sperity of his subjects. Justin. — A king 
of Pontus and Armenia, in alliance with 
the Romans. He fought long with Suc- 
cess against the Persians, till he was 
deceived by the snares of king Sapor, 
his enemy, who put out his eyes, and 
soon deprived him of life. — The eldest 
son of Artabanus, appointed over Ar- 
menia by his father, after the death of 
king Artaxias. Tacit. Hist. 6. 

Arsamenes, a Persian satrap, 
at the battle of the Granicus. 

Arsanias, an Armenian river 



ART 



ART 



which flows into the Tigris, and after- 
wards into the Euphrates. Plin. 
Arsacid^;. [Vide Arsaces.] 
Arses, the youngest son of 

Oehus, whom the eunuch Bagoas raised, 
to the throne of Persia, and destroyed 
with his children, after a reign of three 
years. Diod. 

Arsia, a wood of Etruria, fa- 
mous for a battle between the Romans ' 
and the Veientes. Pint. — A river of 
Italy, flowing through Campania. 

Arsinoe, a dau gh ter of Leu- 
cippus and Philodice, and mother of 
^Esculapius by Apollo. Apollnd. — The 
sister of Ptolemy Philadelphus, wor- 
shipped after death under the name of 
Venus Zephyritis. Dinochares began 
to build her a temple with loadstones, 
in which stood a statue of Arsinoe, sus- 
pended in the air by the power of the 
magnet, but the death of the architect 
prevented its being perfected. PUn. — 
A daughter of Ptolemy Lagus, who 
married Lysimachus king of Macedonia. 
After her husband's death, Ceraunus, 
her own brother, married her, and 
ascended the throne of Macedonia. He 
previously murdered Lysimachus and 
Philip, the sons of Arsinoe by Lysima- 
chus, in their mother's arms. Arsinoe 
was some time after banished into Sa- 
rnothracia. Justin. — A town of Egypt, 
situated near the lake cf Maoris, where 
the inhabitants paid uncommon vene- 
ration to the crocodile. — This name was 
common to many other persons and 
places mentioned in ancient authors. 

Artaeanus, son of Hystaspes, 
was brother to Darius the first. He dis- 
suaded his nephew Xerxes from making 
war against the Greeks, and at his return 
he assassinated him with the hopes of 
ascending the throne. Diod. &c. — A 
king cf Parthia, after the death of his 
nephew Phmaies 2d. — A king of Media, 
and afterwards of Parthia, after the ex- 
pulsion of Vonones, whom Tiberius had 
made king there. He invaded Armenia, 
from whence he was expelled by one 
of the generals of Tiberius. He was 
banished his throne, which Tiridates 
usurped ; nd some time after he was 
restored again to his ancient power, and 
died A. D. 48. Tacit. — Another king of 
Parthia, who made war against the em- 
peror Caracalla, who had attempted his 
life on pretence of courting his daughter. 
He was murdered, and the power of 
Parthia abolished, and the crown trans- 
lated to the Persian monarehs. Herodian. 

Artabazanes or Artame- 

NES, the eldest son of Darius when a 
private person. He attempted to suc- 
ceed to the Persian throne after his 
father's death, but it was determined 
that Xerxes was the proper heir of the 
monarchy, because, though younger, 
he was eldest of the children born to 
Darius when king. Justin. 

Artalajsl»?, a son of Phar- 



naces, general in the army of Xerxes. 
He fled from Greece upon the ill suc- 
cess of Mardonius. Herodot. — A gene- 
ral who made war against Artaxerxes, 
and was defeated. He was afterwards 
reconciled to his prince, and became 
the familiar friend of Darius III. After 
the murder of this prince, he surren- 
dered himself up with his sons to Alex- 
ander, who treated him with much hu- 
manity and confidence. Curt. 

Artace, a town and sea- port 
near Cyzicus. This citv did not exist in 
the time of Pliny.— A city of Phrygia. 

Artacene, a country of As- 
syria, near Arbcla, where Alexander 
conquered Darius. Strab. 

Art^i, a name by which the 
Persians were called among the neigh- 
bouring nations. ' - 

Artagerses, a general in the 
army of Artaxerxes, killed by Cyrus 
the younger. Plat. 

Artanes, a king of the south- 
em parts of Armenia. Strab A river 

of Thrace flowing into the Ister. 

Artaph ernes, a general 
whom Darius sent into Greece with 
Datis. He was conquered at the battle 
of Marathon, by Miltiades. Vid. Datis. 
C. Nep. 

Artatus, a river of Illyria, 

mentioned by Livy. 

Artavasde?, a son of Ti- 

granes, king of Upper Armenia, who 
wrote tragedies, and shone as an ele- 
gant orator and faithful historian. He 
lived in alliance with the Romans, but 
Crassus was defeated partly on account 
of his delay. He betrayed M. Antony 
in his expedition against Parthia, on 
which Antony reduced his kingdom, 
and carried him to Egypt, where he 
adorned the triumph of the conqueror, 
led in golden chains. He was some 
time after murdered. Strab. — The crown 
of Armenia was given by Tiberius to a 
person of the same name, who was ex- 
pelled. — Augustus had also raised to the 
throne of Armenia a person of the same 
name. Tacit. 

Art ax a and Artaxias, a 

general of Antiochus the Great, who 
erected the province of Armenia into a 
kingdom, by his reliance on the friend- 
ship of the Romans. 

Art ax at a, a strongly fortified 
town of Upper Armenia, tlie capital of 
the em pile, where the kings generally 
resided. It is said that Annibal built it 
for Artexias, the king of the country. 
It was burnt by Corbuio, and rebuilt by 
Tiridates, who called it Neronea, in ho- 
nor of Nero. Strab. 

Artaxerxes 1st, succeeded 

to the kingdom of Persia after his fa- 
ther Xerxes. He destroyed Artabanus, 
who had murdered Xerxes, and at- 
tempted to destroy the royal family t<> 



ART 



ART 



raise himself to the throne. He made 
war against the Bactrians, re-conquered 
Egypt, and was remarkable for his 
equity and moderation. One of his 
hands was longer than the other, whence 
he has been called Meter ocheir, or Lon- 
ifimanus. He reigned 39 years, and 
died B. C. 425. C. Nep. &c.—The 2d 
of that name, king of Persia, was sur- 
named Mnemon, on account of his ex- 
tensive memory. He was son of Da- 
rius. II. by Parysatis, the daughter of 
Artaxerxes" Longimanus, and had three 
brothers, Cyiusj Ostaiies, and Oxathres. 
His name was Arsaces, which he changed 
into Artaxerxcs when he ascended the 
throne. His brother Cyrus was of so 
ambitious a disposition that he resolved 
to make himself king, in opposition to 
Artaxerxes. Parysatis always favored 
Cyrus ; and when he had attempted the 
life of Artaxerxes, she obtained his par- 
don by her entreaties and influence. Cy- 
rus, who had been appointed over Lydia 
and the sea coasts, assembled a large 
army under various pretences, and at 
last marched against his brother at the 
head of 100,000 barbarians, and 13,000 
Greeks. He was opposed by Artaxerxes 
with 900,000 men, and a bloody battle 
was fought at Cimaxa, in which Cyrus 
was killed, and his forces routed. [ Vid. 
Clearchus and Xenophon.] It has been 
reported that Cyrus was killed by Arta- 
xerxes, who was so desirous of the ho- 
nor, that he put to death two men for 
saying that they had killed him. The 
Greeks who had assisted Cyrus against 
his brother, though at the distance of 
€00 leagues from their country, made 
their way through the territories of the 
enemy; and nothing is more famous in 
the Grecian history than the retreat of 
the ten thousand. After he was de- 
livered from the factious of his brother, 
Artaxerx: s stirred up a war among the 
Greeks against Sparca. It is said' that 
Artaxerxes died of a broken heart, in 
cor.scquc-nce of the unnatural behaviour 
of his sons Darius and Ochus, who had 
conspired against him, in the 94th year 
of his age, after a reign of 46 years, B.C. 
358. He recovered Egypt, which had 
revolted, destroyed Sydon, and ravaged 
all Syria. — The 3d, surnamed Ochus, 
succeeded his father Artaxerxes II. and 
established himself on his throne by 
•murdering above 80 of his nearest re- 
lations. He made war against the Ca- 
dusii, and greatly rewarded a private 
man called Codcraar'us fvir his uncom- 
mon valor. But his behaviour in Egypt, 
and his cruelty towards the inhabitants, 
offended his subjects, and Bagoas at last 
obliged his physician to poison him, 
B. C. 337 ; he afterwards gave his flesh 
to be devoured by cats, and made handles 
for swords with his hones. Justin. Diocl. 
&c. 

Artaxfrxes or Artaxares 

1st, a common soldier of Persia, who 
killed Artabanus, A. D. 228, and erected 



Persia again into a kingdom, which had 
been extinct since the death of Darius. 
Severus,the Roman emperor, conquered 
him, and obliged him to remain within 
his kingdom. Herodian. 

Artaxias, son of Artavasdes, 
king of Armenia, was proclaimed king 
by his father's troops. He opposed An- 
tony, by whom he was defeated, and 
became so odious, that the Romans, at 
the request of the Armenians, raised 
Tigranes to the throne. 

Artayctes, a Persian, ap- 
pointed governor of Sestos by Xerxes. 
He was hung on a cress by the Atheni- 
ans for his cruelties. Hcrodot. 

Art ay nt a, a Persian lady, 
whom Xerxes gave in marriage to his 
son Darius. Herodot. 

Artayntes, commander of 
the Persian fleet, appointed by Xerxes. 

Artembares, a Mede, much 
celebrated in the reign of Cyrus the 
great. Herodot. _ 

Artemidqbus, a native of 

Ephesus, who wrote an history and de- 
scription of the earth, in eleven books. 
He flourished about 104 years B. C. — 
A man of Cnidus, son to the historian 
Theopc-mpus. He had a school at Rome, 
and he wrote a book on illustrious men, 
not extant. As he was a friend of J. 
Ca?sar, he wrote down an account of the 
conspiracy which was formed against 
him. He gave it to the dictator from 
among the crowd as he was going to the 
senate, but J. Caesar put it with other 
papers he held in his hand, thinking it 
to be of no material consequence. Plut. 
— A writer on dreams, in the reign of 
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. 

Artemis, the Greek name or 
Diana. Her festivals, called Artemisia, 
were celebrated in several parts of 
Greece, particularly at Delphi, where 
they offered to the goddess a mullet, 
which, as was supposed, bore some affi- 
nity to the goddess of hunting, because 
it is said to hunt and kill the sea-hare. 
— There was a solemnity of the same 
name at Syracuse. Athen. 

Artemisia, daughter of Lyg- 
damis of Kalicarnassus, reigned over 
Halicarnassus and the neighbouring 
country. She assisted Xerxes in his 
expedition against Greece with a fleet, 
and her valor was so great, that the 
monarch observed, that all his men 
fought like women, and ail his women 
like men. Herodot. — There was also 
another of that name, queen of Caria, 
often confounded with the daughter of 
Lygdamis. She was daughter of Heca- 
tomnus, king of Caria, and was married 
to her own brother Mausolus, famous 
for his personal beauty. She was s > 
fond of her husband, that at his death 
she drank in her liquor his ashes, after 
his body had been burned, and erected 



ARU 



ASC 



to his memory a monument, which, for 
its grandeur" and magnificence, was 
called one of the seven wonders of the 
'world. This monument she called Mau- 
soleum, — a name which has been given 
from that time to all monuments of 
uncommon splendor. She was so in- 
consolable for the death of her husband, 
that she died through grief two years 
after. Vitmv. 

Autemisium, a promontory 
of Eubcea, where Diana had a temple. 
The fleet of Xerxes had a skirmish there 
with the Grecian shfps. Herodot. 

Art emit a, an island opposite 
the mouth of the Achelous. Strab. 

Artemox. The most remark- 
able of this name was a native of Clazo- 
mense, who was with Pericles at the 
siege of Samcs, where it is said he in- 
vented the battering ram, the testudo, 
and other equally valuable military en- 
gines. — A Syrian whose features resem- 
bled, in the" strongest manner, those of 
Antiochus. The queen, after the king's 
murder, made use of Artemon to repre- 
sent her husband in a lingering state, 
that, by his seeming to die a natural 
death, she might conceal her guilt, and 
erfeci her wicked purpose. [ Vid. An- 
tioehus.] 

ArtIjVIPAsa, a name of Venus 

among the Scythians. Herodot. 

Art OBAP..Z axes, a son of Da- 
rius, who endeavoured to ascend the 
throne in preference to his brother 
Xerxes, but to no purpose. Herodot. 

Artochmes, one of Xerxes' 
generals, son-in-law to Darius. 

A E. TO XI us, a physician of Au- 
gustus, who, on the night previous to 
the battle of Philip pi, saw Idinerva in a 
dream, who told him to assure Augustus 
of victory. Val. l\lax. 

Ap.toxae.es, a Paphlagonian 
eunuch, put to death by Paryatis in the 
most cruel manner. 

Arturitjs, an obscure fellow, 
raised to honors and wealth by his flat- 
teries, &c. Juv. 

Arvales, a name given to 
twelve priests who celebrated the festi- 
vals called Ambarvalia. [Vid. Ambar- 
valia.] According to some, they were 
descended from the twelve sons of A cca 
Laurentia, who suckled Romulus. They 
wore a crown of ears of corn, and a white 
fillet. Varro', Flin. 6ze. 

Arueris, a god of the Egyp- 
tians, son of Isis and Osiris. 

Arverxi, a powerful people 
of Gaul, near the Ligeris, who took up 
arms against J. Ceesar. They were con- 
quered with great slaughter. Cats. 

Ap_viragus, a king of Britain- 

Aru.e, a people of Hyrcania, 



among whom Alexander gave audience 
to the principal officers of Darius. 

Aruxculeius Costa, a Ro- 
man officer, sent by Caesar to the Gauls, 
by whom he was slain. Cees. 

APtUxs, a soldier who slew Ca- 
milla, and was killed by a dart of Diana. 
Virg. — A brother of Tarquin the Proud. 
He married Tullia, who murdered him 
to espouse Tarquin, who had assas- 
sinated his wife. — A son of Tarquin the 
Proud, who, in the battle that was 
fought between the partizans of his 
father and the Romans, attacked Bru- 
tus, the Roman consul, who wounded 
him and threw him down from his 
horse. Liv. 

Aruxtius, a Roman who ri- 
diculed the rites of Bacchus, for which 
the god inebriated him to such a degree 
that he offered violence to his daughter 
Medullina, who murdered him when 
she found that he acted so dishonorably 
to her virtue. Pint. — There were others 
also of inferior note of this name. 

Aruspex. [Vid. Haruspex.] 

Arybas, a native of Sidon, 
whose daughter was carrkd away by 
pirates. Homer. 

Asaxder, a man who sepa- 
rated, by a wall, Chersonesus Tauriea 
from the continent. Strab. 7. 

AsBESTyE and AsBYSTiE, a 
people of Lybia above Cyrene, where 
the temple of Ammon is built. Jupiter 
is sometimes called on that account As- 
bystius. Herodot. 

Ascalapiius, a son of Mars 
and Astyoche, who was among the Ar- 
gonauts, and went to the Trojan war. 
Homer. — A son of Acheron by Gorgyra 
or Orphne, stationed by Pluto to watch 
over Proserpine, in the Elysian fields. 
Proserpine afterwards changed him into 
an owl, because he discovered that she 
had eaten pomegranates in the Elysian 
fields. Ovid, See. 

Ascalox, a town of Syria, 
near the Mediterranean, about 520 sta- 
dia from Jerusalem, still in being. It 
was anciently famous for its onions. It 
was rendered remarkable, in the time 
of the Crusades, by the bloody tattle 
which was fought there between God- 
frey and the Egyptian Saltan, A. D. 
1099, the 12th of August, in which the 
latter was defeated. Joseph. &e. 

A s c ax i A, an island in the 
^Egean sea. — A city of Troas, built by 
Ascanius. 

Ascaxius, son of .Eneas by 
Creusa, was saved from the flames of 
Troy by his father, whom lie accom- 
panied in his voyage to Italy. He was 
afterwards called lulus. Re succeeded 
..-Eneas in the kingdom of Latium, and 
built Alba, to which he transferred the 
seat of his empire from Lavimum. The 



ASC 



ASI 



descendants of Ascanius reigned in Alba 
for above 420 years, under 14 king?, till 
the age of Numitor. Ascanius reigned 
;>S years ; 30 at Lavinium, and eight at 
Alba ; and was succeeded by Sylvius 
Posthumus, son of Mneas by Lavinia. 
tin. Virg. 

A s c 1 1, a nation of India, in 
whose country objects at noon have no 
shadow. Plin. 2. 

Asclepia, festivals in honor 
of Asclepiiis, or ^Esculapius, celebrated 
ail over Greece. 

Asclepiades. Among the 
many recorded by ancient writers of 
this name, the following are the most 
remarkable : A philosopher, disciple to 
Stilpo, and very intimate with Menede- 
mus. The two friends lived together, 
and, that they might not be separated 
when they married, Asclepiades mar- 
ried the daughter, and Menetlemus, 
though much the younger, the mother. 
When the wife of Asclepiades was dead, 
Menedemus gave his wife to his friend, 
and married another. He was blind in 
his old age, and died at Eretria. Pint. 
—A physician of Bithynia, B. C. 90, 
who acquired great reputation at Rome 
and was the founder of a sect in physic. 
He relied so much upon his skill, "that 
he laid a wager he should never be sick ; 
and won it, as he died of a fall, in a very 
advanced age. Nothing of his medical 
treatises is now extant. — A physician of 
Bithynia, who had great practice in the 
court of Trajan. — An Egyptian writer, 
who wrote on the coincidence of all re- 
ligions. 

Asclepiad5e.us, a painter in 

the age of Apelles, 12 of whose pictures 
of the gods were sold for 300 minae each, 
to an African prince. Plin. 35. 

Asclepiodotus, one of Mi- 
thridates' generals. 

Asclepius, see iEsculapius. 

Ascletarion, a mathemati- 
cian in the age of Dcmitian, who said 
that he should be torn by dogs. The 
empercr ordered him to be put'to death, 
and his body carefully secured ; but, as 
soon as he was set on the burning pile, 
a sudden storm arose, which put out 
the flames, and the clogs came and tore 
to pieces the mathematician's body. 
Suet, in pomit. 

As col i a, a festival in honor 
of Bacchus, celebrated by the Athenian 
husbandmen, who generally sacrificed 
a goat to the god, because that animal 
is a great enemy to the vine. They 
made a bottle with the skin of the vic- 
tim, which they filled with oil and wine, 
and afterwards leapt upon it. He who 
could stand upon it first was victorious, 
and received the bottle as a reward. It 
was called in Greek, leaping upon the 
bottle, whence the name of the festival 
is derived. It was also introduced in 



Italy, where small images of the god, 
called CEseilla, were suspended on the 
tallest trees in the vineyard, and the 
people smeared their faces with the 
dregs of wine. Virg. 

Asconius Labeo, a preceptor 
of Nero. — Another, who wrote, besides 
some historical treatises, annotations on 
Cicero's Orations, in the reign of Vespa- 
sian. He became blind in his old age. 

Ascra, a town of JBcrotia, built, 
according to some, by the giants Otus 
and Ephialtes, at the foot of Mount 
Helicon. Hesiod was born there, whence 
he is often called the Ascrean poet. 
Strab. — It derived its name from the 
mother of (Eclus by Neptune. 

Asculum, a town of Picenum, 
famous for the defeat of Pyrrhus by 
Curius and Fabricius. Flor. 

Asdrubal, a Carthaginian, 
son-in-law of Hamilcar. He distin- 
guished himself in the Numidian war, 
and was appointed chief general on the 
death of his father-in-law, and for eight 
years presided with much prudence and 
valor over Spain, whieh submitted to 
him with cheerfulness. Here he laid 
the foundation of new Carthage, and 
saw it complete. He was killed in the 
midst of his soldiers, B. C. 220, by a 
slave, whose master he had murdered, 
Ital. PoJyb.—A. son of Hamilcar, who 
came from Spain with a large reinforce- 
ment for his brother Annibal. He crossed 
the Alps, and entered Italy ; but some 
of his letters to Annibal having fallen 
into the hands of the Romans, the con- 
suls M. Livius Salinator, and Claudius 
Nero, attacked him suddenly near the 
Metaurus, and defeated rrim/fi. C. 207, 
He was killed in the battle, and 5G,G00 
of his men shared the same fate, and 
5,400 were taken prisoners : about 8,000 
Romans were killed. The head of As- 
drubal was cut off, and some days after 
thrown into the camp of Annibal, who, 
in the moment that he was in the great- 
est expectations for a promised supply, 
exclaimed at the sight, "In losing As- 
drubal, I lose all my happiness, and 
Carthage all her hopes." — There were 
many other famous Carthaginians of 
this name, whose history is blended 
with that of the Romans : of these the 
most remarkable is he whose camp was 
destroyed in Africa by Scipio, though 
at the head of 20,000, men, in the last 
Punic war. When all was lost, he fled 
to the enemy, and begged his life. 
Sefpio shewed him to the Carthaginians, 
upon which his wife, with a thousand 
imprecations, threw herself and her two 
children into the flames of the temple 
of vEsculapius, which she and others 
had set on lire. He was not of the same 
family as Annibal. Liv. 

Asia, one of the three parts 
of the ancient world; separated from 
Europe by the Tanais, the Euxine, 



ASI 



ASP 



Mgexn, and Mediterranean seas. It 
receives its name from Asia, the daugh- 
ter of Oceanus. This part of the globe 
has given birth to many of the greatest 
monarchies in the universe," and to the 
ancient inhabitants of Asia we are in- 
debted for most of the arts and sciences. 
The soil is fruitful, and abounds with 
all the necessaries as well as luxuries of 
life. It was divided into many different 
empires, provinces, and states, of which 
the most conspicuous were the Assyrian 
and Persian monarchies. Asia was ge- 
nerally divided into Major and Minor. 
Asia Major was the most extensive, and 
comprehended all the eastern parts ; and 
Asia Minor was a large country in the 
form of a peninsula, the boundaries of 
which may be known by drawing a line 
from the bay of Is^us, in a northern di- 
rection, to the eastern part of the Eu- 
xine sea. The western parts of Asia 
Minor were the receptacle of all the 
ancient emigrations from Greece, and it 
was totally peopled by Grecian colonies. 
The Romans generally and indiscrimi- 
nately called Asia Minor by the name of 
Asia. — One of the Oceanides, who mar- 
ried Japetus, by whom she had Atlas, 
Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Mence- 
tius, and gave her name to one of the 
three quarters of the ancient globe. Apol- 
lod. 

Asia Palus, a lake in Mysia. 

Asiaticus. The surname of 
several Romans, who obtained victories 
in Asia. 

AsIlas, an augur who assisted 
yEneas against Turnus. Virg. 

Asinaria, a festival in Sicily, 
in commemoration of the victory ob- 
tained over Demosthenes and Nicias, at 
the river Asinarius. 

Asinarius, a river of Sicily, 
where the Athenian generals, Demo- 
sthenes and Nicias, were taken prison- 
ers. 

Asine, a name given to three 
towns in the Peloponnesus ; viz. in Ar- 
gcdis, Messenia, and Laconia. 

Asinius. The name of many 
eminent Romans, the most conspicu- 
ous of whom are the following : — Pollio, 
an excellent orator, poet, and historian, 
intimate with Augustus. He triumphed 
over the Dalmatians, and wrote an ac- 
count of the wars of Csesar and Pompey, 
in 17 books, besides poems. He refused 
to answer some verses written against 
him by Augustus, " because," said he, 
" you have the power to proscribe me 
should my answer prove offensive." He 
died in the 80th year of his age, A. D. 
4.— Asinius Gallus, the son of Asinius 
PoiSio, who married Vipsania, after she 
had been divorced by Tiberius. He 
afterwards starved himself, either vo- 
luntarily, or by order of Tiberius. Fie 
wrote acom^ari^n between his father 
and Cicero^m\wlitcK he gave a decided 



superiority to the former. Tacit.— Qua- 
dratus, a man who published the hi- 
story of Parthia, Greece, and Rome. 

A 3IUS , a son of Dy mas, assisted 
Priam in the Trojan war. Homer. — 
A son of Imbracus, who accompanied 
^Eneas into Italy. Virg. 

Asius Campus, a place near 

the Cayster. Virg. 

AsnauSj a mountain Of Ma- 
cedonia. 

Asophis, a country of Pelo- 
ponnesus. 

Asopiades, a patronymic of 

/Eaeus, son of iEgina, the daughter of 
Asopus. Ovid. 

As opus, a son of Neptune, 

who gave his name to a river of Pelo- 
ponnesus. Three of his daughters are 
particularly celebrated, iEgina, Sala- 
mis, and Ismene. Apollod — A river of 
Bceotia, flowing into the Euripus. — A 
river of Asia, flowing into the Lycus 
near Laodicea. — There are four ether 
rivers of the same name. 

Aspamithres, a favorite eu- 
nuch of Xerxes, who conspired with 
Artabanus to destroy the king and the 
royal family, &c. Ctesias. 

Astasia, a daughter of Her- 
motimus of Phoca:a, famous for her 
personal charms and elegance. She was 
priestess of the sun, mistress to Cyrus, 
and afterwards to his brother Arta- 
xerxc-s, from whom she passed to Da- 
rius. She was called Milto, VemiU'wn, 
on account of the beauty of her com- 
plexion. Mlian. — Another woman, 
daughter of Axioehus, born at Miletus. 
She came to Athens, where she taught 
eloquence. Socrates was proud to be 
among her scholars. She so captivated 
Pericles, by her mental and personal 
accomplishments, that he became her 
pupil, and at last took her for his mis- 
tress and wife. He was so fond of her 
that he made war against Samos at her 
instigation. The behaviour of Pericles 
towards Aspasia greatly corrupted the 
morals of the Athenians, and introduced 
dissipation and lascitiousness into the 
state. She, however, possessed the 
merit of superior excellence in mind as 
well as person, and Plato hesitates not 
to declare that her instructions formed 
the greatest and the most eloquent ora- 
tors of the age. Plat. 

Aspasius, a peripatetic, who 
wrote commentaries on various sub- 
jects, much prized in the second cen- 
tury. 

Aspastes, a Persian satrap, 
suspected of being unfaithful to his 
trust. Quint.Curt. 

Aspathines, one of the seven 
noblemen of Persia, who conspired 
against the usurper Smerdis. Herodot. 

Aspenbus, a town in Pam- 



AST 



AST 



phylia, in which swine were offered to 
Venus. It is situated at the mouth of 
the river Eurymedon. 

Aspis, a city of Macedonia.— 
A mountain and city of Africa. — One of 
the Cyclades. 

Aspledon, a son of Neptune 
by the nymph Medea. He gave his 
name to a city of Boeotia, whose in- 
habitants went to the Trojan war. Ho- 
mer. 

Asporenus, a mountain near 
Pergamus, where Cybelehad a temple, 
and where she was worshipped under 
the name of Asporena. Strabo. 

Ass ab in us, the Jupiter of the 
Arabians. 

AssXracus, a Trojan prince, 
son of Tros by Calirrhoe. He was father 
to Capys, the father to Anchises. Ho- 
mer-.— Two friends of iEneas in the Ru- 
tulian war. Virg. 

Assyria, a large country of 
Asia, whose boundaries have been dif- 
ferent in its flourishing times. At first 
it was bounded by the Lycus and Ca- 
prus; but the name of Assyria, more 
generally speaking, is applied to all that 
territory which lies between Media, 
Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Babylon. 
The Assyrian empire is the most an- 
cient in the world, It was founded by 
Ninus or Belus, B. C. 2059, according 
to some authors, and lasted till the 
reign of Sardanapalus, the thirty-first 
sovereign since Ninus, B. C. 820. Ac- 
cording to Eusebius it flourished for 
1240 years ; according to Justin, 1300 ; 
and Herodotus says that its duration 
was net above 5 or 600 years. The coun- 
try is now called Curdistan. Among 
tiie different monarchs of the Assyrian 
empire, Semiramis greatly distinguish- 
ed herself, and extended the boundaries 
of her dominions as far as Ethiopia 
and Libya. Sirab. Herodot. 

Astacus, a town of Bithynia, 
built by Astacus, son of Neptune and 
OliMa, or rather by a colony of Megara 
and Athens. Lysimachus destroyed it, 
and carried the inhabitants to the town 
of Nicomedia, which was then lately 
built. Pans. 

As T arte, a powerful divinity 
of Syria, the same as the Venus of the 
Greeks. She had a famous temple at 
Hievapolis, in Syria, which was served 
by 300 priests, who were always em- 
ployed in offering sacrifices. 

Aster, a dextrous archer of 
Amphipolis, who offered his services to 
Philip, king of Macedonia. Upon being 
slighted, he retired into the city, and 
aimed an arrow at Philip, who pressed 
it with a siege. The arrow, on which 
was written, "aimed at Philip's right 
eye," struck the king's eye, and put it 
cut ; and Philip, to return the plea- 
santry, threw back the same arrow, with 



these words, " If Philip takes the town, 
Aster shall be hanged." The conqueror 
kept his jvord. Lueian. 

Asteria. The most remark- 
able of this name is a daughter of Ceus, 
one of the Titans, by Phoebe, daughter 
of Coelus and Terra. She married Per- 
ses, son of Crius, by whom she had the 
celebrated Hecate. . She enjoyed for a 
long time the favors of Jupiter, under 
the form of an eagle ; but falling under 
his displeasure, she was changed into a 
quail, called ortyx by the Greeks ; 
whence the name of Ortygia, given to 
that island in the Archipelago, where 
she retired. Ovid. — One of the daugh- 
ters of Atlas, mother of (Enomaus, king 
of Pisa. She is called Sterope by some. 
Hygin. — A mistress of Gyges, to whom 
Horace wrote three odes, to comfort her 
during her lover's absence. Ovid. 

Asterion and Asterius, a 
river of Peloponnesus, which flowed 
through the country of Argolis.— A son 
of Minos, second king of Crete, by Pa- 
siphae. He was kilted by Theseus, 
though he was thought the strongest of 
his age. Apollodorus supposes him to 
be the same as the famous Minotaur. 
Diod. &c. 

Asterodia, the wife of En- 

dymion. Paus. 

Asterope and Asteropea, 

one of the Pleiades, who were beloved 
by the gods and most illustrious heroes, 
and made constellations after death. — A 
daughter of Pelias, king of Iolchos, who 
assisted her sisters to kill her father, 
whom Medea promised to restore to 
life. Paus. 

Asterop.eus, a king of Paso- 
nia, who assisted Priam in the Trojan 
war, and was killed by Achilles. Ho- 
mer. 

Astiochus, a general of La- 

eedsemon, who conquered the Atheni- 
ans near Cnidus, and took Phocasa and 
Cumse, B. C.411. 

Astrjea, a daughter of As- 

traeus, king of Arcadia, or, according to 
others, of Titan, Saturn's brother, by 
Aurora. Some make her daughter of 
Jupiter and Themis. She was called 
Justice, of which virtue she was the 
goddess. She lived upon the earth, as 
the poets mention, during the golden 
age; but the wickedness and impiety 
of mankind drove her to heaven in the 
brazen and iron ages, and she was placed 
among the constellations of the zodiac, 
under the name of Virgo. She is re- 
presented as a virgin, with a stern, but 
majestic countenance, holding a pair of 
scales in one hand, and a sword in the 
other. Senec. Hesiod, &c. 

Astr/eus, one of the Titans 

who made war against Jupiter. He was 
son of Crios and Eurybia, and married 
Aurora, by whom he had the winds 



\ 

( 



AST 



ATA 



known by the names of Zephyr, Bo- 
reas, Notus, and Argestes. Hesiod. 

Astu, a Greek word, which 
signifies city, generally applied, by way 
of distinction to Athens, which was the 
most capital city of Greece. The word 
urbs is applied with the same meaning 
of superiority to Rome, and 7ro\ig 
to Alexandria, the capital of Egypt. 

Astura, a village of Latiiim, 
where Antony's soldiers cut off Cicero's 
head. 

Astures, a people of Spain, 
devoted to the digging of mines. Sil. 
Ital. 

Astyage, the grandmother of 
Ixion. 

A st y ages. The most cele- 
brated of this name is the son of Cyaxa- 
res. He was the last king of Media, and 
was father to Mandane, whom he gave 
in marriage to Cambyses, an ignoble 
person of Persia, because he was told by 
a dream that his daughter's son would 
dispossess him of his crown. From such 
a marriage he hoped that none but mean 
and ignorant children could be raised ; 
but he was disappointed, and, though he 
had exposed his daughter's son, by the 
effects of a second dream, he was de- 
prived of his crown by his grandson, 
after a reign of 35 years, 559 B. C. [Vid. 
Cyrus.]— -A man changed by the head 
of Medusa into a stone. 

Astyanax, a son of Hector 
and Andromache. He was very young 
when theGreeks besieged Troy. Ulysses, 
who was afraid lest the young prince 
should inherit the virtues of his father, 
and one day avenge the ruin of his 
country upon the Greeks, seized him, 
and threw him down from the walls of 
Troy. Hector had given him the name 
of Scamandrius; but the Trojans, who 
hoped that he might prove as great as 
his father, called him Astyanax, or the 
bulwark of the city. Homer. — A son of 
Hercules. 

Astycratia, there were two 
of this name ; one a daughter of ^Eolus, 
the other of Amphion and Niobe. 

Astydamas, an Athenian, au- 
thor of 240 tragedies ; fifteen of which 
obtained prizes. — A comic poet of 
Athens. 

Astydamia, daughter of 

Amyntor,kingof Orchomenos, married 
Acastus, son of Pelias, who was king of 
lolchos. She became enamoured of Pe- 
leus, son of JEaeus, who had visited her 
husband's court; and, because he re- 
fused to gratify her passion, she accused 
him of attempting her virtue. Acastus 
really believed his wife's accusation ; 
and, as he would not violate the laws of 
hospitality, by punishing his guest with 
instant death, he waited for a favorable 
opportunity, and dissembled his resent- 
ment. At last they went in a hunting 



party to Mount Pelion, where Peleus, 
was tied to a tree, by order of Acastus, 
that he might be devoured by wild 
beasts. Jupiter was moved at the inno- 
cence of Peleus, and sent Vulcan to de- 
liver him. When Peleus was set at li- 
berty, he marched with an army against 
Acastus, whom he dethroned, and pu- 
nished with death the cruel and false 
Astydamia. She is called by some 
Hippolyte. Apollod. — A daughter of 
Ormeniis, carried away by Hercules, by 
whom she had Tlepolemus. Ovid. 

Astylus, one of the Centaurs, 
who had the knowledge of futurity. 
He advised his brothers not to make 
war against the Lapithae. Ovid. 

Astymedusa, a woman whom 
GEdipus married after he had divorced 
Jocasta. 

Astynome, the daughter of 

Chryses,the priest of Apollo, sometimes 
called Chryseis. She fell to the share of 
Achilles, at the division of the spoils of 
Lyrnessus. 

Astyoche and Astyochla, 

a daughter of Actor, who had by Mars, 
Ascalaphus, and Ialmenus, who were at 
the Trojan war. Homer. 

AsTYPALiEA, one of the Cy- 
clades, called after Astypalasa, the 
daughter of Phoenix, and mother of 
AncaBUS, by Neptune. Pans. 

Astyron, a town built by the 
Argonauts, on the coast of Illyricum. 
Strab. 

Asychis, a king of Egypt, 

who succeeded Mycerinus, and made a 
law, that whoever borrowed money, 
must deposit his father's body in the 
hand of his creditors, as a pledge of his 
promise of payment. He built a mag- 
nificent pyramid. Herodot. 

Atabxjlus, a wind which was 
frequent in Apulia. Herat. 

Atabyris, a mountain in 
Rhodes, where Jupiter had a temple, 
whence he was surnamed Atabyris, 
Strab. 

At A l ant A, a daughter of 

Seheeneus, king of Scyros. Ancient fa- 
bulists have differed much in their ac- 
counts of her. According to Ovid, she 
was born in Arcadia, and she determined 
to live in perpetual celibacy; but her 
beauty gained her many admirers, and 
to free herself from their importunities, 
she proposed to run a race with them, 
They were to run without arms, and 
she was to carry a dart in her hand. 
Her lovers were to start first, and who- 
ever arrived at the goal before her, 
would be made her husband ; but all 
those whom she overtook were to be 
killed by the dart with which she had 
armed herself. As she was almost in- 
vincible in running, many of her suitors 
perished in the attempt, till Hippome- 
nes proposed himself as her admirer. 



ATH 



ATH 



Venus had presented him with three 
golden apples, from the garden of the 
Hesperides ; and, as soon as he had 
started in the course, he artfully threw 
down the apples at some distance one 
from the other. While Atalanta, charm- 
ed at the sight, stopped to gather the 
apples, Hippomenes hastened on his 
course, arrived first at the goal, and ob- 
tained Atalanta in marriage. These 
two fond lovers, in the impatience of 
consummating their nuptials, entered 
the temple of Cybele ; and the goddess 
was so offended with the profanation 
of her house, that she changed them 
into two lions. According to Apollodo- 
rus, she was present at the hunting of 
the Calydonian boar, which she first 
wounded, and received the head as a 
present from Meleager, who was ena- 
moured of her. 

Atarantes, a people o* 
Africa, who had a hill of salt, with a 
fountain of clear water rising at the top. 
Hstodot. 

Atarbechus, a town in the 
Delta, in which Venus had a temple. 

Atargatis, a divinity among 
the Syrians, represented as a Siren. She 
is considered by Strabo, and others, the 
same as Venus, honored under the name 
of Astarte by the Assyrians ; but Litcian 
represents her as a different divinity. 

At as and At has, a youth of 
wonderful velocity, who is said to have- 
run seventy-five miles between noon 
and evening. Martial. 

At ax, a river rising in the 
Pyrenean mountains and falling into 
the Mediterranean. 

Ate, the goddess of all evil, 
and daughter of Jupiter. She raised 
such jealousy and sedition in heaven 
among the gods, that Jupiter dragged 
her away by the hair, and banished her 
for ever from heaven, and sent her to 
dwell on earth, where she incited man- 
kind to wickedness, and sowed commo- 
tions among them. Homer. — She is the 
same as the Discord of the Latins. 

At ella, a town in Campania, 
famous for a splendid amphitheatre, 
where farces and interludes were first 
exhibited, and thence called Atellance 
Fabulce. Liv.Juv. 

Atenomarus, a Gaul, very 
hostile to the Romans. 

A t hamane s,an ancient people 
of Epirus, who existed long before the 
Trojan war, and still preserved their 
name and customs in the age of Alexan- 
der. Strab. 

Athamas. The most remark- 
able of this name was king of Thebes, 
in Bceotia, son of vEolus/ He married 
Themisto, whom some call Nephele, by 
whom lie had Phryxusand Helle. Some 
time after, on pretence that Nephele 
was subject to fits of madness, he mar- 



ried Ino, the daughter of Cadmus, by 
whom he had two sons, Learchus and 
Melicerta. Ino became jealous of the 
children of Nephele, because they were 
to ascend their father's throne in pre- 
fer ence to her own, therefore she re- 
solved to destroy them ; but they escaped 
from her fury to Colchis, on a golden 
ram. \_Vid. Phryxus and Argonauts?.] 
Athamantiades, a patrony- 
mic of Melicerta, Phryxus, or Helle, 
children of Athamus. Ovid. 

At han a sius, a bishop of 

Alexandria, celebrated for his suffer- 
ings, and the determined opposition he 
maintained against Arius and his doc- 
trine. His writings contain a defence of 
the mystery of the Trinity, the divinity 
of the Word and of the Holy Ghost, 
and an apology to Constantine. The 
creed which bears his name is supposed 
by some not to be his composition. 
Athanasius died May 2, 373, A. D. 

Athanis, author of a history 
of Sicily. 

At he as, a king of Scythia, 
who implored the assistance of Philip of 
Macedonia against the Istrians, and 
laughed at him when he had furnished 
him with_an army. Justin. 

Athena, the name of Minerva 
among the Greeks, and also among the 
Egyptians, before Cecrops, king of 
Athens, had introduced the worship of 
the goddess into Greece. Faus. 

Athene, a celebrated city of 

Attica, founded about 1556 years before 
the Christian a?ra, by Cecrops and an 
Egyptian colony. It was called Cecro- 
pia, from its founder, and afterwards 
Athena?, in honor of Miner va, who had . 
obtained the right of giving it a name 
in preference to Neptune. [Vi.i. Mi- 
nerva.] It was, as history informs us, 
at first "governed by seventeen kings, 
the last of whom was Codrus. The hi- 
story of the twelve first of these mo- 
narchs is mostly fabulous. After the 
death of Codrus, the monarchical power 
was abolished, and the state was govern- 
ed by 13 perpetual, and 317 years after, 
by seven decennial, and lastly B. C. 
684, after an anarchy of three years, by 
annual magistrates, called Archons.[ Vid. 
Archontes. 1 ]— The Athenians have been 
admired in all ages for their love of li- 
berty, and for the great men that were 
born among them, The ancients, to di- 
stinguish Athens in a more peculiar 
manner, called it Astu, one of the eyes 
of Greece, the learned city, the school 
of the world, the common patroness of 
Greece. The Athenians thought them-, 
selves the most ancient nation of Greece, 
and supposed themselves the original in- 
habitants of Attica, for which reason 
they were called avToySovrig produced 
from the same earth which they inha- 
bited, ynysvzg sons of the earth, and 



ATH 



ATL 



T ec i lyeg grasshoppers. — Among the nu- 
merous temples and public edifices at 
Athens, none was more celebrated than 
Miat of Minerva. 

Ath enjea, festivals celebrated 
at Athens in honor of Minerva. \_Vid. 
Panathensea and Chalcea.] 

Athenjeum, a place at Athens, 
sacred to Minerva, where the poets, 
philosophers, and rhetoricians generally 
declaimed and repeated their composi- 
tions. 

Athenxeus. Ancient writers 

mention many of this name, of whom 
the following are the most remarkable. 
— A grammarian of Naucratis, who 
composed an elegant and miscellaneous 
work, called Deipnosophistce, replete 
with very curious and interesting re- 
marks and anecdotes of the manners of 
the ancients, and likewise valuable for 
the scattered pieces of ancient poetry it 
preserves. The work consists of 15 
books, of which the two first, part of 
the third, and almost the whole of the 
last, are lost. Athenseus wrote, besides 
this, a history of Syria, and other 
works, now lost. He died A. D. 194. — 
A physician of Cilicia in the age of 
Pliny, who made heat, cold, wet, dry, 
and air, the elements, instead of the four 
commonly received. 

Athenagqras. A Christian 
philosopher, in the age of Aurelius, who 
wrote a treatise on the resurrection, and 
an apology for the Christians, still ex- 
tant. He died A. D. 177. 

Athenais, a sibyl of Ery- 
thra±a, in the age of Alexander. Strab. 

Atheniox, a general of the 
Sicilian revolted slaves. — Clodiusis con- 
temptuously called, by Cicero, an Athe- 
■riion, as being the leader and associate 
of vulgar and infamous pleasures. 

A the nod onus. The most 
remarkable of this name is a philoso- 
pher of Tarsus, intimate with Augus- 
tus. The emperor often profited by his 
lessons, and was advised by him always 
to repeat the 24 letters of the Greek al- 
phabet, before he gave way to the im- 
pulse of anger. Athenodorus died in 
his S2d year, much lamented by his 
countrymen. Suet. — A poet who wrote 
comedy, tragedy, and elegy, in the age 
of Alexander. Pint, in Alex. — Tyrant 
of Bactra, assassinated for having made 
himself absolute. 

A the os, a name given to 
Theodorus, Diagoras, and others, for 
denying the existence of the Deity. 

Athesis, a river of Cisalpine 
Gaul, near the Po, falling into the 
Adriatic sea. Virg. 

Athos, a mountain of Macedo- 
nia, projecting into the iEgean sea, like 
a promontory. When Xerxes invaded 
Greece,- he made a trench of a mile and 



a half in length at the foot of the moun- 
tain, into which he brought the sea- 
water, and conveyed his fleet over it. 
Athos is now called Monte Santo, and is 
famous for the monasteries, which are 
said, by modern travellers, to contain 
many ancient and valuable manuscripts. 
Herodot. 

Atia, a city of Campania. — A 

law enacted A. U. C. 690, by T. Atius 
Labienus, the tribune of the people. It 
abolished the Cornelian law, and put in 
full force the Lex Domitia, by trans- 
ferring the right of electing priests from 
the college of priests to the people.— The 
mother of Augustus. [Vid. Accia.] 

Atilia lex gave a power to 
the pretor and a majority of the tribunes 
to appoint guardians to young persons, 
who had lost their parents. 

Attlitjs, a freed man, who ex- 
hibited combats of gladiators at Fidena?. 
The amphitheatre fell during the ex- 
hibition, and about 50 ; 000, persons were 
killed or mutilated. Tacit. 

Atilla, the mother of Lucan, 

who accused her of a conspiracy in the 
hope of clearing himself. Tacit. This, 
however, is much doubted. 

Atina, an ancient town of the 
Volsci, one of the first that began hosti- 
lities against iEneas. Virg. 

Atinia lex was enacted by 

the tribune Atinius. It gave a tribune 
of the people the privileges of a senator, 
and right of sitting in the senate. 

Atl antes, a people of Africa, 
in the neighbourhood of Mount Atlas. 
It is said that they daily cursed the sun 
at his rising and at his setting, because 
his excessive heat scorched and tor- 
mented them._, Marcellin. Herodot. 

Atlantiades, a patronymic 

of Mercury, as grandson of Atlas. Ovid. 

At LANTiDES,a people of Africa, 
near Mount Atlas. — The daughters of 
Atlas, seven in number, Maia, Electra, 
Taygeta, Asterope, Merope, Alcyone, 
and Celaeno. They married some of the 
gods, and most illustrious heroes ; and 
their children were founders of many 
nations and cities. The Atlantides were 
called nymphs, and even goddesses, on 
account of their great intelligence and 
knowledge. The name of Hesperides 
was also given them, on account of their 
mother, Hesperis. They w r ere made 
constellations after death. [Vid. Pleia- 
des.] Some of the ancients have called 
the Fortunate Islands Atlantides, and 
have placed there the Elysian fields. 
They are the same as the Hesperides of 
Piinyj which he describes as situated in 
the Atlantic Ocean. 

Atlas, one of the Titans, son 
of Japetus and Clymene. He was brother 
to Epimetheus, Prometheus, and Me- 
ncetius. He married Pleione, daughter 



ATR 



ATR 



of Oeeanus, or Hesperis, according to 
others.bv whom he had seven daughters, 
called Atlantides. [_Vid. Atlantides.] He 
was king of Mauritania, and master of 
a thousand flocks of every kind, as also 
of beautiful gardens, abounding in every 
species of fruit, which he had entrusted 
to the care of a dragon. Perseus, after 
the conquest of the Gorgons, passed by 
the palace of Atlas, and demanded hos- 
pitality. The king, who was informed 
by an 'oracle of Themis that he should 
be dethroned by the descendants of Ju- 
piter, refused to receive him, and even 
offered him violence. Perseus, who was 
unequal in strength, shewed him Me- 
dusa's head, and Atlas was instantly 
Changed into a large mountain, which 
runs across the deserts of Africa east to 
west, and is so high that the ancients im- 
agined that the heavens rested on its 
top, and that Atlas supported the world 
on his shoulders. The fable that Atlas 
supported, the heavens on his back, 
arises from his fondness for astronomy, 
and his frequenting elevated places and 
mountains/ whence he might observe 
the heavenly bodies. Virg. Ovid. 

Atossa, a daughter of Cyrus, 
who was one of the wives of Cambyses, 
Smerdis, and afterwards of Darius, by 
whom she had Xerxes. She was cured 
of a dangerous cancer by Democedes. 
.She is supposed by some to be the 
Vasthi of scripture. Herodot. 

Atraces, a people of ^Etolia, 
who received their named from Atrax, 
son of yEtolus. Their country was called 
Atraeia. 

A trapes, an officer of Alex- 
ander, who, at the general division of the 
provinces, received Media. Diod. 

Atrax, a son of /Etolus, or, ac- 
cording to others, of the river Peneus. 
He was king of Thessaly, and built a 
town which he called Atrax, or Atraeia. 
This town became so famous that the 
word Atracius has been applied to any 
inhabitant of Thessaly. He was father 
to Hippodamia, who married Pirithous, 
and whom we must not confound with 
the wife of Pelops, who bore the same 
name. P/opert. &c. 

At rebates, a people of Gaul, 
who opposed J. Caesar with 15,000 men, 
together with the Nervii. They were 
conquered ; and Comius, a friend of the 
general, was set over them as king. Cess. 

Atrenj, a people of Armenia. 

At re us, a son of Pelops, by 

Hippodamia, daughter of CEnomaus, 
king of Pi6a, was king of Mycense. as 
Chrysippus was an illegitimate son of 
Pelops, and at the same time a favorite 
cf his father, Hippodamia resolved to 
remove him. She persuaded her sons, 
Thyestes and Atreus, to murder him; 
but their refusal exasperated her more, 
and she executed it herself. This mur- 
der was grievous to Pelops : he suspected 



his two sons, who fled away from his 
presence. Atreus retired to the court cf 
Eurysiheus, king of Argos, his nephew, 
and upon his death he succeeded him. 
on the throne : he married, as some re- 
port, iErope, his predecessor's daughter, 
by whom he had Piisthenes, Meneiaus, 
and Agamemnon. Others affirm that 
.-Erope was the wife of Piisthenes, by 
whom she had Agamemnon and Mene- 
iaus, who are the reputed sons of Atreus, 
because that prince took care cf their 
education, and brought them up as his 
own. [Yid. Piisthenes.] Thyestes had 
followed his brother to Argcs, where he 
lived with him, and debauched his wife, 
by whom he had some children. This 
incestuous commerce offended Atreus, 
and Thyestes was banished from his 
court. He was, however, soon after re- 
called by his brother, who determined 
cruelly to revenge the violence offered 
to his bed. To effect this purpose he 
invited his brother to a sumptuous feast, 
where Thyestes was served up with the 
flesh of the children he had had by his 
sister-in-law, the queen. After, the re- 
past was finished, the arms and the head 
of the murdered children were produced, 
to convince Thyestes of what he had 
feasted upon. Thyestes immediately 
fled to S icy on, where he ravished his 
own daughter, Pelopea, in a grove sa- 
cred to Minerva, without knowing who 
she was. Pelopea brought forth a son, 
whom she called iEgisthus, and soon 
after she married Atreus, who had lost 
his wife. Atreus adopted iEgisthus, and 
sent him so murder Thyestes, who had 
been seized and imprisoned. Thyestes 
knew his son, and made himself known 
to him ; he made him espouse his cause, 
and, instead of becoming his fathers 
murderer, he rather avenged his wrongs, 
and returned to Atreus, whom he assas- 
sinated. [Vid. Thyestes, iEgisthus, Pe- 
looea, Agamemnon 3 and Meneiaus.] 
Hugin. 

Atrid.e, a patronymic given 

by Homer to Agamemnon and "Mene- 
iaus, as being the sons of Atreus. He- 
siod, Lactantius, and others, affirm 
they were the sons of Piisthenes, and 
that they were brought up in the house 
and under the eve of their grandfather . 
[Vid. Piisthenes".] 

At Ron ie s, a partizan of Tur- 
nus. Virg. Mn. 

Atkopatia, a portion of 
Media. 

Atropos, one of the Pareas, 

daughters of Nox and Erebus. Accord- 
ing to the derivation of her name 
aT^eTTTOp, immutabilis , she is inexora- 
ble, and indexible, and her duty among 
the three sisters is to cut the thread of 
life without any regard to sex, age, or 
quality. [Vide Parcae.] She was repre- 
sented by the ancients in a black veil 
with a pair of scis*ars in her hand. 
Ilesicd. Stat. 



ATT 



AUG 



Atta, T. Q., so called from a 
deformity in his feet. He was a dra- 
matic and satirical writer, much cele- 
brated in the age of Augustus ; but 
whose works are lost. 

Attaltjs. There were seve- 
ral kings of Pergamus of this name; 
particularly Philadelphus, who was 
founder of several cities, and n great 
patron of learning and] earned men. He 
reigned 20 years ; and was poisoned by 
his nephew, in the S2d year of his age*. 
— Attalus Philopater, who succeeded 
him, left the government of the state to 
his ministers, and devoted the chief 
part of his time to his garden, and the 
making of experiments on the melting 
of metals. He. and his successors, col- 
lected a large library at Pergamus. He 
left the Romans his heir.— One of Alex - 
anders officers, whom Parmenio put to 
death; a crime for which Alexander 
was him self u nj ustly accused. 

Attes, a Phrygian, who in- 
troduced the worship of Cybele among 
the Lydians. Pans. 

At this, a daughter of Cra- 
naus the second, after whom the Athe- 
nian state was called Attica. 

Attica, a country of Achaia, 
originally called. Ionia from the Ionians, 
who settled there. Athens is its capi- 
tal. — It was rich in gold and silver 
mines ; and in the 116th Olympiad con- 
tained 31,000 citizens, and" 400,000 
Slaves. Part of the country was moun- 
tainous, and part level ; divided into 13 
tribes, viz. — Acamantis, Antiochis, At- 
talis, JSantis, Mge&s, Adrianis, iEneis, 
Cecropis, Erectheis, Hippothoontis, 
Leontis, Pandionis, and Ptolemais. 

Atticus (T. Pomponius), a 

Roman knight. During the tyranny of 
Marius and Sylla he retired to Athens, 
where he acquired the Greek language, 
and endeared himself so much to the 
Athenians, that, after his return to 
Rome, they erected statues to him. — He 
lived in the closest intimacy with all 
the great men of his age : .and is said 
never to have spoken an untruth even 
in joke. He starved himself, because 
unable to cure himself of a fever. — He- 
rodes, an Athenian, descended from 
Miltiades, much attached to architec- 
ture, and greatly celebrated for his mu- 
nificence. 

At til A, king of the Huns, 
who invaded the Roman empire, with 
500,000 men. He entered Italy and 
took Aquileia, and would have sacked 
Rome, had not a peace been purchased 
with a large sum of money. He called 
himself the " Scourge of God ;" and de- 
sired to extend his conquests over the 
whole globe. He died from a great 
effusion of blood on the night of his 
marriage. Jornand. de Reb. Get. 

Attilius. The name of se- 



veral Romans ; none of whom was 
much distinguished. 

AttiusTullius, aVolscian, 
to whom Coriolanus fled, on being ba- 
nished from Rome. 

Atts, son of Croesus, king of 
Lydia. — A Trojan, one of the compa- 
nions of JEneas, supposed to be the pro- 
genitor of the family of Attii.— A shep- 
herd of Phrygia, of whom Cybele be- 
came enamoured, and whom that god- 
dess changed into a pine-tree. — A The- 
ban, to whom Ismene, the, daughter of 
GEdipus, was promised in marriage. 

Avaricum, a fortified town 
in Gaul, now called Bourges. 

Aveila, a Campanian town, 
fertile in nuts. 

A vekt inus, a king of Alba, 
buried on Mount Aventine, one of the 
seven hills on which Rome was built ; 
though it was not included in the pro- 1 
cincts of the city till the reign of the 
emperor Claudius. Upon this hill were 
temples, dedicated to Juno, Diana, 
Bcna-Dea, Victory, Liberty, and Her- 
cules. 

Avemtjs, a lake in Campa- 
nia, the waters of which were so putrid, 
that birds were said to fall dead into it, 
as they flew over it. It was fabled to 
be the entrance of hell ; and its waters 
were used in all magical processes. 

Atjfidius Bassus, an histo- 
rian who wrote of Germany and the 
civil wars. 

Aufidus, a river of Apulia, 
on the banks of which the Romans 
were defeated at Canns. 

Augarus, a king of Osroene, 

imprisoned by Caracalla, after promises 
of support and friendship. 

Augias and Augeas, one of 

the Argonauts; who had an immense 
number of goats and oxen, which he 
kept in a stable, that had never been 
cleaned. Hercules cleansed the stable ; 
and Augias having refused to give him 
the reward promised, Hercules declared 
war against him, conquered Elis, put 
Augias to death, and gave the crown to 
his son. 

Augil^, an African people, 
who believed the manes of the dead to 
be the only gods. 

Augub.es, officers of Rome, 
who foretold future events. 

Augusta, a title given to not 
less than 70 cities, in honor of Augus- 
tus. 

August alia, a festival at 

Rome, in commemoration of the day 
on which Augustus returned to Rome, 
after he had established peace over the 
different parts of the empire. 

Augusti^us, bishop of Hip- 



AUG 



AUR 



po, in Africa, distinguished himself by 
his writings, as well as by the austerity 
of his life. He died in the 76 th year of 
his age, A. D. 430. 

Augustulus, the last Roman 
emperor of the west, A. D. 475, con- 
quered by Odoacer, king of the Heruli. 

Augustus Octaviaxus Cae- 
sar, second emperor of Rome, was son 
of Octavius, a senator,and Accia, daugh- 
ter of Julius, and sister to Julius Ccesar. 
He was adopted by his uncle Caesar, and 
inherited the greatest part of his fortune. 
He lost his father at the age of four ; 
and, though only IB when his uncle was 
murdered, he hastened to Rome, where 
he ingratiated himself with the senate 
and people, and received the honors of 
the consulship two years after, as the 
reward of his hypocrisy. Though his 
youth and inexperience were ridiculed 
by his enemies, who branded him with 
the appellation of boy, yet he rose in 
consequence by his prudence and valor, 
and' made war against his opponents, on 
pretence of avenging the death of his 
murdered uncle. But when he perceived 
that by making him fight against An- 
tony, the senate wished to debilitate 
both antagonists, he changed his views, 
and, uniting himself with his enemy, 
soon formed the second triumvirate, in, 
which his cruel proscriptions shed the 
innocent blood of 300 senators and 200 
knights, and did not even spare the life 
of his friend Cicero. By the divisions 
which were made among the triumvirs, 
Augustus retained for himself the more 
important provinces of the west, and 
banished, as it were, his colleagues, Le- 
pidus and Antony, to more distant ter- 
ritories. But as long as the murderers 
of Caesar were alive, the reigning tyrants 
had reasons for apprehension, and there- 
fore the forces of the triumvirate were 
directed against the partizans of Brutus 
and the senate. The battle was decided 
at Philippi. The army of Brutus and 
Cassius was defeated, and the head of 
the former was carried to Rome, and, 
in insolent revenge, thrown at the foot 
of Caesar's statue/ The friendship which 
subsisted between Augustus and Antony 
was broken as soon as the fears of a third 
rival vanished away, and mutual dis- 
trust and jealousy "succeeded it. Au- 
gustus, under pretence of avenging the 
wrongs of his sister Octavia, whom An- 
tony had some time before married, and 
now slighted for the company and plea- 
sures of Cleopatra, took up arms against 
him. Both parties met at Actium, B. C. 
31, to decide the fate of Rome. Antony 
was supported by all the power of the 
east, and Augustus by Italy. Cleopatra 
fled from the battle with 60 ships, and 
her flight ruined the interest of Antony, 
who followed her into Egypt. The con- 
queror soon after passed into Egypt, be- 
sieged Alexandria, and honored with a 
magnificent funeral the unfortunate Ro- 
man and the celebrated queen, whom 



the fear of being led in the victor's tri- 
umph at Rome had driven to commit 
suicide. After he had established peace 
all over the world, Augustus shut up the 
gates Of the temple of Janus, the year 
our Saviour was born. He died at Nola, 
in the 76th year of his age, A. D. 14, 
after he had held the sovereign power 
during 44 years, and recommended his 
adopted son, Tiberius, as his successor. 
He was an active emperor, and con- 
sulted the good of the Romans with 
the most anxious care. It may be said 
that he finished with a good grace what 
he had begun with cruelty. While 
making himself absolute, he took care 
to leave his countrymen the shadow of 
liberty. To distinguish himself from 
the obscurity of the Octavii, and, if pos- 
sible, to suppress the remembrance of 
his uncle's violent fate, he aspired after 
a new title ; and the submissive senate 
yielded to his ambition, by giving firm 
the honourable appellation of Augustus. 
Suet. &c. — The name of August as was 
afterwards given to his successors in the 
Roman empire as a personal, and the 
name of Caesar as a family distinction. 
In a more distant period or the empire, 
the title of Augustus was given only to 
the emperor, while that of Cassar was 
bestowed on the second person in the 
state, who was considered as presump- 
tive heir. 

Avidienus, a rich and sordid 
man, whom Horat. styled happy. 2 Ser. 
2, v. 55. 

Avidius Cassius, a man sa- 
luted emperor, A. D. 175. He reigned 
only three months, and was assassinated 
by a centurion. He was called a second 
Catiline, from his excessive love of 
bloodshed. Diod. 

Aulestes, a king of the Etru- 
rians when Mneas came into Italy. Virg. 
JEn. 

Auletes, a general who as- 
sisted iEneas in Italy, with 100 ships. 
Virg. 

Aulis, a place of Bceotia, near 
Chalcis, on the sea-coast, where all the 
Greeks conspired against Troy. They 
were detained there by contrary winds", 
by the anger of Diana ; and to appease 
her, Agamemnon was obliged to sacri- 
fice his own daughter, Iphigenia, whom, 
however, the goddess spared by substi- 
tuting a ram. Virg. 

Aulon", a mountain of Cala- 
bria, opposite Tarentum, famous for its 
wine, which, according to Horat. is su- 
perior to that of Falernum. 

Aulus, a prsnomen common 
among the Romans, and generally 
marked bv the letter A.— Gellius. [ Vici, 
Gellius.] 

AureaChersonesus, a pen- 
insula of India, beyond the Ganges, now 
supposed to be Malacca or Malaya- 



AUS 



AUX 



Aurelia, the mother of Ju- 
lius Caesar. Sv.eton. 
Aure liax us, emperor of Rome 

after Flavins Claudius, was austere, and 
even cruel in the execution of the laws, 
and punished his soldiers with uncom- 
mon severity; He rendered himself fa- 
mous for his military character; and 
his expedition against Zenobia, the cele- 
brated queen of Palmyra, gained him 
great honor. He beautified Rome, was 
chari table to the poor, and the author 
of many salutary laws. He was natu- 
rally brave; and in all the battles he 
fought, it is said, he killed no less than 
800 men with his own hand. In his 
triumph, he exhibited to the Romans 
people of 15 different nations, all of 
whom he had conquered. He was the 
first emperor who wore a diadem. After 
a glorious reign of -six years, as he 
marched against the northern barba- 
rians, he was assassinated near Byzan- 
tium, A. D. 275, 29th January, by his 
soldiers, whom Mnestheus had incited 
to rebellion against their emperor. 

Aurelius, emperor of Rome. 
[Vid. Antoninus Bassianus.l — Victor, 
an historian in the reign of Julian, two 
of whose compositions are extant ; an 
account of illustrious men, and a bio- 
graphy of all the Caesars to Julian. 

Aureoles, a general who as- 
sumed the purple in the age of Gal- 
iienns. 

Atjrixia, a prophetess held in 

great veneration by the Germans. Tacit. 
Germ. 

Aurora, a goddess, daughter 
of Hyperion and Thia or Thea. She 
married Astrteus, by whom she had the 
wisds, the stars, &c. Her amours with 
Tithonus and Cephalus are also famous ; 
by the former she had Memnon and 
^Emathion, and Phaeton by the latter. 
[Vid. Cephalus and Tithonus.] Aurora 
is generally represented by the poets 
drawn in a rose-coloured chariot, and 
opening with her rosy fingers the gates 
of the east. Nox and Somnus fly be- 
fore her, and the constellations of hea- 
ven disappear at her approach. She 
always sets out before the sun, and is 
the forerunner of his rising. The Greeks 
call her Eos. Homer, &c. 

Auruxce, an ancient town of 
Latium, built by Auson, the son of 
Ulysses, by Calypso. Virg. 

Auses, a people of Africa, 
whose virgins yearly fight with sticks, 
in honor of .Minerva. She who behaves 
with the greatest valor receives unusual 
honor, &c. Herodot. 

Auson, a son of Ufysses and 
Calypso, from whom the Ansones, a 
people of Italy, are descended. 

Ausonia, one of the ancient 
names of Italy, which it received from 
Auson, the son of Ulysses. If Virgil 



makes iEneas speak of Ausonia, it is by 
anticipation. Virg. 

Ausonius, apoet in the fourth 
century, preceptor to Gratian, son of 
the emperor Valentinian, made c* nsul 
by the means of his pupil. His com- 
positions have been long admired. The 
thanks he returned the emperor Gra- 
tian is one of the best of his poems. He 
wrote the Consular fasti of Rome, an 
useful performance, now lost. 

Auspices, a sacerdotal order 
at Rome, nearly the same as the Augurs. 
\_Vid. Augur es.] 

Austepc. [Vid. Venti.] He 

was one of the winds blowing from the 
south, whose breath was pernicious to 
flowers as well as to health. He was 
also the parent of rain. Virg. 

Autochth5xes, the original 
inhabitants of a country who are the 
first possessors of it, and who have 
never mingled with other nations. The 
Athenians called themselves Autoch- 
thones, and boasted that they were as 
old as the country which thev inhabited. 
Pans. Tacit. Sec 

Autolycus, a son of Mercury 
by Chione, a daughter of Da?dalion, 
He was one of the Argonauts. His craft 
as a thief has been greatly celebrated. 
He stole the flocks of his neighbours, 
and mingled them with his own, after 
he had changed their marks. He did 
the same to Sisyphus, son of ^Eolus ; 
but Sisyphus knew his own oxen bv a 
mark which he had made under their 
feet. Autolycus was so pleased with 
the artifice of Sisyphus, that he imme- 
diately formed an intimacy with him, 
and even permitted him freely to enjoy 
the company of his daughter Antioclea, 
who became pregnant of Ulysses, and 
was scon afcer married to Laertes. [Vid. 
Sisyphus, Laertes.] H</gin. &c. 

Automata, one of the Cy- 

elades in the zEgean sea. — Daughter "of 
Danaus. 

Automedon, a son of Bk>- 

reuSj who went to the Trojan war with 
ten ships. He was charioteer to Achilles, 
after whose death he served Fyrrhus in 
the same capacity*. Homer, 

Auto hexes, one of the He- 

raelidae, king of Corinth. At his death, 
B. C. 779, annual magistrates, called 
Prytanes, were chosen at Corinth, and 
their power continued nisety years, till 
Cypselus and his son Periander made 
themselves absolute. 

Autoxoe. The most remark- 
able of this name is a daughter of Cad- 
mus, who jaarried Arista?us, by whom 
she had Actaeon, often called Automius 
heros. The death of her son [Vid. Ac- 
taeon] was so painful to her that she 
retired from Bceotia to Megara, where 
she soon after died. Pans. &c 

Auxesia and Damia. Two 



AXU 



AZO 



virgins,whom the Troezenians stoned to 
death ; but whom they afterwards held 
in high honour. 

Axexus, the ancient name of 
the Euxine sea. The word signifies in- 
hospitable, which was highly applicable 
to the manners of the ancient inhabit- 
ants of the coast. Ovid. 

Axion, brother of Alphesibcea, 
murdered Alcmaeen, his sister's hus- 
band., because he wished to recover from 
her a golden necklace. [ Vid. Aicmseon 
and Alphesibcea.] 

Axona, a river of Belgic Gaul, 
now Aisne, which joins Isara, and falls 
with it into the Seine, below Paris. 

Axur and Anxur, a surname 



of Jupiter, who had a temple at Trachis 
in Thessaly. He was represented as a 
beardless youth. 

Azax, a mountain of Arcadia, 
sacred to Cybele. — A son of Areas, king 
of Arcadia, by Erato, cne of the Dry- 
ades. He divided his father's kingdom 
with his brothers, Aphidas and Elatus, 
and called his share Azania. There 
was, in Azania, a fountain called Cli- 
torius, whose waters gave a dislike for 
wine to those who drank them. Ovid. 
Pans. 

Azonax, a man who taught 
Zoroaster the art of magic. Plin. 
Azorus, one cf the Argonauts. 



B. 



BAB 

Babilus, an astrologer in Ne- 
ro's age, who told the emperor to avert 
the danger which seemed to hang upon 
his head, from the appearance of ahairv 
comet, by putting all the leading men 
of Rome to death. His advice was faith- 
full v followed. Sueton. 

Babylon, a son ofBelus, who, 
as some suppose, founded a citv which 
bears his name.— A celebrated city, the 
capital of the Assyrian empire, on the 
banks of the Euphrates. It had 100 
brazen gates ; and its walls, which were 
cemented with bitumen, measured 480 
stadia in circumference, 50 cubits in 
thickness, and 200 in height. It was 
taken by Cyrus, B. C. 538, after he had 
drained the waters of the Euphrates into 
a new channel, and marched his troops 
by night into the town, through the 
dried bed. Babylon became famous for 
the death of Alexander, and for the new 
empire which was afterwards established 
there under the Seleucidae. [Vid. Syria.] 
The place where it stood is now un- 
known to travellers. The inhabitants 
were early acquainted with astrology. — 
There is also a town of the same name 
near the Bubastic branch of the Nile, in 
Egypt. Plin. 

Babylonia, a large province 
of Assyria, of which Babylon was the 
capital. 

Babylonii, the inhabitants of 
Babylon, famous for their knowledge in 
astrology, first divided the year into 12 
months, and the zodiac into twelve 
signs. 

B a c c h je, the priestesses of 
Bacchus. 

Bacchanalia, festivals in 
honor of Bacchus at Rome; the same as 



BAC 

the Dionysia of the Greeks. [Vid. Dio- 
nysia.] 

Bacchantes, priestesses of 

Bacchus, who are represented at the 
celebration of the orgies almost naked, 
with gaidands of ivy, with a thyrsus and 
dishevelled hair. Their looks are wild, 
and they utter dreadful sounds, and 
clash different musical instruments to- 
gether. They are also called Thyades 
andMenades. Ovid. &c. 

Bacchiad;e or Bacchid^e, 

a Corinthian family, descended from 
Bacchia, daughter of Dionysius, or more 
probably from Bacchis, son of Prumnis. 
In their nocturnal orgies, they, as some 
report, tore to pieces Actaeon, son of 
Melissus; which so enraged the father, 
that before the altar he entreated the 
Corinthians to revenge the death of his 
son, and immediately threw himself into 
the sea. Upon this the Bacchidae were 
banished, and went to settle in Sicily, 
where some suppose that they built Sy- 
racuse. Ovid. Strab. &c. 

Bacchis or Balus, king of 

Corinth, succeeded his father Prum- 
nides. His successors were always called 
Bacchida, in remembrance of the equity 
and moderation of his reign. The Bac- 
chidae increased so much, that they chose 
one of their number to preside among 
them with regal authority. Cypselus 
overturned this institution by making 
himself absolute. Strab. 

Bacchium, an Island opposite 

Smyrna. 

BACCHIUS & BlTHUS, tWO ce- 
lebrated gladiators, of equal age and 
strength; whence the proverb to ex- 
press equality, Bithus contra Bacchium. 
Horat. 

E 



BAG 



BAL 



Bacchus was son of Jupiter 

and Semele, the daughter of Cadmus. 
After she had enjoyed the company of 
Jupiter, Semele was deceived, and pe- 
rished by the artifice of Juno, who as- 
sumed the shape of Beroe, Semele's 
nurse, and persuaded Semele that the 
lover whom she entertained was not 
Jupiter, but a false lover ; and that to 
prove his divinity, she ought to beg of 
him, if he really were Jupiter, to come 
to her bed with the same majesty as he 
courted the embraces of Juno. The 
artifice succeeded ; and when Jupiter 
promised his mistress whatever she 
asked, Semele required him to visit her 
with all the divinity of a god. Jupiter 
"was unable to violate his oath, and Se- 
mele unwilling to retract it ; therefore, 
as she was a mortal, and unable to bear 
the majesty of Jupiter, she was con- 
sumed, and reduced to ashes. The 
child, of which she had been pregnant 
for seven months, was, with difficulty, 
saved from the flames, and put in his 
father's thigh, where he remained the 
full time he naturally was to have been 
in his mother's womb. From this cir- 
cumstance Bacchus has been called Bi- 
rnater. There are different traditions 
of the manner of his education, which 
shew that there have been many of the 
same name. Diodorus speaks of three 
of this name, and Cicero of a greater 
number, but among them all, the son 
of Jupiter and Semele seems to have 
obtained the merit of all the rest. Bac- 
chus is the Osiris of the Egyptians, and 
his history is drawn from the Egyptian 
traditions concerning that ancient king. 
His expedition into the East is cele- 
brated. He marched at the head of an 
army composed of men, as well as of 
women, all inspired with divine fury, 
and armed with thyrsuses, cymbals, arid 
other musical instruments. The leader 
was drawn in a chariot by a lion and a 
tiger, and was accompanied by Pan and 
Silentts, and all the Satyrs. His con- 
quests were easy, and without blood- 
shed ; the people easily submitted, and 
gratefully elevated to the rank of a god 
the hero who taught them the use of the 
vine, the cultivation of the earth, and 
the manner of making honey. Amidst 
his benevolence to mankind, he was re- 
lentless in punishing all want of re- 
spect to his divinity ; and the punish- 
ment inflicted on Pentheus, Agave, Ly- 
curgus, &c. is well known. He has 
received the name of Liber, Bromius, 
Lyaeus, Evan, Thyonaeus, Psilas, &c. 
which are mostly derived from the 
places where he received adoration, or 
from the ceremonies observed in his 
festivals. As he was the god of wine, 
and of drinkers, he is generally repre- 
sented crowned with vine and ivy leaves, 
with a thyrsus in his hand. The pan- 
ther is sacred to him , because he went 
in his expedition covered with the skin 
©f that beast. The magpie is also his 



favorite bird, because in triumphs peo- 
ple were permitted to speak with bold- 
ness and liberty. The festivals of Bac- 
chus, generally called Orgies, Baccha- 
nalia, or Dionysia, [Vid. Dionysia] 
were introduced into Greece, from 
Egypt, by Danaus and his daughters. 
Cic. Paus. Herodot. &c. 

Bacchylides, a lyric poet of 

Cos, nephew to Simonides, who, like 
Pindar, wrote the praises of Hiero. 
Some of his verses have been preserved. 

Marcel. 

Bactra, the capital of Bac- 
triana, on the river Bactros, in Asia. 

Virg. 

Bactri and Bactriani, the 

inhabitants of Bactriana, who live upon 
plunder, and are always under arms. 
They give to their dogs those that die 
through old age or disease, and suffer 
slaves and strangers to take whatever 
liberties they please with their wives. 
They were conquered by Alexander the 
Great. Curt. 

Bactriana. a country of Asia, 

fruitful as well as extensive. It formed 
once part of the Persian empire, on the 
eastern parts of which it is situated. Zo- 
roaster was the most ancient king of this 
country, who taught his subjects the art 
of magic and astrology. Diod. 

Bactros, a river on the bor- 
ders of Asiatic Scythia, from which 
Bactriana receives its name. 

B^bia Lex, a law forbidding 
the division of the lands, and substi- 
tuting an annual tax to be paid by the 
possessors. 

B^etis, a river of Spain, from 
which a part of the country has received 
the name of Baetica. It was formerly 
called Tartessus, and now bears the 
name of Guadalquiver. The wool pro- 
duced there was in high estimation for 
its fineness and superior quality, so that 
Baeticus became an epithet of merit, 
when applied to garments. Paus. PUn. 
&c. 

B ago as and Bagosas, a name 
common to many eunuchs of the mon- 
archs of Persia, the most remarkable 
of whom was an Egyptian eunuch, in 
the court of Artaxerxes Ochus, so pow- 
erful that nothing could be done with- 
out his consent. He led some troops 
against the Jews, and profaned their 
temple. He poisoned Ochus, gave his 
flesh to cats, and made knife-handles 
with his bones, because he had killed 
the god Apis. He placed on the throne 
Arses, the youngest of the slaughtered 
prince's children, and afterwards put 
him to death. He was at last killed, 
B. C. 335, by Darius, whom, after rais- 
ing to the crown, he had attempted to 
poison. Diod. 

Bagrada, a river of Africa, 



BAN 



BAR 



near Utica, where Regulus killed a ser- 
pent one hundred and twenty feet long. 
Plin. 

Bai^e, a city of Campania 
near the sea, founded by Baius, one of 
the companions of Ulysses. It is famous 
for its delightful situation and baths, 
where many of the Roman senators had 
country houses. Martial. Horat. &c. 

B alan us, a prince of Gaul, 
who assisted the Romans in their Ma- 
cedonian war, A. U. C. 581. 

C. Balbillus, a learned and 
benevolent man, governor of Egypt, of 
which he wrote the history, under Nero. 
Tacit. Ann. 

BalbInus, a Roman, who, 
after governing provinces with credit 
and honor, assassinated the Gordians, 
and seized the purple. He was some 
time after murdered by his soldiers, 
A. D. 238. 

Balbus, a mountain of Africa, 
famous for the retreat of Masinissa, 
after he had fought a battle against 
Syphax. 

BalIares, three islands in the 
Mediterranean, modernly called Ma- 
jorca, Minorca, and Yvica, on the coast 
of Spain. The word is derived from 
#aX^?iV, to throw, because the inhabit- 
ants were expert archers and slingers, 
besides great pirates. — Florus relates 
that in these isles mothers never gave 
children their breakfast before they had 
struck with an arrow a certain mark in 
a tree. 

Balepatra, a town of India, 
supposed to be modern Pataxa. 

Bali us, a horse of Achilles. 

Homer. 

Balneje (baths) were very- 
numerous at Rome, private as well as 
public. In the ancient times simplicity 
was observed, but in the age of the em- 
perors they became expensive; they 
were used after walking, exercise, or 
labor, and were deemed more necessary 
than luxurious. The Roman emperors 
generally built baths, and all endea- 
voured to eclipse each other in the mag- 
nificence of the building. It is said that 
Diocletian employed 40,000 of his sol- 
diers in building his baths, and, when 
they were finished, he destroyed all the 
workmen . Alexander Severus first per- 
mitted the people to use them in the 
night. They generally read in bathing, 
and we find many compositions written 
in using the bath. 

Bambyce, an ancient name of 
Hierapolis, in Syria, called Magog by 
the inhabitants of the coun'ry. Plin. 

Banti/r, a town of Apulia, 
whence Bantinus. Horat. 

L. Bantius, a gallant youth 
of Nola, whom Annibal found, afcer the 



battle of Canna?, almost dead among 
the heap of slain. He was sent back 
home with great humanity, upon which 
he resolved to betray his country to so 
generous an enemy. Marcellus, the 
Roman general, heard of it, and re- 
buked Bantius, who continued firm and 
faithful to the interest of Rome. Liv. 

Bapt^e, the priests of Cotytto, 
the goddess of lasciviousness and de- 
bauchery at Athens. Her festivals were 
celebrated in the night ; and so obscene 
was the behaviour of the priests, that 
they disgusted even Cotytto herself. 
The name is derived from fi(X7TTsiv 
to ivash, because the priests bathed 
themselves in the most effeminate man- 
ner. Juv. — A comedy of Eupolis. 

Bar^ei, a people of Colchis 
and Iberia, who burn the bodies of their 
friends who die by disease, but give to 
the fowls of the air such as fall in war. 
Mlian. 

Barbari, a name originally 
applied to those who spoke inelegantly, 
or with harshness and difficulty. The 
Greeks and Romans generally called all 
nations, except their own, by the de- 
spicable name of Barbarians. 

Barb aria, a river of Mace- 
donia. Liv. — A name given to Phrygia 
and Troy. Horat. 

Barc^ei or Barcit^e, a war- 
like nation of Africa, near Carthage. 
Vir?. 

Barce, the nurse of Sichasus. 
Virg. — A large country of Africa. — Also 
a city, about nine miles from the sea, 
founded by the brothers of Arcesilaus, 
king of Cyrene, 515 years before the 
Christian aera. Strab. 

BARCHA, the surname of a no- 
ble family at Carthage, from which Amil- 
car and Annibal were descended. By 
means of their bribes and influence they 
excited a great faction, which is cele- 
brated in the annals of Carthage by the 
name of the Barchinian faction, and at 
last raised themselves to power, and to 
the independent disposal of all the 
offices of trust or emolument in the 
state. Liv. 

Barcino, a maritime town at 
the east of Spain, now Barcelona, the 
capital of Catalonia. 

Bard I, a celebrated sacerdotal 
order among the ancient Gauls, who 
praised their heroes, and published their 
fame in their verses, or on musical in- 
struments. They were so esteemed and 
respected by the people, that, at their 
sight, two armies, who were engaged in 
battle, laid down their arms, and sub- 
mitted to their orders. 

Bares, a naval officer of Per- 
sia, who wished to destroy Cyrene, but 
was opposed by Amasis. Herodot. 



BAT 



BEL 



Barium, a town of Apulia, on 
the Adriatic. Horat. 

Barrus, a man ridiculed by 
Horace as proud of his beauty. 

BarsIxe and Barsene, a 
daughter of Darius, who married Alex- 
ander, by whom she had a son called 
Hercules. Cassander ordered her and 
her son to be put to death. Justin. 

Basilea, a daughter of Ccelus 
and Terra, who was mother of all the 
gods. Diod. 

Basilica, European Sarma- 

tians, descended from Hercules and 
Echidna. Mela. 

Basilides, the father of He- 
rodotus, who, with others, attempted to 
destroy Strattes, tyrant of Chios. He- 
rodot. — A priest of Mount Carmel, who 
foretold many momentous events to 
Vespasian, when he offered sacrifices. 
Sueton. 

Basil is, a city of Arcadia, 
built by Cypselus, near the river Al- 
pheus. Pans. 

Basilius, a river of Mesopo- 
tamia, falling into the Euphrates. Strab. 
— A celebrated bishop of Africa, very 
animated against the Arians, whose te- 
nets and doctrines he refuted with 
warmth , but great ability. Erasmus has 
placed him in the number of the great- 
est orators of antiquity. He died in 
his 5lst year, A. D. 379. 

Bass^e, a place of Arcadia, 
where Apollo had a temple. Pans. 

Bassareus, a surname of Bac- 
chus, from the dress, or long robe, called 
Bassaris, which his priests wore. He- 
rat. 

Bassarides, a name given to 
the votaries of Bacchus, and to Agave, 
by Persius, which seems derived from 
Bassara, a town of Libya, sacred to the 
god, or from a particular dress worn by 
his priestesses, and so called by the 
Thracians. Persius. 

Bastarx^e and Basternje, a 
people of European Sarmatia, destroyed 
by a sudden storm as they pursued the 
Thracians. Liv. 

Bat avi, a people of Germany, 
who inhabited that part of the continent 
known under the modern name of Hol- 
land. JLucan. 

BathYLLUS. The most re- 
markable of this name was the poet who 
claimed as his own Virgil's distich, Node, 
pluit, tota, &c. 

Bat is, an eunuch, governor of 
Gaza, who, upon being unwilling to 
yield, was dragged round the city tied 
bv the heels to Alexander's chariot. 
CurU 

Bat r achomyomachia, a 
poem describing the fight between frogs 



and mice, written by Homer, which has 
been printed sometimes separate from 
the Iliad or Odyssey. 

Battis, a girl celebrated by 
Philetas, the elegiac poet. Ovid* 

Bat t us, the name of two kings 

of Cyrene. Herodot. — A shepherd of 
Pylos, who promised Mercury that he 
would not discover his having stolen the 
docks of Admetus, which Apollo tended. 
He violated his promise, and was turned 
into a pumice-stone. Ovid. 

Batulum, a town of Cam- 
pania, whose inhabitants assisted Tur- 
nus against .'Eneas. Virg. 

Baubo, a woman who received 
Ceres when she sought her daughter all 
over the world, and gave her some water 
to quench her thirst. Ovid. 

Bau cis, an old woman of Phry- 
gia, who, with her husband, Philemon, 
lived in a small cottage, in a penurious 
manner, when Jupiter and Mercury tra- 
velled in disguise over Asia. The gods 
came to the cottage, where they received 
the best things it afforded ; and Jupiter 
was so pleased with their hospitality, 
that he metamorphosed their dwelling 
into a magnificent temple, of which 
Baucis and her husband were made 
priests. After they had liv ed happily to 
an extreme old age, they died both at 
the same hour, according to their re- 
quest to Jupiter, that one might not 
have the sorrow of following the other 
to the grave. Their bodies were changed 
into trees before the doors of the tem- 
ple. Ovid, 

Bavius and IVLevius, two 

stupid and malevolent poets in the age 
of Augustus, who attacked the superior 
talents of the contemporary writers. 

Virg. 

Bebius, a famous informer in 

Vespasian's reign. Juv. 

Bebriacum, a village between 
Cremona and Verona, where Vitellius 
overcame Otho. 

Bebryce, a daughter of Da- 
naus, who is said to have spared her 
husband. Most authors, however, at- 
tribute that character of humanity to 
Hypermnestra. [Vid. Danaides.] 

Bebryces and Bebrycii, a 
nation of Asia, near Pontus, of Thra- 
cian origin, and, according to Arrian, 
descended from Bebryce. 

Bebrycia, an ancient name 
of Bithynia, from Bebryce, the daughter 
of Danaus. 

Belephantes, a Chaldean, 
who, from his knowledge of astronomy, 
told Alexander that his entering Baby- 
l:n would be attended with fatal con- 
sequences to him. Diod. 

Belesis, a priest of Babylon, 
who told Arbaces, governor of Media 



BEL 



BEN 



that he should reign one day in the 
place of Sardanapalus* His prophecy 
was verified, and he was rewarded by 
the new king with the government of 
Babylon, B. C. 826. Diod. 

Belg^e, a warlike people of 
ancient Gaul, separated from the Celtae 
by the rivers Matrona and Sequana. 
Their country extends from the Rhine 
to the river raodernly called the Loire. 
Cces. 

Belg¥ca, a province of Gaul, 
near the Rhine. 

Belgium, the capital of Gallia 
Belgica. The word is often used to 
express the whole country. Cces. 

Belgius, a general of Gaul, 
who conquered an army of Macedonians. 

Bel ides, a surname given to 
the daughters of Belus. 
• Belides, a name applied to 
Palamedes, as descended from Belus. 
Virg. 

Belisama, the name of Mi- 
nerva among the Gauls, signifying queen 
of heaven. Cces. 

Belisarius, a celebrated ge- 
neral, who, in a degenerate and effe- 
minate age, in the reign of Justinian, 
emperor of Constantinople, renewed all 
the glorious victories, battles, and tri- 
umphs, which had rendered the first 
Romans so distinguished in the time of 
their republic. He died, after a life of 
military glory, and the trial of royal in- 
gratitude, in the 5G5th year of the Chris- 
tian aera. Some historians, among whom 
is Gibbon, ha-ve imagined that the ac- 
count of his having been deprived of 
sight, and of his being obliged to beg 
for charity to support life, with the 
"Date obohim Belisario" is a fabrica- 
tion of modem times. 

Belle rophon, son of Glau- 

cus, king of Ephyre, by Eurymede, was 
at first called Hipponous. The murder 
of his brother, whom some call Alci me- 
nus or Beller, procured him the name 
of Bellerophon, or murderer of Beller. 
After this murder Bellerophon fled to 
the court of Proetus, king of Argos. As 
he was of a handsome appearance, the 
king's wife, called Sthenoboea, fell in 
love vvith him ; and, as he slighted her 
passion, she accused him, before her 
husband, of attempts upon her virtue. 
Proetus, unwilling to violate the laws of 
hospitality, by punishing Bellerophon, 
sent him away to his father-in-law, Jo- 
bates, king of Lycia, and gave him a 
letter, in which he begged the king to 
punish with death a man who had so 
dishonorably treated his daughter. Jo- 
bates, to satisfy his son-in-law, sent 
Bellerophon to conquer a horrible mon- 
ster called Chimsera. [Vid. Chimaera.] 
But Minerva supported him, and, with 
the winged horse Pegasus, he conquered 



the monster, and returned victorious- 
He also subdued the Solymi and the 
Amazons, by the king's orders, and de- 
stroyed a number of assassins, sent, at 
his return, by Jobates, to take his life, 
convincing the king that innocence is 
always protected by the gods. Upon 
this Jobates no longer sought to destroy 
his life ; but he gave him his daughter 
in marriage, and made him his succes- 
sor on the throne of Lycia, as he was 
without male issue. Homer. &c. — Other 
authors relate his story somewhat dif- 
ferently. 

Bellona, the goddess of war*, 

daughter to Phorcys and Ceto, called 
by the Greeks Enyo, and often con- 
founded with Minerva. She was the 
sister of Mars, or, according to others, 
his daughter, or his wife. She prepared 
the chariot of Mars when going to war ; 
and she appeared in battles armed with 
a whip, with dishevelled hair, and a 
torch in her hand. The Romans paid 
great adoration to her. In her temple 
at Rome the senators gave audience to 
foreign ambassadors, and to generals re- 
turned from war. At the gate was a 
small column, called the column of war, 
against which they threw a spear, when- 
ever war was declared against an enemy* 
Her priests consecrated themselves by 
great incisions in their thighs, of which 
they received the blood in their hands 
to offer as a sacrifice to the goddess, 
and, in their wild enthusiasm, they 
often predicted bloodshed and wars, the 
defeat of enemies, or the besieging of 
towns. Juv. &c. 

Bellonarii, the priests of 

Bellona. 

Bellovesus, a king of the 

Celtae, who, in the reign of Tarquinius 
Priscus, was sent, at the head of a co- 
lony, to Italy, by his uncle Ambigatus. 
He is the first Gaul that is said to have 
crossed the Alps. Liv. 

Belus. Among those of this 
name mentioned by ancient writers, 
the most celebrated is one of the most 
ancient kings of Babylon, about 18\iO 
years before the age of Semiramis, who 
was made a god after death, and wor- 
shipped with much ceremony by the 
Assyrians and Babylonians. He was 
supposed to be the son of the Osiris of 
the Egyptians. Herodot. &c— The fa- 
ther of Danaus and /Egyptus was also 
called Belus and from him the daugh- 
ters of Danaus were called Belides. Ovid. 

Ben AC us, a lake of Italy, from 
which the Mincius flows into the Po. 
Virg. 

Bendis, a name of Diana 

among the Thracians and their northern 
neighbours. Sirab. — Her festivals, called 
Bendidia, were introduced from Thrace 
into Athens. 



BER 

Bene vent um, a town of the 

Hirpinus, built by Diomedes, 28 miles 
from Capua. Its original name was 
Maleventum, changed into the more 
auspicious word of Beneventum, when 
the Romans had a colony there. Plin. 

Bepolitantjs, a young man, 
who being condemned to death was 
saved by the delay occasioned by the 
executioner, who was anxious not to 
stain the youth's fine clothes with blood. 

Ber^ea, a town of Syria, now 
called Aleppo. — A town of Macedonia, 
the same which is mentioned in the 
Acts of the Apostles. 

Berbic^e, a nation who de- 
stroyed their relations when arrived at 
a certain age. JElian. 

Berecynthia, a surname of 
Cybele, from Mount Berecynthus in 
Phrygia, where she was particularly 
worshipped._ Virg. 

Berenice and Beronice, a 

name common to many queens and 
princesses in the Ptolemean family in 
Egypt. The most celebrated was the 
daughter of Philadelphus and Arsinoe ; 
who married her own brother Ever- 
getes, whom she loved with much ten- 
derness. When he went on a dangerous 
expedition, she vowed all the hair of 
her head to the goddess Venus if he 
returned. Some time after his vic- 
torious return, the locks which were in 
the temple of Venus disappeared, and 
Conon, an astronomer, to make his 
court to the queen, publicly reported 
that Jupiter had carried them away, and 
had made them a constellation. She 
was put to death by her own son, B. C. 
221. Hygin.— -Also the name of some 
remarkable towns. 

Be ren I cis, a part of Africa, 
near the town of Berenice. Lucan. 

Bergion and Albion, two 

giants, sons of Neptune, who opposed 
Hercules as- he attempted to cross the 
Rhone, and were killed with stones 
from heaven. Mela, 

Be roe, an old woman of Epi- 
daurus,nurseto Semele. [Vide Bacchus.] 
•—The wife of Doryclus, whose form 
was assumed by Iris, at the instigation 
of Juno, when she advised the Trojan 
women to burn the fleet of ^Eueas in 
Sicily. Virg. 

BerSsus, a native of Babylon, 
priest to Belus. He passed into Greece, 
and remained a long time at Athens. 
He composed a history of Chaldea, and 
signalized himself by his astronomical 
predictions, and was rewarded for his 
learning with a statue in the gymnasium 
at Athens. The age in which he lived 
is not precisely known. 

Berytus, now Beruty an an- 
cient town of Phoenicia, on the coast of 



BIB 

the Mediterranean, famous in the age 
of Justinian for the study of the law. 

Be ssi, a people of Thrace, on 
the left side of the Strymon, who lived 
upon rapine. Ovid. 

Be ssu s,a governor of Bactriana, 
who, after the battle of Arbela, seized 
Darius, his sovereign, and put him to 
death. After this murder he assumed 
the title of king, and was some time 
after brought before Alexander, who 
gave him to Oxatres, the brother of 
Darius. The prince ordered his hands 
and ears to be cut off, and his body to be 
exposed on a cross, and shot at by the 
soldiers. Justin. Curt. 

L. Bestia, a seditious Roman, 

who conspired with Catiline against his 
country. Cic. 

Bet is, a large river in Spain. 

Bianor. The most remark- 
able of this name is a son of Tiberius 
and Manto, the daughter of Tiresias, 
who received the surname of Ocnus, 
and reigned over Etruria. He built a 
town which he called Mantua, after his 
mother's name. His tomb was seen in 
the age of Virgil, on the road between 
Mantua and Andes. Virg.— A centaur 
killed by Theseus. Ovid. 

Bias, son of Amythaon and 

Idomene, was king of Argos, and bro- 
ther to the famous soothsayer Melam- 
pus. He married Perone, the daughter 
of Neleus, having obtained, through his 
brother Melampus, the oxen of Iphiclus. 
Horn. — Also one of the seven wise men 
of Greece, son to Teutamidas, born at 
Priene. He flourished B. C. 566. 

Bibaculus (M. Furius), a 

Latin poet in the age of Cicero. He 
composed annals in Iambic verses , and 
wrote epigrams,elegies, Epithalamiums, 
and other poems, all of which are now 
lost. Horaf. 

Bibesia or Potina, a goddess 

among the Romans, who presided over 
the liquors which were taken during 
meals. Another divinity, called Edesia, 
presided over the taking of the solid food. 

Biblis, a woman who became 
enamoured of her brother Caunus, and 
was changed into a fountain near Mi- 
letus. Ovid. 

Bibracte, a large town of the 
JEdui, in Gaul, where Caesar often win- 
tered. Cces. 

BiBULUS,was Cassar's colleague 
in the consulship } but of no consequence 
in the state, according to this distich, 
mentioned by Sueton. in Jul. c. 20. 
Non Bibulo quicquamnupci' ,sed Ccesare 

factum est : 
Nam Bibulo fieri consule nil memini. 

Bicon, a Greek who assassin- 
ated Athenodorus, because he made 



BIT 



BOE 



himself master or a colony which Alex- 
ander had left at Bactra. Curt. 

Bifrons, a surname of Janus, 
because he was represented with two 
faces among the Romans, as acquainted 
with the past and future. Virg. 

Bilbilts, a town of Celtiberia, 
where Martial was born. Mart. 

Bi mater. [Vid. Bacchus.] 
A surname of Bacchus, which signifies 
that he had two mothers, because when 
he was taken from his mother's womb, 
he was placed in the thigh of his father 
Jupiter. Ovid. Met. 

Bion. There were many an- 
cient writers of this name, the most re- 
markable of whom are the following : 
— A philosopher and sophist of Bory- 
stheiies, in Scythia, who rendered him- 
self famous for his knowledge of poe- 
try, music, and philosophy. He made 
every body the object of his satire, and 
his compositions were distinguished 
for clearness of expression, for face- 
tiousness, wit, and pleasantry. He died 
241 B. C. Diog.—A Greek poet of 
Smyrna, who wrote pastorals in an ele- 
gant style. Moschus, his friend and 
disciple, mentions, in an elegiac poem, 
that he died by poison, about 300 years 
B. C. His Idyllia are written with ele- 
gance and simplicity, purity and ease, 
and they abound with correct images, 
such as the view of the country may 
inspire. — A native of Abdera, disciple 
to Democritus, who first found out that 
there were certain parts of the earth 
where there were six months of perpe- 
tual light and darkness alternately. 

Bisaltis, a patronymic of 
Theophane, by whom Neptune, under 
the form of a ram, had the golden ram. 
Ovid. 

Biston, son of Mars and Cal- 
lithoe, built Bistonia in Thrace, whence 
the Thracians are often called Bistones. 
Herodot. 

Bistonts, a lake of Thrace, 
near Abdera. Herodot. 

Bithy^e, a certain race of wo- 
men in Scythia, whose eyes, as Pliny 
reports, killed those who gazed upon 
them for some time. 

Bithynia, a country of Asia 
Minor, formerly called Bebrycia. It 
was bounded by the Euxine on the 
north, on the south by Phrygia and 
Mysia, on the west by the Propontis, 
and on the east by Paphlagonia. The 
country was first invaded by the Thra- 
cians, under Bithynus, the son of Jupi- 
ter, who gave it the name of Bithynia. 
It was once a powerful kingdom. He- 
rodot. Strab. 

Bit ias, a Trojan, son of Al- 
canor and Hiera, brought up in a wood 
sacred to Jupiter. He followed the for- 
tune of ^neas, and, with his brother, 



was killed by the Kutun in Italy. Virg. 

— One of Dido's lovers. 

Biton. [ Vid. Cleobis.] 

Bi TURIGES, a people of Gaul, 

divided from the ^Edui by the Ligeris. 

Cess. 

Bituricum, a town of Gaul, 

formerly the capital of the Belgae. Strab. 

Bl^ena, a fruitful country of 
Pontus, where the general Mithridates 
Eupator destroyed the forces of Nico- 
medes the Bithynian, Strab. 

Blandusia, a fountain on the 
borders of the country of the Sabines, 
near Mandela, Horace's country seat. 
Horat. 

Bl emm yes, a people of Africa, 
who, as is fabulously reported, had no 
head, but had the eyes and mouth 
placed in the breast. Mela. 

BLITIUS CATULINUS,was ba- 
nished into the ^Egean sea after Piso's 
conspiracy, &c. Tacit. 

Blucium, a castle where king 
Dejotarus kept his treasure in Eithynia. 
Strab. 

Boadicea. [Vid. Boudicea.] 
Bocchoris, a wise king and 

legislator of Egypt. Diod. 

Bocchus, a king of Gaetulia, 
in alliance with Rome, who perfidiously 
delivered Jugurtha to Sylla, the lieu- 
tenant of Marius. Sallust. 

Boedromia, an Athenian fes- 
tival instituted in commemoration of the 
assistance which Athens received in the 
reign of Erechtheus, from Ion, son of 
Xuthus, when their country was invaded 
by Eumolpus, son of Neptune. The 
wordisderived from onto tod ^Spo/xs/v, 
coming to help. Plutarch, in Thes. men- 
tions it as in commemoration of the 
victory which Theseus obtained over 
the Amazons, in a month called at 
Athens Boedromion. 

Bceotia, a country of Greece, 
bounded on the north by Phocis, south 
by Attica, east by Euboea, and west by 
the bay of Corinth. It was called Bceo- 
tia from Bceotus, son of Itonus, or, ac- 
cording to others, a bove, from a cow, 
by which Cadmus was led into the 
country, where he built Thebes. The 
inhabitants were reckoned rude and 
illiterate, though their country produced 
many illustrious men, such as Pindar, 
Hesiod, Plutarch, &c. Herodot. 

B(ERObistas, a man among the 

Getae who by the strictness of his disci- 
pline made himself absolute. 

Boethius, a celebrated Ro- 
man, punished with death on suspicion 
of a conspiracy, by Theodoric, king of 
the Ostrogoths, A. D. 525. It was du- 
ring his imprisonment that he wrote his 
celebrated treatise de consolatione philo- 
sophic?. It may be said, that with thi§ 



BOO 



BRA 



respectable writer, the Latin tongue, 
and the last remains of Roman dignity, 
sunk in the western world. 

Boetus, a foolish poet of Tar- 
sus, who wrote a poem on the battle of 
Philippi. Strab. 

Boges, a Persian satrap, who, 
being besieged by the Athenians, de- 
stroyed his family and himself. 

Bogus, a king of the Maurusii, 
present at the battle of Actium. Strab. 

Bou, a people of Celtic Gaul. 
Ckes. — A people of Italy, near the Padus. 

Bolbitinum, one of the 
mouths of the Nile, with a town of the 
same name. Naucratis was built near 
it. Herodot. 

Bo lin A, a virgin of Achaia, 
who rejected the addresses of Apollo, 
and threw herself into the sea to avoid 
his importunities. The god made her 
immortal. There is a city which bears 
her name in Achaia. Paus. 

Bollaxus, a man whom 
Horace represents, l Sat. 9, v. 11, as of 
the most irascible temper, and the most 
inimical to loquacity. 

Bomilcar, a Carthaginian 
general, son of Amilcar. He was sus- 
pected of a conspiracy with Agathocles, 
and hung in the forum, where he had 
received all his dignity. Diod — An 
African, for some time the instrument 
of all Jugurtha's cruelties. He con- 
spired against Jugurtha, who put him 
to death. Sallust. Jug. 

BoMONiCiE, youths that were 
whipped at the altar of Diana Orthia, 
during the festivals of the goddess. He 
who bore the lash of the whip with the 
greatest patience, and without uttering 
a groan, was declared victorious, and 
received an honorable prize. Pans. Pint. 

Bona Dea, a name given to 
Ops, Vesta, Cybele, and Rhea, by the 
Greeks ; and by the Latins, to Fauna, 
or Fatua. This goddess was so chaste, 
that no man but her husband saw her 
after her marriage ; for which reason 
her festivals were celebrated Gnly in the 
night by the Roman matrons in their 
houses, "and all the statues of the men 
were carefully covered with a veil where 
the ceremonies were observed. In the 
latter ages, however, of the republic, 
the sanctity of these mysteries was pro- 
faned by the intrusion of men, and by 
the introduction of lasciviousness and 
debauchery. The celebration was on the 
first of May. Juven. 

Bonus Eventus, a Roman 
deity , whose worship was first introduced 
by the peasants. He was represented 
holding a cup in his right hand, and in 
his left^ ears of corn. Varro. 

Bootes, a northern constella- 
tion near the Ursa Major, also called 
Bubulcus and Arctophylax. 



Boreas, the name of the north 
wind blowing from the Hyperborean 
mountains. According to the poets, he 
was son of Astraeus and Aurora ; others 
make him son of the Strymon. He was 
worshipped as a deity, and represented 
with wings and white'hair. 

Boreasmi, a festival at Athens 
in honor of Boreas, who, as the Athe- 
nians supposed, was related to them on 
account of his marriage with Orithyia, 
the daughter of one of their kings. They 
attributed the overthrow of the enemy's 
fleet to the respect which he paid to his 
wife's native country. Paus. 

Borsippa, a town of Baby- 
lonia, the inhabitants of which ate bats. 

Borus, a son of Peiieres, who 
married Polydora, the daughter of Pe- 
leus. Apollod. Homer. 

Bo ryst hexes, a large river of 
Scythia, falling into the Euxine sea, 
now called the Dnieper, and inferior to 
no other European river but the Da- 
nube, according to Herodotus. — There 
was a city of the same name on the 
borders of the river. 

Bosphorus and Bosporus, 

two narrow straits, situate at the con- 
fines of Europe and Asia. One was 
called Cimmerian, and joined the Palus 
Mceotis to the Euxine sea, and is called 
by the moderns the Strait of Caffa ; and 
the other, which was called the Thracian 
Bosporus, and by the moderns the Strait 
of Constantinople, made a communi- 
cation between the Euxine sea and the 
Proponti^. It is so narrow, that in a 
Calm day persons could converse with 
each other, from the opposite bank. 
Strab. &c. 

Boudicea, a queen in Britain, 

who rebelled upon being insulted by 
the Romans. Her revolt proved very 
destructive to the Roman forces ; but 
at last the valor and the superior excel- 
lence of Suetonius prevailed over the 
undisciplined Britons, and Boadicea, 
after in vain re-asserting the liberty of 
her country, and seeing 80,000 of her 
countrymen slaughtered in one battle, 
poisoned herself. Tacit. Ann. 

Brachmanes, Indian philo- 
sophers, who derive their name from 
Brahma, one of the three beings whom 
God, according to their theology, cre- 
ated, and with whose assistance he 
formed the world. They devoted them- 
selves totally to the worship of the gods, 
and were accustomed from their youth 
to endure labors, and to live with fru- 
gality and ab.3tinence. They never ate 
flesh, and abstained from "the use of 
wine, and all carnal enjoyments. After 
they had spent 37 years "in the greatest 
trials, they were permitted to marry, 
and indulge themselves in a more free 
and unbounded manner. According to 
modern authors, Brahma is the parent 
of all mankind. S) ab. Diod. 



\ 



BRI 

Bran chI ades, a surname of 

Apollo. 

Branchid^, a people of Asia, 
near the river Oxus, put to the sword by 
Alexander. 

Braxchus, a youth of Mile- 
tus, beloved by Apollo, who gave him 
the power of prophecy. He gave oracles 
at Didyme, which became inferior to 
none of the Grecian oracles, except 
Delphi, and which exchanged the name 
of Didymean to that of Branchids?. 
Strab. &c. 

Brasidas, a famous general 
of Lacedasmon, who, after many great 
victories over Athens and other Grecian 
states, died of a wound at Amphipolis, 
which Cleon, the Athenian, had be- 
sieged, B. C. 422. A superb monument 
was raised to his memory. Thucyd. 

Brasideia, festivals at Lace- 
daemon, in honor of Brasidas. None 
but free-born Spartans were permitted 
to enter the lists, and such as were absent 
were fined. 

Braurojt, a town of Attica, 
where Diana had a temple, and festi- 
vals in her honor were celebrated once 
every fifth year. 

Brennus, a general of the 
Galli Senones, who invaded Italy, de- 
feated the Romans at the river Allia, 
and entered Rome without opposition. 
The Romans fled into the capitol. The 
Gauls climbed the Tarpeian rock in the 
night, and the capitol would have been 
taken had not the Romans been a waken ; 
ed by the noise of geese, which were 
before the doors, and immediately re- 
pelled the enemy. Camillus, who was in 
banishment, marched to the relief of 
his country, and so totally defeated the 
Gauls, that not one remained to carry 
home the news of their destruction. 
Liv. — Another Gaul, who made an ir- 
ruption into Greece with 150,000 men, 
and 15,000 horse, and endeavoured to 
destroy the temple of Apollo, at Del- 
phi, and was destroyed with all his 
troops, by the Delphians. Paus. &c. 

Brescia, a city of Italy, which 
had gods peculiar to itself. 

Briareus, a famous giant, son 
of Ccelus and Terra, who had 100 hands 
and 50 heads, and was called by men 
yEgeon, and only by the gods Briareus. 
When Juno, Neptune, and Minerva, 
conspired to dethrone Jupiter, Briareus 
ascended the heavens, and sat himself 
next to him, and so terrified the con- 
spirators by his fierce and threatening 
looks, that they desisted. He assisted 
the giants in their war against the gods, 
and was thrown under mount ^Etna, 
according to some accounts. Hesiod. — 
A Cyclop, made judge between Apollo 
and Neptune, in their dispute about the 
isthmus and promontory of Corinth. 



BRO 



He gave the former to Neptune* and 
the latter to Apollo. Paus. 

Brigaxtes, a people in the 

northern parts of Britain. Juv. Paus. 
Brigantixus, a lake of Rhoe- 

tia, between the Alps, now the lake of 
Constance, through which the Rhine 
flows. The town on its eastern bank is 
now Bregentz, in the Tyrol, anciently 
called Brigantium. Plin. 

Brimo, ( terror ) a name given 
to Proserpine and Hecate, because they 
were supposed to cause the terrors which 
alarm the weak and superstitious during 
the night. Stat. Propert. &c. 

Briseis, a girl of Lyrnessus, 
called also Hippodamia. When her 
country was taken by the Greeks, she 
fell to the share of Achilles, in the di- 
vison of the spoils. Agamemnon took 
her away some time after from Achilles, 
who thereupon made a vow to absent 
himself from the field of battle. On 
this incident chiefly Homer founded his 
Iliad. 

Briseus, a surname of Bac- 
chus, from a temple erected to Mm on 
the promontory of Brisa, at Lesbos* 

Britakni, the inhabitants of 
Britain. \Vid. Britannia.] — A nation in 
Gallia Belgica. 

Britannia, an island in the 
northern ocean, the greatest in Europe, 
nearly conquered by J. Caesar, B. C. 55, 
and first known to be an island by Agri- 
cola, who sailed round it. It was a Ro- 
man province from the time of its con- 
quest till the 448th year of the Christian 
era. The inhabitants, in the age of 
Caesar, used to paint their bodies to 
render themselves more terrible in the 
eyes of their enemies. Cces. &e. 

Britannicus, a son of Clau- 
dius Caesar, by Messalina. Nero was 
raised to the throne in preferei'ee to 
him, by means of Agrippina, and caused 
him to be poisoned. His corpse was 
buried in the night ; but it is said that 
a shower of rain washed away the white 
paint which the murderer had put over 
his face, so that it appeared quite black, 
and discovered the effects of poison. 
Tacit. 

Bri t o ma rti s,a beautiful 
nymph of Crete, daughter of Jupiter 
and Charme. — A surname of Diana. 

Brit ones, the inhabitants of 

Britain. Juv. 

Bitizo, the goddess of dreams, 
worshipped in Delos. She was invoked 
to protect the ships of the island, and 
to inspire her votaries with pleasant 
and propitious dreams ; and in her fes- 
tivals she was gratefully presented with 
offerings of fruits, and all other things 
except fish. Athen. 

Brocubelus, a governor of 
Syria, who fled to Alexander, when, 



BRU 



BUC 



Darius was murdered by Bessus. Curt. 

Bromius, a surname of Bac- 
chus, from p e ft £ iv, fiender e, alluding 
to the groans which Semele uttered 
when consumed by Jupiter's fire, or, 
with equal probability, to the noise and 
shouts of the Bacchantes in the celebra- 
tion of the orgies. Diod. Ovid. 

Brontes, (thunder) one of 

the Cyclops. [Vid. Cyclops.] Virg. 

Brotfas and Ammon, two 
men famous for their skill in the cestus. 
Ovid.— One_of the Lapithae. Id. 

Brumalia, festivals celebrated 
at Rome in honor of Bacchus, about 
the month of December. They were 
instituted by Romulus. 

Brundusium, a city of Cala- 
bria, on the Adriatic sea, where the 
Appian road was terminated, founded 
by Diomedes, or, according to Strabo, 
by Theseus. It is famous for the birth 
of the poet Pacuvius, and the death of 
Virgil. 

Brutidius, a man dragged to 

Erison in Juvenal's age, on suspicion of 
is favoring Sejanus. Juv. 
Brutii, a people in the farthest 
parts of Italy. They received the name 
of Brutii, from their cowardice in sub- 
mitting, without opposition, to Annibal 
in the second Punic war, and were ever 
after held in the greatest disgrace. 
Justin. 

Brutus, the name of some very 
famous Romans, the most celebrated of 
whom are L. Junius, son of M.Junius 
and Tarquinia, second daughter of Tar- 
quinius Priscus. The father, and his 
eldest son, were murdered by Tarquin 
the Proud ; and Lucius, unable to re- 
venge their death, pretended to be in- 
sane. The artifice saved his life ; he 
was called Brutus for his stupidity, 
which he, however, soon after showed 
to be feigned. When Lucretia killed 
herself , B. C. 509, in consequence of the 
brutality of Tarquin, Brutus snatched 
the dagger from the wound/and swore, 
upon the reeking blade, immortal hatred 
to the royal family. His example was 
followed the Tarquins were proscribed 
by a decree of the senate, and the royal 
authority vested in the hands of consuls 
chosen from patrician families. Brutus, 
in his consular office, made the people 
swear they never would again submit to 
kingly authority ; but the first who vio- 
lated their oath were his own sons, who 
conspired with the Tuscan ambassador 
to restore the Tarquins ; and when dis- 
covered, they were tried and condemned 
before their father, who himself attend- 
ed at their execution. Some time after, 
in a combat between the Romans and 
Tarquins, Brutus engaged with Aruns ; 
and so fierce was the attack, that they 
pierced one another at the same time. 
The dead body was brought to Rome, 
and received as in a triumph ; a funeral 



oration was spoken over it, and the 
Roman matrons showed their grief by 
mourning a year for the father of the 
republic. Ley.— -Marcus Junius, father 
of Caesar's murderer, who followed the 
party of Marius, and was conquered by 
Porapey,by whose orders he was put to 
death. Cic. — His son of the same name, 
by Seivilia, was lineally descended from 
J. Brutus, who expeiled the Tarquins 
from Rome. He seemed to inherit the 
republican principles of his great proge- 
nitor, and in the civil wars joined Pom- 
pey, though his father's murderer, only 
because he looked upon him as more 
just in his claims. At the battle of 
Pharsalia, Caesar not only spared the 
life of Brutus, but made him one of his 
most faithful friends. He, however, 
forgot this, and because Caesar aspired 
to tyranny, he conspired against him, 
and stabbed him in Pompey's Basilica. 
The tumult was great, the conspirators 
fled to the capitol, and, by proclaiming 
liberty to the populace, re-established 
tranquillity in the city. The murderers 
were soon obliged to leave Rome. Bru- 
tus retired into Greece, and was soon 
after pursued thither by Antony, whom 
young Octavius accompanied. A battle 
was fought at Philippi.in which the re- 
publican army was finally defeated, and 
Brutus and Cassius, disdaining to fall 
into the hands of the conquerors, both 
stabbed themselves. Antony honored 
him with a magnificent funeral. Brutus 
is not less celebrated for his literary ta- 
lents, than his valor in the field. He 
severely reprimanded Cicero in his let- 
ters for joining the side of Octavius, 
who meditated the ruin of the republic. 
Brutus married Porcia, the daughter of 
Cato, who killed herself by swallowing 
burning coals when she heard the fate 
of her husband. C. Nep. &c. — D.. Jun. 
Albinus, another of Caesar's murderers. 
He was put to death by Antony's orders, 
though consul elect* 

Bryas, a general of the Ar- 
gives, whom a woman put to death, for 
having offered her violence. Pans. 

Bubaris, a Person who mar- 
ried the daughter of Amyntas, against 
whom he had been sent with an army. 
Justin. 

BubastiAcus, one of the 

mouths of the Nile. 

Bubastis, a city of Egypt^in 
the eastern parts of the Delta, where 
cats were held in great veneration, be- 
cause Diana Bubastis, who is the chief 
deity of the place, is said to have trans- 
formed herself into a cat when the gods 
fled into Egypt. Herodst. 

Bub on a, a goddess among the 
Romans, who was supposed to preside 
over oxen. 

Bucen taurus, a species of 
Centaur, half of whose body resembled 
that of the ox. 



BUT 



BYZ 



Bucephala, a city of India, 
near the Hvdaspes. built by Alexander, 
in honor of his favorite horse Bucepha- 
lus. Curt. 

Bucephalus, a horse of Alex- 
ander, whose head resembled that of 
a bull, whence his name(/3ot/? Hetptx'kvi, 
bovis caput). Alexander was the only 
one who could mount him. This horse 
being present in an engagement in Asia, 
where he received a heavy wound, 
hastened immediately out of the battle, 
and dropped down dead as soon as he 
had set down the king in a safe place. 
Alexander built a city, which he called 
after his name. Plut. 

Bucolicus, one of the mouths 
of the Nile. 

Bullat ius,a friend of Horace, 
to whom the poet addressed 1. ep. 11. 
in consequence of his having travelled 
over part of Asia. 

Bun us, a son of Mercury and 
Alcidamea, who obtained the govern- 
ment of Corinth when iEetes went to 
Colchis. He built a temple to Juno. 
Paus. 

Buphagus, a son of Japetus 
and Thornax, killed by Diana, whose 
virtue he had attempted. — A surname of 
Hercules, given him on account of his 
gluttony.^ 

Buphonia, a festival in honor 
of Jupiter, at Athens, where an ox was 
immolated. Paus. 

BuPHRASiuM,acountry, river, 
and city of Elis. 

Bur a, a daughter of Jupiter, 
from whom Buraor Buris, once a flou- 
rishing city in the bay of Corinth, re- 
ceived its name. 

Burrhus Af rani u s, a chief 

of the praetorian guards, put to death 
by Nero. — A brother-in-law of the em- 
peror Commodus. 

Bursa, a capital city of Bi- 
thynia. 

Bus A, an Apulian woman, who, 
after the battle of Cannae, entertained a 
thousand Romans. 

Bus iris, a name common to 
many Egyptian princes, the most re- 
markable of whom is a king of Egypt, 
son of Neptune and Libya, or Lysia- 
nassa, who sacrificed all foreigners to 
Jupiter, with the greatest cruelty. When 
Hercules visited Egypt, Busiris carried 
him to the altar, bound hand and foot. 
The heio soon disentangled himself, 
and offered the tyrant and the ministers 
of his cruelty on the same altar. — A 
town called Busiris, in the middle of 
the Delta, where Isis had a famous tem- 
ple. Herodot. 

Butes, one of the descendants 
of Amycus, king of the Bebryces, very 
expert in the combat of the cestus. He 



came to Sicily, where he was received 
by Lycaste, a beautiful harlot, by whom 
he had a son, called Eryx. Lycaste, on 
account of her beauty, was called Venus ; 
hence Eryx is often called the son of 
Venus. Virg. — There were others of 
inferior note of this name mentioned by 
Virsril, Diodqtus, &c. 

Buthrotum, a town of Epi- 

rus, opposite Corcyra, visited by iEneas, 
in his way to Italy from Troy. Virg. 

Butorides, an historian, who 
wrote concerning the pyramids. Plin. 

Bu t os, a town of Egypt, where 
there was a temple of Apollo and Diana., 
and an oracle of Latona. Herodot. 

Buzyges, an Athenian, who 
first ploughed with harnessed oxen. De- 
mophoongave him the Palladium with 
which Diomedes had intrusted him, to 
be carried to Athens. Polycen. 

Byrlis, a daughter of Miletus 
and Cyanea. She fell in love with her 
brother Caunus, and, when he refused 
to gratify her passion, she destroyed 
herself. Some say that Caunus became 
enamoured of her, and fled from his 
country to avoid incest ; and others re- 
port, that he fled from his sister's im- 
portunities, who sought him all over 
Lycia, and Caria, and at last sat down 
all bathed in tears, and was changed into 
a fountain of the same name. Ovid. 

Byrlus, a town of Syria, in 
Phoenicia, where Adonis had a temple. 
Strab. 

Byrrhus, a robber, famous 

for his dissipation. Horat. 

Byrsa, a citadel in the middle 
of Carthage, on which was the temple 
of vEsculapius. Asdrubal's wife burned 
it when the city was taken. When Dido 
came to Africa, she bought of the inha- 
bitants as much land as could be encom- 
passed by a bull's hide. After the agree- 
ment, she cut the hide in small thongs, 
and enclosed a large piece of territory, 
on which she built a citadel, which she 
called Byrsa, {Bvpaa^ a hide.) Virg. 
&c. 

Byzantium, a town situate 

on the Thracian Bosphorus. The plea- 
santness and convenience of its situation 
were observed by Constantine the Great, 
who made it the capital of the eastern 
empire, A. D. 328, and called it Con- 
stantinople, i. e. the city of Constantine, 
&c. — A number of Greek writers, who 
have deserved or usurped the name of 
Byzantine Historians, flourished at By- 
zantium, after the seat of the empire 
had been translated thither from Rome ; 
but their works, which more particularly 
relate to the time in which they flou- 
rished, are seldom read but by those 
who wish to form an acquaintance with 
the revolutions of the lower empire, 
Strab. Plin. &c. 



BYZ 



BYZ 



Byzas, a king of Thrace, from Byzia, a town in the possession 

whom it is said Byzantium received its of the kings of Thrace, hated by swal- 

name. Biod. lows, on account of the horrible crime 

Byzes, an artist much cele- of Tereus. PUn. 

brated in the reign of Astyages. 1 



CAC 

Caanthus, a son of Oceanus, 

and Tethys. He was ordered by his 
father to seek his sister Malia, whom 
Apollo had carried away, and burnt in 
revenge the ravisher's temple, near the 
Isthmus. He was killed for this impiety 
by the god, and a monument raised to 
his memory. Paus. 

Cabal inus, a clear fountain 
on Mount Helicon, sacred to the Muses. 
Pers. 

Caeallinum, a town of the 

-j^Edui, now Chalons on the Saone. Cces. 
Bell. 

Cabarnos, a deity worshipped 
at Paros. His priests were called Ca- 
barni. 

Cabira, a wife of Vulcan, by 

whom she had three sons. 

Cabiri, certain deities whose 

worship was held in the greatest vene- 
ration at Thebes and Lemnos, but more 
particularly in the islands of Samothrace 
and Imbros : their number is uncertain ; 
some say there were only two, Jupiter 
and Bacchus; others mention three, and 
some four. It is unknown where their 
worship was first established ; yet Phoe- 
nicia seems to be the place according to 
the authority of Sanchoniathon, and 
from thence it was introduced into 
Greece by the Pelasgi. These deities 
are often confounded with the Cory- 
bantes, Anaees, Dioscuri, &c. and, ac- 
cording to Herodotus, Vulcan was their 
father. The obscenity practised in their 
celebration has obliged all authors to 
pass it over in silence, and say it was 
unlawful to reveal it. They were sup- 
posed to preside over metals. 

Cabiria, a surname of Ceres. 
—The festivals of the Cabiri. [Vid. 
Cabiri.] 

Cabira, a fountain of Me- 
sopotamia, in which Juno bathed. PUn. 

Caca, a goddess among the 
Romans, sister to Cacus, is said to have 
discovered to Hercules where her bro- 
ther had concealed his oxen. She pre- 
sided over the excrements of the body. 

Cacus, a famous robber, son of 
Vulcan and Medusa, represented as a 
three-headed monster, and as vomiting 
flames. He resided in Italy, and the 
avenues of his cave were covered with 
human bones. When Hercules returned 
from the conquest of Geryon, king of 



c 

CAD 

Spain, Cacus stole some of his cows, 
and dragged them backwards into his 
cave to prevent discovery. Hercules 
departed without perceiving the theft ; 
but his oxen having lowed, were an- 
swered by the cows in the cave of Cacus, 
and the hero became acquainted with 
the loss he had sustained. He attacked 
Cacus, strangled him in his arms, though 
vomiting fire and smoke. Hercules 
erected an ?>ltar to Jupiter Servator in 
commemoration of his victory. Virg. 
An annual festival was instituted by 
the inhabitants in honor of the hero, 
who had delivered them from the public 
calamity. Virg. Ovid. 

Cadmea, a citadel of Thebes, 

built by Cadmus. It is generally taken 
for Thebes itself, and the Thebans are 
often called Cadmeans. Stat. 

Cadmeis, an ancient name of 
Bceotia. 

Cadmus, son of Agenor, king 

of Phoenicia, was ordered by his father 
to go in quest of his sister Europa, 
whom Jupiter had carried away, and 
he was never to return to Phoenicia if 
he did not bring her back. As his search 
proved fruitless, he consulted the oracle 
of Apollo, and was ordered to build a 
city where he should see a heifer stop in 
the grass, andto call the country Bceotia. 
He found the heifer according to the 
oracle ; and, as he wished to thank the 
god by a sacrifice, he sent his com- 
panions to fetch water from a neigh- 
bouring grove. The waters were sacred 
to Mars, and guarded by a dragon, who 
devoured all the Phoenician attendants. 
Cadmus, tired of their seeming delay, 
went to the place, and saw the monster 
I still feeding on their flesh. He attacked 
and overcame it by the assistance of Mi- 
nerva, and sowed the teeth in a plain, 
'whence armed men suddenly rose up. 
He threw a stone in the midst of them, 
and they instantly turned their arms one 
against the other till all perished except 
five, who assisted him in building his 
city. Soon after he married Hermione, 
the daughter of Venus, with whom he 
lived in the greatest cordiality, and by 
whom he had a son, Polydorus, and four 
daughters, Ino, Agave, Autonoe, and 
Semele. Juno persecuted those chil- 
dren ; and their well-known misfortunes 
so distracted Cadmus and Hermione, 
that they retired to Illyricum, loaded 
with grief, and infirm with age. They 



C^EC 



cmr 



entreated the gods to remove them from 
the misfortunes of life, and they were 
immediately changed into serpents. 
Some explain the dragon's fable by sup- 
posing that it was a king of the country 
that Cadmus conquered by war. Cad- 
mus was the first who introduced the 
use of letters into Greece; but some 
maintain that the alphabet which he 
brought from Phoenicia was only dif- 
ferent from that which was used by the 
ancient inhabitants of Greece. The 
Phoenician alphabet consisted only of 
16 letters, to which Palamedes after- 
wards added four, and Simonides of 
Melos the same number. Cadmus is 
supposed to have come into Greece 1493 
years B. C. and to have died 61 years 
after. Ovid. Herodot. According to those 
who believe that Thebes was built at 
the sound of Amphion's lyre, Cadmus 
built only a smallcitadel,which he called 
Cadmea, and laid the foundation of a 
city, which was finished by one of his 
successors. — A son of Pandion of Mi- 
letus, celebrated as an historian in the 
age of Croesus, and as the writer of an 
account of some cities of Ionia, in four 
books. Suidas. 

Caduceus, a rod entwined at 
one end by two serpents, in the form of 
two equal semicircles. It was the attri- 
bute of Mercury, and had been given 
him by Apollo in return for the lyre. 
Various interpretations have been put 
upon the two serpents round it. With 
it Mercury conducted to the infernal 
regions the souls of the dead, and could 
lull to sleep, and even raise to life a 
dead person. Virg. &c. 

Cadurci, a people of Gaul, 
remarkable for the manufacture of fine 
linen. Juv. Plin. 

Gas a, an island of the Mge&n 
sea among the Cyclades, called also 
Ceos and Cea, from Ceus, the son of 
Titan. 

C^ecias, a wind blowing from 
the north. 

Cecilia, the wife of Sylla ; — 
the mother of Lucullus ;— the daughter 
of Atticus. 

CLecilia Lex. By this law 
no one was permitted to propose more 
than one matter in one question. 

CLecilii, a plebeian family at 
Rome, which gave birth to many 
patriots and generals. 

CiEciLius Claudius Isido- 

RUS, a man who left in his will to his 
heirs, 4116 slaves, 3600 yokes of oxen, 
257,000 small cattle, 600,000 pounds of 
silver. Plin. — A Sicilian orator in the 
age of Augustus, who wrote on the Ser- 
vile wars, a comparison between De- 
mosthenes and Cicero, and an account 
of the orations of Demosthenes.— Sta- 
tius, a comic poet, originally a slave, 
but highly commended by Cicero and 



Quintilian for his wit and humor. He 
was intimate with the learned of his age, 
and his abilities were so highly esteemed, 
that Terence referred his compositions 
to his criticism as to a man of superior 
judgment Quintil. &c. 

CLecina, Tuscus, the son of 

Nero's nurse, whom he made governor 
of Egypt.^ 

CiECUBUM, a town of Cam- 
pania in Italy, famous for the excel- 
lence and plenty of its wines. Strab. 

CiECULUS, a son of Vulcan, 

conceived, as some say, by his mother, 
when a spark of fire fell into her bosom. 
He was called Cseculus, because his eyes 
were small. Virgil says, that he was 
found in fire by shepherds, and on that 
account called son of Vulcan, who is the 
god of fire. 

CLelius, an orator, disciple to 
Cicero. He died very young. Cicero 
defended him when accused of being 
accessary to Catiline's conspiracy. Orat, 
pro M. Gael. — L. Antipater, wrote an 
history of Rome, which M. Brutus epi- 
tomised, and which Adrian preferred to 
the histories of Sallust. Caelius flou- 
rished 120 years B. C. Val. Max. — One 
of the seven hills on which Rome was 
built. Romulus surrounded it with a 
ditch and rampart, and it was enclosed 
by walls by the succeeding kings. It 
received its name from Caelius, who as- 
sisted Romulus against the Sabines. 

Cjenina, a town of Latium, 
near Rome. The inhabitants, called 
Caeninenses, made war against the Ro- 
mans when their virgins had been stolen 
away. Liv. 

CLenis, a Thessalian woman, 
daughter of Elatus, who, being forcibly 
ravished by Neptune, obtained from the 
god the power to change her sex, and 
to become invulnerable. She also 
changed her name, and was called Cae- 
neus. In the wars of the Lapitha? against 
the Centaurs, she offended Jupiter, and 
was overwhelmed with a huge pile of 
wood, and changed into a bird. Ovid. — 
Virgil says, that she resumed her pristine 
form. 

(Lenomani, a people of Cisal- 
pine Gaul, at the north of Placentia, on 
the river Po. 

CiERE, C^ERES, or Agylla, 
a city of Etruria, once the capital of the 
whole country. It was in being in the 
age of Strabo. When JEneas came to 
Italy, Mezentius was king over the in- 
habitants called Caeretes and Caerites ; 
but they banished their prince, and as- 
sisted the Trojans. Virg. Strab.— The 
people of Ca?re received with all possi- 
ble hospitality the Romans who fled with 
the fire of Vesta, when the city was be- 
sieged by the Gauls, and for this hu- 
manity they were made citizens o,f 
Rome, but without the privilege of 



CMS 



CMS 



voting ; whence Ccerites tabuloe was ap- 
plied to those who had no suffrage, and 
Ccerites ceres appropriated as a mark of 
contempt. Virg. Liv. &c. 

(Leresi, a people of Germany. 

Cces. Comment. 

CLesab, a surname given to the 
Julian family at Rome. This name, 
after it had been dignified in the person 
of Julius Caesar, and of his successors, 
was given to the apparent heir of the 
em piie, in the age of the Roman em- 
perors. The twelve first Roman em- 
perors, of whom Suetonius has written 
an extensive and impartial account, were 
distinguished by the surname of Ccesar. 
— C. Julius Caesar, the first emperor of 
Rome, was son of L. Caesar and Aurelia, 
the daughter of Cotta. He was descend- 
ed, according to some, from Julus, the 
son of jEneas. When he reached his 
15th year he lost his father, and the 
year after he was made priestof Jupiter. 
Sylla, aware of his ambition, endea- 
voured to remove him ; but Caesar un- 
derstood his intention. He was, how- 
ever, received into Sylla's friendship 
some time after. His eloquence pro- 
cured him friends at Rome, and the ge- 
nerous mannerin which he lived equally 
served to promote his interest. He ob- 
tained the office of high priest at the 
death of Metellus; and, after he had 
passed through the inferior employments 
of the state, he was appoiuted over 
Spain, where he signalized himself by 
his valor and intrigues. At his return 
to Rome he was made consul, and soon 
after he effected a reconciliation between 
Crassus and Pompey. He was appointed, 
for the space of five years, over the 
Gauls, by the interest of Pompey, to 
whom he had given his daughter Julia in 
marriage. Here he enlarged the bounda- 
ries of the Roman empire by conquest, 
and invadedBritain, until then unknown 
to the Roman people. He checked the 
Germans, and soon after had his govern- 
ment over Gaul prolonged to five other 
years. The death of Julia and Crassus, 
the corrupted state of the Roman senate, 
and the ambition of Caesar and Pompey, 
soon became the causes of a civil war. 
Neither of these celebrated Romans 
would suffer a superior. Caesar's petitions 
were received with indifference by the 
Roman senate ; and by the influence of 
Pompey,a decree was passed to strip him 
of his power. Antony, who opposed it as 
a tribune, fled to Caesar's camp wiihthe 
news; and the ambitious general no 
sooner heard this, than he made it a plea 
of resistance. On pretence of avenging 
the violence w hich had been offered to 
the sacred officeof tribune in the person 
of Antony, he crossed the Rubicon, 
which was the boundary of his province. 
The passage of the Rubicon was a de- 
claration of war, and Caesar entered 
Italy sword in hand.Upon this,P|ompey, 
with all the friends of liberty, lef tRome, 



and retired to Dyrrachium ; and Caesar, 
after he had subdued all Italy, in 60 
days, entered Rome, and provided him- 
self with money from the public trea- 
sury. He went, to Spain, where he con- 
quered the partisans of Pompey, under 
Petreius, Afranius, and Varro; and, at 
his return to Rome, was declared dic- 
tator, and soon after consul. When he 
left Rome, he went in quest of Pompey. 
In the plains of Pharsalia, B. C. 48, the 
two hostile generals engaged. Pompey 
was conquered, and fled into Egypt, 
where he was murdered. Caesar, after 
he had made a noble use of his victory, 
pursued his adversary into Egypt, where 
he for some time forgot his character in 
the arms of Cleopatra, by whom he had 
a son. His danger was great while at 
Alexandria, but he extricated himself 
with wonderful success, and made Egypt 
tributary to his power. After several 
conquests in Africa, the defeat of Cato, 
Scipio, and Juba, and that of Pompey's 
sons in Spam, he entered Rome, and 
triumphed over five different nations, 
Gaul, Alexandria, Pontus, Africa, and 
Spain, and was created perpetual dic- 
tator. But now his glory was at an end. 
The chief of his senators, among whom 
was Brutus, his most intimate friend, 
conspired against him, and stabbed him 
in the senate-house,on the ides of March. 
He died, pierced with twenty -three 
wounds, the 15th of March, B. C. 44, in 
the 56th year of his age. Casca gave him 
the first blow, and immediately he at- 
tempted to make some resistance ; but, 
when he saw Brutus among the conspir- 
ators, he submitted to his fate, and fell 
down at their feet, muffling up his man- 
tle and exclaiming, Tu quoque Btutef 
He received, as he went to the senate- 
house, a paper from Artemidorus, which 
discovered the whole conspiracy to him ; 
but he neglected the reading of what 
might have saved his life. The learning 
of Caesar deserves commendation, as 
well as his military character. He re- 
formed the calendar. He wrote his 
Commentaries on the Gallic wars on the 
spot where he fought his battles ; and 
the composition has been admired for 
the elegance as well as the correctness of 
its style. This valuable book was nearly 
lost ; and when Caesar saved his life in 
the bay of Alexandria, he was obliged 
to swim from his ship with his arms in 
one hand and his Commentaries in the 
other. Besides the Gallic and Civil wars, 
he wrote other pieces, which are now 
lost. Caesar has been blamed for his de- 
baucheries and expenses. He has been 
accused of seducing one of the vestal 
virgins, and suspected of being privy to 
Catiline's conspiracy. It is said that he 
conquered 300 nations, took 800 cities, 
and defeated 3,000,000 of men, all of 
which fell in the field of battle. Pliny 
says, that he could employ at the same 
time, his ears to listen, his eyes to read, 
his hand to write, and his mind to die- 



CAL 



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tate. Sueton. &c. — There were also 
many other eminent Romans of this 
name, the most remarkable of whom 
was Lucius, an uncle of M. Antony, 
who followed the interest of Pompey, 
and was proscribed by Augustus, for 
which Antony proscribed Cicero, the 
friend of Augustus. 

C-«sAitEA, a city of Cappado- 
cia, — of Bithynia,— of Mauritania, — of 
Palestine. There are many small insig- 
nificant towns of that name, either built 
by the emperors ,or called by their name, 
in compliment to them. 

C^esarion, the son of J. Cassar, 
by queen Cleopatra, was, at the age of 
13, proclaimed, by Antony and his mo- 
ther, king of Cyprus, Egypt, and Coelo- 
syria. He was put to death five years 
after by Augustus. Suet. 

CLesia, a surname of Minerva. 
—A wood in Germany. 

C^esius, a Latin poet, whose 
talents were not of uncommon brilli- 
ancy. Catul. 

(Xesonia, a lascivious woman, 
who married the emperor Caligula, and 
was murdered at the same time with her 
daughter Julia. 

CaIcus, a river of Mysia, fall- 
ing into the ./Egean sea, opposite Lesbos. 
It is now called Germasti. Mela. 

Caieta, a town, promontory, 
and harbour of Campania, which receives 
i ts name f rom Cai eta , th e n u rse of JE neas , 
who was buried there. Virg. 

Caius and Cai a, a prasnomen 
very common at Rome to both sexes. C. 
in its natural position, denoted the man's 
name, and when reversed j it implied 
Cai a. 

Q. Calaber wrote a Greek 

poem in 14 books, as a continuation of 
Homer's Iliad, about the beginning of 
the third century. After mentioning the 
several disasters which befelthe Trojans 
after the death of their favorite Hector, 
the untimely fate of Achilles, and the 
ruin of Priam's kingdom, the poet con- 
cludes by the return of the victorious 
Greeks to their native land, and their 
escape from the dangers of the sea, where 
Ajax andother ch efs were overwhelmed. 

Calabria, a country of Italy, 
in Magna Graecia. It has been called 
Messapia, Japygia, Salentinia, and Peu- 
cetia. The poet Ennius was born there. 
The country was fertile, and produced 
a variety of fruits, much cattle, and ex- 
cellent honey. Virg. &c. 

Calagurritani, a people of 
Spain, who eat their wives and children 
rather than yield to Pompey. Val. 
Max. 

Cal ai s. [ Vid. Zetlies. ] 
Cal Amos, a town of Babylo- 
nia,— of Phoenicia near mount Liba- 
11 us. 



Calamus, a son of the river 
Mseander fabled to be affectionately at- 
tached to Carpo. 

Cal an us, a celebrated Indian 

philosopher, one of the gymnosophists. 
He followed Alexander in his Indian ex- 
pedition, and being sick, in his 83d year, 
he ordered a pile to be raised, upon 
which he mounted, decked with flowers 
and garlands, to the astonishment of the 
king and of the army. When the pile 
was fired, Alexander asked him whether 
he had any thing to say : " No," said 
he, '* I shall meet you again in a very 
short time." Alexander died three 
months after, in Babylon. Strab. &c. 

Calathus, a son of Jupiter 

and Antiope. 

Cal at i a, a town of Campania, 

on the Appiau way. It was made a Ro- 
man colony in the age of Julius Caesar, 
Sit. 

CalatijE, a people of India, 
who eat the flesh of their parents. He- 
rodot. 

Calaurea, and Calauria, 

an island near Troezene, in the bay of 
Argcs. Apollo, and afterwards Neptune, 
was the chief deity of the place. The 
tomb of Demosthenes was seen there, 
who poisoned himself to fly from the 
persecutions of Antipater. Ovid. &c. 

Calchas, a celebrated sooth- 
sayer, son of Thestor. He accompanied 
the Greeks to Troy, in the office of high- 
priest \ and he informed them, that the 
city could not be taken without the aid 
of Achilles, that their fleet could not sail 
from Aulis before Iphigeniawas sacri- 
ficed to Diana, and that the plague could 
not be stopped in the Grecian army be- 
fore the restoration of Chryseis to her 
father. He told them also that Troy 
could noT; be taken before ten years' 
siege. He had received the power of 
divination from Apollo. Calchas was 
informed, that as soon as he found a 
man more skilled than himself in divin- 
ation, he must perish ; and this happened 
near Colophon, after the Trojan war. 
He was unable to tell how many figs 
were on the branches of a certain fig 
tree ; and when Mopsus mentioned the 
exact number, Calchas died through 
grief. [Vid. Mopsus.] Homer. &e. 

Calchinia, her son by Nep- 
tune inherited the kingdom of Sicyon. 
Pausan. 

Caldus C^elius, a Roman, 
who committed suicide on being detained 
by the Germans. 

Cale, es, Cales, ium, and 
CALENUM,a town of Campania,whose 
wines were excellent, as the ancient poet* 
have mentioned. Hot at. 

Caledonia, a country at the 
north of Britain, now called Scotland. 
It was so little known to the Romans, 



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and its inhabitants were so little civilized, 
that they called itBntannia Barbara,and 
they never penetrated far into the coun- 
try either for curiosity or conquest. 

Calentum, a town in Spain, 
where bricks were made so light, that 
they swam. Plin. 

CalEnus, one of Caesar's lieu- 
tenants, who found means to conceal 
several persons, who had been proscribed 
by the triumviri. Plut. 

CALESius,a charioteer of Axy- 
lus, killed by Diomedes in the Trojan 
war. Homer. 

Calet^e, a people of Belgic 
Gaul. Their town is called Caletum. 

Calet or, a Trojan prince, slain 
by Ajax as he was going to set fire to the 
ship of Protesilaus. Homer. 

Caltceni, a people of Mace- 
donia. 

Calidius, Julius, a Roman 

of great learning, wealth, and poetical 
talents, who was saved by Atticus,when 
he had been proscribed by Volumnius. 

C. Caligula, the emperor, re- 
ceived this surname, from his wearing 
in the camp the Caliga, a military cover- 
ing for the leg. He was son of Germa- 
nicus by Agrippina, and grandson to 
Tiberius. During the first eight months 
of his reign, Rome expected universal 
prosperity ; but Caligula soon became 
proud, wanton, and cruel. He built a 
temple to himself, and ordered his head 
to be placed on the images of the gods ; 
he appeared in the public places in 
the most indecent manner, encouraged 
roguery, commuted incest with his three 
sisters, and established public places of 
prostitution. He often amused himself 
with putting innocent people to death, 
and he often wished the Romans had 
but one head, that he might have the 
gratification to strike it off ; wild beasts 
were constantly fed in his palace with 
human victims, and a favorite horse 
was made high priest, and consul, and 
kept in marble apartments. The tyrant 
was murdered by his servant Chasreas 
and others who conspired against him, 
January 24th, in his 29th year, after a 
reign of three years and ten months, 
A. D. 41. 

Callaici, a people of Lusita- 
nia, now Gallicia, at the north of Spain. 
Ovid. Fast. 

Call ias, a name common to 
many Greeks, of whom there is nothing 
very remarkable recorded. 

Callibius, a general in the 
»rar between Mantinea and Sparta. 
Xenoph. 

Callicerus, a Greek poet, 
some of whose epigrams are preserved 
in the Anthologia. 

Callichorus, a place of Pho- 



cis, where the orgies of Bacchus were 
yearly celebrated. 

CALLICRATES. The most re- 
markable of this name was an Athenian, 
who seized upon the sovereignty of Sy- 
racuse, by imposing upon Dion when 
he had lost his popularity. He was ex- 
pelled by the sons of Dionysius. G Sep. 
— An artist, who made, with ivory, ants 
and other insects, so small that thev 
could scarcely be seen. It is said that 
he engraved some of Homer's verses 
upon a grain of millet. Plin. 

Callicratidas, a Spartan, 
who succeeded Lysander in the com- 
mand of the fleet. He took Methymna, 
and routed the Athenian fleet under 
Conon. He was defeated and killed near 
the Arginusae, in a naval engagement, 
B.C. 406. Diod. &c— One of the four 
ambassadors sent by the Lacedaemonians 
to Darius, upon the rupture of their al- 
liance with Alexander. Curt. 

Callidtus, a celebrated Ro- 
man orator, contemporary with Cicero, 
who speaks of his abilities, both as an 
orator and as a statesman, with the 
highest commendation. Qintil. Cic. 

CallI3iachus, an historian 
and poet of Cyrene. He, in the age of 
Ptolemy Philadelphus, kept a school at 
Alexandria, and had Apollonius of 
Rhodes among his pupils, whose ingra- 
titude obliged' Callimachus to lash him 
severely in a satirical poem, under the 
name of Ibis. The Ibis of Ovid is an 
imitation of this piece. Of all his nu- 
merous compositions, only a few epi- 
grams, an elegy, and some" hymns, are 
extant. Propertius styled himself the 
Roman Caliimachus. — A statuary of Co- 
rinth, who is said to be the inventor of 
the Corinthian chapiter, which he used 
elegantly to adorn with the leaves of the 
acanthus. Pans. 

Callinus, an orator, who is 
said to have first invented elegiac poetrv, 
B. C. 776. 

Calliope, one of the Muses, 

daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne, 
who presided over eloquence and heroic 
poetry. She is said to be the mother of 
Orpheus by Apollo, and Horace sup- 
poses her able* to play on any musical 
instrument. She was represented with 
books in her hand, and she held the 
three most famous epic poems of anti- 
quity, and appeared generally crowned 
with laurel. Hesiod. &c. 

Callipatira, a daughter of 

Diagoras, and wife of Callianax the 
athlete, went disguised in man's clothes 
with her son Pjsidorus, to the Olympic 
games. When Pisidorus was declared 
victor, she discovered her sex through 
excess of joy, and was arrested, as wo- 
men were not permitted to appear there. 
The victory of her son obtained her re- 
lease; and" a law was instantly made, 



CAL 



CAL 



which forbade any wrestlers to appear 
but naked. Pdus. 

CALLlPHON,a philosopher, who 
made the summum bonum consist in 
pleasure joined to love of honesty. This 
system was defeated by Cicero. — A 
painter of Samos, famous for his his- 
torical pieces. Plin. 

Calliphron", a famous dan- 
cing master, who taught Epaminondas. 
Callipolis, now Gallipoli, a 

city of Thrace on the Hellespont. Sil. — 
A city of Calabria, also called Gallipoli, 
on the coast of Tarentum, on a rocky 
island, joined by a bridge to the con- 
tinent. 

Callipus, an Athenian, dis- 
ciple of Plato. He destroyed Dion, &c. 
G Nep. 

Callipyges, one of the sur- 
names of Venus. 

Callirhoe. The most re- 
markable of this name are the follow- 
ing. — A daughter of the Scamander, 
who married Tros, by whom she had 
Ilus, Ganymede, and Assaracus. — A 
daughter of Lycus, tyrant of Libya, who 
kindly received Diomedes at his return 
from Troy. He abandoned her, upon 
which she killed herself. — A daughter 
of Phocus the Boeotian, whose beauty 
procured her many admirers. Her fa- 
ther behaved with such coldness tj her 
lovers, that they murdered him. Cal- 
lirhoe avenged his death with the assist- 
ance of the Boeotians. 

Calliste, an island in the 
iEgean sea. 

Callisteia, a festival at Les- 
bos, during which, all the women pre- 
sented themselves in the temple of 
Juno, and the fairest was rewarded in a 
public manner. 

Callisthenes, a Greek who 
wrote an history of his own country in 
ten books, beginning from the peace 
between Artaxerxes and Greece, down 
to the plundering of the temple of Del- 
phi by Philomelus. Diod.—A philoso- 
pher of Olynthus, intimate with Alex- 
ander, whom he accompanied in his ori- 
ental expedition in the capacity of a 
preceptor, and to whom he had been 
recommended by his friend and master 
Aristotle. He refused to pay divine 
honors to the king, for which he was 
accused of conspiracy, mutilated, ex- 
posed to wild beasts, and dragged about 
in chains, till Lysimachus gave him 
poison, which ended together his tor- 
tures and his life, B. C. 328. None of 
his compositions are extant. Curt, 

Callis to and Cal ist o, called 
also Helice, was daughter of Lycaon, 
king of Arcadia, and one of Diana's at- 
tendants. Jupiter saw her, and seduced 
her after he had assumed the shape of 
Diana. Her pregnancy was discovered 



as she bathed with Diana ; and the fruit 
of her amour with Jupiter, called Areas, 
was hid in the woods, and preserved. 
Juno, who was jealous of Jupiter, 
changed Calisto into a bear; but the 
god, apprehensive of her being hurt by 
the huntsmen, made her a constellation 
of heaven, with her son Areas, under 
the name of the bear. Ovid. &c. 

Callisto^icus, a famous 

Theban statuary. 

Callistratus. A name com- 
mon to some men of genius and learning 
among the Greeks, but of whom no- 
thing very memorable is recorded. 

Callixena, a courtezan of 
Thessaly, whose company Alexander 
refused, though requested by his mother 
Olympias. This was attributed by the 
Athenians to other causes than chastity, 
and therefore the prince's ambition was 
ridiculed. 

Callixentjs, a citizen ,of 
Athens, who was imprisoned for passing 
sentence of death on some prisoners. 

Calpe, a lofty mountain in 
the most southern parts of Spain, oppo- 
site to mount Abyla, on the African 
coast. These two mountains were called 
the pillars of Hercules. Calpe is now 
called Gibraltar. 

Calphurnia, a daughter of 

L. Piso, was Julius Caesar's fourth wife. 
The night previous to her husband's 
murder, she dreamed that the roof of 
her house had fallen, and that he had 
been stabbed in her arms; and on that 
account she attempted, but in vain, to 
detain him at home. 

Calphurnius Bestia, a no- 
ble Roman bribed by Jugurtha — Cras- 
sus, a patrician, who went with Regulus 
against the Massyli. He was seized by 
the enemy as he attempted to plunder 
one of their towns, and was ordered to 
be sacrificed to Neptune. Bisaltia, the 
king's daughter, fell in love with him, 
and gave him an opportunity of escaping 
and conquering her father. Calphur- 
nius returned victorious, and Bisaltia 
destroyed herself. Tacit. — Titus, a Latin 
poet, born in Sicily in the age of Dio- 
cletian. Seven of his eclogues are ex- 
tant. They are greatly inferior to the 
elegance and simplicity of Virgil's. 

Calpurnia, a daughter of 
Marius, sacrificed to the gods by her 
father, who was advised to do it, in a 
dream, if he wished to conquer the Cim- 
bri. Plut.— The wife of J. Caesar. [Fid. 
Calphurnia.] — A beautiful woman, 
whom Agrippina ruined because of her 
beauty. — A woman, who slew herself on 
hearing that her husband had been mur- 
dered in the Marian war. 

CALUMNIAandlMPUDENTlA, 
two deities worshipped at Athens. Ca- 
lumny was ingeniously represented in 
a painting by Apelles. 



CAM 



CAM 



Calvtjs Corx. Licinius, a 

famous orator, equally known for writ- 
ing iambics. As he was both factious 
and satirical, he did not fail to excite 
atteution by his animadversions upon 
Caesar and Pompey, and, from his elo- 
quence, to dispute the palm of elo- 
quence with Cicero. He was of a di- 
minutive stature, and of a feeble frame 
of body; yet his exertions in the forum 
were great and astonishing. He died in 
his youth. Cic. Horat. &c. 

Calyce, a daughter of tEoIus, 
son of Helenus and Enaretta. She had 
Endymion, king of Elis, by JEthlius, 
the son of Jupiter. Apollod — A Grecian 
girl, who fell in love with a youth. As 
she was unable to gain the object of her 
love, she threw herself from a precipice. 
This tragical story was made into a song 
by Stesichorus, and was still extant in 
the age of Athenceus. 

Calydon, a city of yEtolia, 
where (Eneus, the father of Meleager, 
reigned. It received its name from Ca- 
lydon, the son of ^Etolus. During the 
reign of CEneus, Diana sent a wild boar 
to ravage the county, on account of the 
neglect which had been shewn to her 
divinity by the king. All the princes 
of the age assembled to hunt this boar, 
which is greatly celebrated by the poets, 
under the name of the chase of Calydon. 
Meleager killed the animal, and gave 
the head to Atalanta, of whom he was 
enamoured. The tusks of this boar 
were afterwards carried from Tegea, in 
Arcadia, by Augustus, and were ex- 
hibited for a long time at Rome. One 
of them was about half an ell long, and 
the other was broken. [ Vid. Meleager 
and Atalanta.] 

Calydonius, a surname of 
Bacchus. 

Calypso, one of the Oceanides, 

or one of the daughters of Atlas, accord- 
ing to some, was goddess of silence, and 
reigned in the island of Ogygia, whose 
situation and even existence is doubted. 
When Ulysses was shipwrecked on her 
coasts, she received him with great hos- 
pitality, and offered him immortality if 
he would remain with her as a husband. 
The hero refused, and after seven years' 
delay, he was permitted to depart from 
the island by order of Mercury, the mes- 
senger of Jupiter. During his stay, 
Ulysses had two sons by Calypso, who 
was inconsolable at his departure ; and 
the grief she felt, and his mournful si- 
tuation, are beautifully and pathetically 
described by Homer and Propertius. 

Calypsus Insula, or Ogy- 
gia, has been placed by geographers 
near the Lacinian promontory on the 
coast of the Brutii. 

Camalodunum, a Roman 
colony, established either at Colchester 
m Maiden. 



Camarina, a town of Italy, 
— A lake of Sicily, with a town of the 
same name, bu.lt B. C. 552. It was de- 
stroyed by the Syracusans, and rebuilt 
by a certain Hipponous. Virg. 

Cambees, a king of Lydia, 
so voracious, that he is said to have 
eaten his own wife. Milan. 

Cambunii, mountains situated 
in Macedonia. 

Cambyses, king of Persia, was 
son of Cyrus the Great. He conquered 
Egypt, killed their god Apis, and plun- 
dered their temples. Cambyses after- 
wards sent an army of 50,000 men to 
destroy Jupiter Ammon's temple, and 
resolved to attack the Carthaginians and 
^Ethiopians. He killed his brother 
Smerdis from mere suspicion, and flayed 
alive a partial judge, whose skin he 
nailed on the judgment seat, and ap- 
pointed his son to succeed him, telling 
him to remember where he sat. He 
died of a small wound he had given 
himself with his sword as he mounted 
on horseback. His death happened 521 
years before Christ. He left no issue, 
and his throne was usurped by the Magi, 
and ascended by Darius soon after. 
Herodot. &c. — A Persian of obscure 
origin, to whom king Astyages gave his 
daughter Mandane in marriage. The 
king, who had been terrified by dreams 
which threatened the loss of his crown 
by the hand of his daughter's son, had 
taken this step in hopes that the children 
of so ignoble a bed would ever remain in 
obscurity. He was disappointed. Cyrus, 
Mandane's son, dethroned him when 
grown to manhood. Herodot. &c. — A 
river flowing from mount Caucasus into 
the Cyrus. 

Camerinum, an Umbrian 
town, remarkable for their fidelity to 
the Romans._ 

Camerinus, aLatin poet, who 
wrote a poem on the taking of Troy by 
Hercules. — Some of the family of the 
Camerini were distinguished as well for 
their zeal as citizens, as for their abilities 
as scholars, among whom was Sulpicius, 
commissioned by the Roman senate to 
go to Athens, to collect the best of So- 
lon's laws. Juv. 

Cameriu m, a town near Rome 

taken by Romulus. 

C amicus, a river of Sicily, now 

Fiumi di Platani, with a town of the 
same name, now Platanelia, on the 
south of the island. 

Camilla, queen of the Volsci, 

daughter of Metatms and Casmilla, was 
educated in the woods, inured to the 
labors of hunting, and fed upon the 
milk of mares. Her father dedicated 
her, when young, to the service of Di- 
ana. When she was declared queen A 
she marched to assist Turnus against 



CAM 



CAN 



JEneas, where numbers perished by her 
hand. She was so swift that she could 
run over a field of corn without bending 
the blades, and make her way over the 
sea without wetting her feet. She died 
by a wound she received from Aruns. 
Virg. 

Camilli and Camilla, the 

priests instituted by Romulus for the 
service of the gods. 

Camillus (L. Furius), a ce- 
lebrated Roman, called a second Romu- 
lus, from his services to his country. 
He was banished by the people for dis- 
tributing, contrary to his vow, the spoils 
he had obtained at Veii. During his 
exile, Rome was besieged by the Gauls 
under Brennus. In the midst of their 
misfortunes .thebesieged Romans elected 
him dictator, and he forgot their ingrati- 
tude, and marched to the relief of his 
country, which he delivered, after it had 
been some time in the possession of the 
enemy. He died in the 8Gth year of his 
age, B. C. 365, after he had been five 
times dictator, and had obtained four 
triumphs. He conquered the Hernici, 
Volsci, Latini, and Etrurians, and dis- 
suaded his countrymen from their in- 
tentions of leaving Rome to reside at 
Veii. Plut. in Fit. — The word was ge- 
nerally applied to the office of those who 
served as ministers or inferior servants 
in the temples of the gods. Quintil. 

Camiro and Clytia, two 
daughters of Pandarus of Crete. When 
their parents were dead, they were left 
to the care of Venus, who brought them 
up with tenderness, and asked Jupiter 
to grant them kind husbands. Jupiter, 
to punish upon them the crime of their 
father, who was accessary to the im- 
piety of Tantalus, ordered the harpies 
to carry them away and deliver them to 
the furies. Homer. 

Cam ma a Galatian woman, 
whose husband was killed by Sinorix. 
With an intention of revenging this 
atrocious act, Camma pretended to 
marry the murderer ; and the custom of 
the country being for the bride and 
bridegroom to drink out of the same 
cup, she poisoned the liquor, which was 
put into it. —Sinorix died ; but Camma 
pretended illness, and refused to drink. 
Poly an. 

CAMCENiE a name given to the 
muses, from the sweetness and melody 
of their songs, a cantu amceno, or, ac- 
cording to Varro, from carmen. 

Campani a, a country of Italy, 
of which Capua was the capital, bounded 
by Latium, Samnium, Picenum, and 
part of the Mediterranean sea. It is 
celebrated for its delightful views, and 
for its fertility. 

Campe kept the 100 handed 
monsters confined in Tartarus. Jupiter 
killed her, because she refused to give 



them th ir liberty to come to his assist- 
ance against the Titans. Hesiod. 

Campaspe and Pancaste, a 
beautiful concubine of Alexander, whom 
the king gave to Apelles, who had fallen 
in love with her, as he drew her picture 
in her naked charms. It is said that it 
was from her great beauty that the 
painter copied the thousand charms with 
which he represented Venus rising from 
the sea. Plin. 

Campus Martius, a large 

plain at Rome, without the walls of 
the city, where the Roman youths per- 
formed their exercises, wrestled, threw 
the javelin,and the discus, and rode and 
drove the chariot. The public assem- 
blies were held there, and the officers 
of state chosen, and audience given to 
foreign ambassadors. It was called Mar- 
tius, because dedicated to Mars ; and 
was sometimes called Tiberinus, from 
its closeness to the Tiber. 

Can ace, a daughter of ^Eolus, 
and Enaretta, who became enamoured 
of her brother Mecareus, by whom she 
had a child, whom she exposed. The 
cries of the child discovered his mother's 
incest ; and yEolus sent his daughter a 
sword, and obliged her to kill herself. 
Macareus fled, and became a priest of 
Apollo, at Delphi. Ovid. &c. 

Canarii, a people near mount 

Atlas, in Africa, who received this name 
because they fed in common with their 
dogs. The islands which they inhabited 
were called Fortunate by the ancients, 
and are now known by the name of the 
Canaries. Plin. 

Candaules or Myrsilus, 

son of Myrsus, was the last of the He- 
raclidse who sat on the throne of Lydia. 
He shewed his wife naked to Gyges, one 
of his ministers ; and the queen was so 
incensed, that she ordered Gyges to 
murder her husband, 718 years before 
the Christian era. After this murder, 
Gyges married the queen, and ascended 
the throne. Justin. &c. 

Canens, a nymph, wife to Pi- 
cus, king of the Lauren tes. When Circe 
had changed her husband into a bird, 
she lamented him so much, that she 
pined away, and was changed into a 
voice. She was reckoned as a deity by 
the inhabitants. Ovid. 

Canephoria, festivals at 
Athens in honor of Bacchus, or of Di- 
ana, in which all the marriageable wo- 
men offered small Laskets to the deity. 

Can id i a, a certain woman of 
Neapolis, against whom Horace in- 
veighed as a sorceress. Hoi at. 

C. Caninitjs Rebilus, a con- 
sul with J. Caesar, after the death of 
Trebonius, only for seven hours, be- 
cause his predecessor died the last day 



CAP 



CAP 



of the year, and he was chosen only for 
the remaining part of the day. 

Canius, a poet of Gades, con- 
temporary with Martial. — A. Roman 
knight, who went to Sicily for his amuse- 
ment, where he bought gardens well 
stocked with fish, which disappeared on 
the morrow. Cic. 

Caxx^e, a small village of 
Apulia, near the Aufidus, where Anni- 
bal conquered the Roman consuls, P. 
jErnylius and Terentius Varro, and 
slaughtered 40,000 Romans, on the 2lst 
of May, B. C. 216. Liv. The spot 
where this famous battle was fought is 
How shewn bv the natives, and denomi- 
nated " The Field of Blood" 

Canopus, a city of iEgypt, 12 
miles from Alexandria, celebrated for 
the temple of Serapis. It received its 
name from Canopus, the pilot of the 
vessel of Menelaus, who was buried in 
this place. Strab. 

Can tab ri, a ferocious people 
of Spain, who rebelled against Augustus, 
by whom they were conquered ; their 
country is now called Biscay.. Liv. 

Cantabri^e Lacus, a lake in 

Spain, in which twelve axes were found. 

Cantium, a country in the 

eastern parts of Britain, now Kent. Cces. 

Canuleia, one of the vestals, 
chosen by Numa. 

C. Canuleius, a tribune of 
the people of Rome, A. U. C. 310, who 
made law to render it constitutional 
for the patricians and plebeians to inter- 
marry. It ordained also, that one of 
the consuls should be yearly chosen from 
the plebeians. Liv. 

Canusiu?,i, a town of Apulia, 
built by DiOmedes. Its inhabitants have 
been called bilingues, because they re- 
tained the language of their founder,and 
likewise adopted that of their neigh- 
bours. Horat. 

Canutitjs Tiberinus, a Ro- 
man actor. — A tribune, who became an 
enemy to Anthony, when that general 
was declared a public enemy. 

Caponeus, a noble Argive, son 
of Hipponous and Astinome, and hus- 
band to Evadne. He was so impious, 
that when he went to the Theban war, 
he declared that he would take Thebes 
even in spite of Jupiter. Such contempt 
provoked the god, who struck him dead 
with a thunderbolt. His body was burnt 
separately from the others, and his wife 
threw herself on the burning pile to 
mingle her ashes with his. It is said 
that ./Esculapius restored him to life. 
A statue was erected to his honor at 
Delphi ; and some of the ancients have 
recorded, that, among his other qualities 
as a soldier, he first recommended and 
practised the taking of besieged towns by 
assault. Ovid. Horn. &c. 



Capella Martiantts, au- 
thor of a poem in praise of the liberal 
arts ; and on the marriage of Mercury 
and Philology. 

Capena, a gate of Rome. Ovid. 
Capeni, a people of Etruria, 

in whose territory Feronia had a grove 
and a temple. Virg. 

Caphereus, a lofty mountain 
and promontory of Eubcea, w here Nau- 
plius, king of the country, to revenge 
the death of his son Paiamedes, slain 
by Ulysses, set a burning torch in the 
darkness of night, which caused the 
Greeks to be shipwrecked on the coast. 
Virg. &c. 

Capito. The most remarkable 

of this name is Fonteius, sent by Antony 
to settle the dispute with Augustus. 
Ho? at. 

Capitolixi ludt, games 

yearly celebrated at Rome, in honor of 
Jupiter, who preserved the capitol from 
the Gauls. 

Capitol ix us, a surname of 

Jupiter, from his temple on Mount Ca- 
pitolinus, at Rome. — A surname of M. 
Manlius, who, for his ambition, was 
thrown down from the Tarpeian rock, 
which he had so nobly defended. 

Capitol ium, a celebrated 

temple and citadel at Rome on the Tar- 
peian rock, the plan of which was made 
by Tarquin Priscus, begun by Servius 
Tullius, finished by Tarquin Superbus, 
and consecrated by the consul Horatius 
after the expulsion of the Tarquins from 
Rome. It was built upon four acres of 
ground; the front w r as adorned with 
three rows of pillars, and the other sides 
with two. The ascent to it from the 
ground was by an hundred steps. The 
magnificence and richness of this temple 
are almost incredible. All the consuls 
successively made donations to it, and 
Augustus bestowed upon it, at one time, 
2,000 pounds weight of gold. Its thresh- 
olds were of brass, and its roof of gold. 
It was adorned with vessels and shields 
of solid silver, with golden chariots,&c. 
It was destroyed three times, once 
during the civil wars, and twice under 
the emperors, but was raised more grand 
and magnificent than ever by Domitian. 
When its foundation was sunk, a man's 
head, called Tolus, was found in it, and 
the hill was from that circumstance 
called Capitolium ; a capite Toli. The 
consuls and magistrates offered sacrifices 
there, when they first entered upon their 
offices, and the" procession in triumphs 
w r as always conducted to the capitol. 

Cappadocia, a country of 
Asia Minor, between the Halys, the Eu- 
phrates, and the Euxine. It receives its 
name from the river Cappadox, which 
separates it from Galatia. The inhabit- 
ants were of a dull and submissive dis- 



CAR 



CAR 



position, and addicted to every vice, ac- 
cording to the ancients, who wrote this 
virulent epigram against them : 
Vipera Cappadocem nocitura momordit ; 
at ilia 

Gnstato periit sanguine Cappadocis. 
When they were offered their freedom 
and independence by the Romans, they 
refused it,and begged of them a king,and 
they received Ariobarzanes, quern vide. 

Capre^e, now Capri, an island 
on the coast of Campania, abounding in 
quails and famous for the residence and 
debaucheries of the emperor Tiberius, 
during the seven last years of his life. 
Ovid. Suet. 

Capre^e Palus, a marsh near 
Rome, remaikabie for being the spot 
where Romulus disappeared. 

Capri corn us, a sign of the 
zodiac, in which appear 28 stars in the 
form of a goat, supposed by the an- 
cients to be the goat Amalthea, which 
fed Jupiter with her milk. When the 
sun enters this sign, it is the winter 
solstice, or the longest night in the year. 

Caprificialis, a day sacred 
to Vulcan, on which the Athenians of- 
fered him money. Plin. 

Cap rip odes, a surname of 
Pan, the Fauni, and the Satyrs, from 
their having goats' feet. 

Cap ro Tina, a festival cele- 
brated at Rome, in honor of Juno, at 
which women only officiated. Varro. 

Caps a, a town situated in 
Lybia, and surrounded by deserts, in 
which were a vast multitude of snakes. 

Capua, the chief city of Cam- 
pania, in Italy, supposed to have been 
founded by Capys, the companion of 
Anchises. This city was so opulent, 
that it was called altera Roma. Here 
the soldiers of Annibal were enervated 
by pleasures after the battle of Cannae. 
Liv. 

Capys, was father of Anchises. 
— Also a Trojan, who came with iEneas 
into Italy, and founded Capua. He was 
one of those who, against the advice of 
Thymcetes, wished to destroy the wooden 
horse, which proved the destruction of 
Troy. 

Caracalla, was son to the 
emperor Septimius Severus.and remark- 
able for his cruelties. He killed his 
brother Geta in his mother's arms, and 
then married his mother, and publicly 
lived with her. He was at last assas- 
sinated by Macvinus, at Edessa, in the 
43d year of his age, A. D. 217* 

Caractacus, a king of the 
Britons, conquered by an officer of 
Claudius Cassar, A. D. 47. Tacit. 

Caranus, one of the Hera- 
clidae, the first who laid the foundation 



of the Macedonian empire, B. C. 814. 
He took Edessa, and reigned 28 years, 
which he spent in establishing his newly 
founded kingdom. He was succeeded 
by Perdiccas. Justin. 

Carausius, a king of Britain, 
who reigned seven years. 

Carbo, a Roman orator, who 
killed himself because he could not curb 
the licentious manners of his country- 
men. Cic. in Brut. — Cneus, a son of 
the orator Carbo, who embraced the 
party of Marius, and after the death of 
Cinna succeeded to the government. 
He was killed in Spain, in his third con- 
sulship, by order of Pompey. Val. Max, 
— An orator, son of Carbo the orator, 
killed by the army, when desirous of re- 
establishing the ancient military dis- 
cipline. Cic. in Brut. 

Carcinus, a constellation, 

more frequently called cancer. 

Cabduchi, a warlike nation 
of Media, who attacked the ten thousand 
Greeks in their retreat from Cunaxa, in 
Assyria. Xenoph. 

Cares, a nation which in- 
habited Caria, and thought themselves 
the original possessors of the country. 
They became so powerful that their 
country was not sufficiently extensive 
to contain them all, upon which they 
seized the neighbouring islands of the 
^Egean sea. These islands were con-? 
quered by Minos, king of Crete. They 
were anciently called Leleges. HerodoL 
&c. 

Cares a, an island in the 

iEgean sea. 

Caria, a country of Asia Mi- 
nor, whose boundaries have been dif- 
ferent in different ages. Generally 
speaking, it was at the south of Ionia, 
at the east and north of the Icarian sea, 
and at the west of Phrygia Major and 
Lycia. It has been called Phoenicia, 
because a Phoenician colony first settled 
there; and afterwards it received the 
name of Caria, from Car, one of its 
kings, who first invented the auguries of 
birds. The chief town was called Ha- 
jjcarnassus. [Vid. Cares.] 

Cariat^e, a town in Bactriana. 

Here Alexander imprisoned Callisthenes. 

Carinas, certain edifices in 
Rome, built in the manner of ships, 
which were in the temple of Tellus. 
Some suppose that it was a street, in 
which Pompey 's house was built. Virg. 

Carixus (M. Aurelius), a Ro- 
man, who attempted to succeed his 
father Cams as emperor. He was fa- 
mous for his debaucheries and cruelties. 
Diocletian defeated him at Dalmatia. 
He was killed by a soldier, whose wife 
he had debauched, A. D. 268. 



CAR 



CAR 



Carmania, a country of Asia, 
between Persia and India. The capital 
was called Carmana, now Kerman; and 
the inhabitants icthyophagi, because 
living on fish. Plin. 

Carmelus, a god among the 
inhabitants of mount Carmel, situate 
between Syria and Judaea. Tacit. 

CaR3ienta and Cab mentis, 

a prophetess of Arcadia, mother of 
Evander, with whom she came to Italy. 
Her name was Nicostrata, and she re- 
ceived that of Carmentis from the wild- 
ness of her looks when giving oracles, 
as if carens mentis. She was the oracle 
of the people of Italy during her life, 
and after death she received divine ho- 
nors. She had a temple at Rome, and 
the Greeks offered her sacrifices under 
the name of Themis. Ovid. &c. 

Carmentales, annual fes- 
tivals at Rome in honor of Carmenta, 
celebrated near the Porta Carmentalis. 
The goddess was entreated to render the 
Roman matrons prolific,and their labors 
easy. Liv. 

Carmentalis Porta, one of 

the gates of Rome in the neighbourhood 
of the capitol. Vtrg. 

CARMiDEs,a Greek,remarkable 
for having had an astonishing memory. 

Carna and Cardinea, a god- 
dess at Rome, who presided over hinges, 
as also over the entrails of the human 
body. She was originally a nymph, 
called Grane, whom Janus ravished, 
and, for the injury, he gave her the 
power of presiding over houses, and of 
removing all noxious birds from the 
doors. The Romans offered her beans, 
bacon, and vegetables, to represent the 
simplicity of their ancestors. 

Carnasius, a village in Mes- 
senia. 

Carneades, a philosopher of 

Cyrene, in Africa, founder of a sect 
called the third or new Academy. The 
Athenians sent him with Diogenes, the 
stoic, and Critolaus, the peripatetic, as 
ambassador to Rome, B. C. 155. The 
Roman youth were extremely fond of 
the company of these learned philo- 
sophers; and when Carneades, in a 
speech, had given an accurate disserta- , 
tion upon justice, and in another speech j 
confuted all the arguments he had ad- i 
vanced, and apparently given no ex- 
istence to the virtue, a report prevailed i 
all over Rome that a Grecian was come 
who had so captivated the rising genera- 
tion, that they forgot their usual amuse- 
ments, and ran mad after philosophy. 
When this reached the ears of Cato, the 
censor, he dismissed the ambassadors in 
haste, expressing the apprehension of 
their corrupting the opinions of the Ro- 
man people. Carneades denied that any 
thing could be perceived or understood 



in the world, and he was the first who in- 
troduced an universal suspension of as- 
sent. He died in the 90th year of his 
age, B. C. 128. Cic. 

Carneia, a festival observed 

in most of the Grecian cities, but more 
particularly at Sparta, where it was first 
instituted, about 675 B. C. in honor of 
Apollo, surnamed Carneus. 

Carpathus, an island in the 
Mediterranean, between Rhodes and 
Crete, now called Scapanto. The Car- 
pathian sea, between Rhodes and Crete, 
derives its name from it. It was some- 
times called Tetrapolis, from its four 
capital cities. Plin. 

Carpo, a daughter of Zephy- 
rus, one of the Seasons. She was loved 
by Calamus, the son of Maeander,whom 
she equally admired. She was drowned 
in the Maeander, and was changed by 
Jupiter into all sorts of ftuit. Paus. 

Carpophora, a name of 
Ceres and Proserpine, from the in- 
fluence they possessed over the fertility 
and production of the earth. Paus. 

Carp ophorus, an actor 

greatly esteemed by Domitian. Martial. 
Juv. 

Carr^:, and Carrh^:, a town 
of Mesopotamia, near which Crassus was 
killed. Lucan. 

Carri nates Secundus, a 

poor, but ingenious rhetorician, who 
came from Athens to Rome, where the 
boldness of his expressions, especially 
against tyrannical power, exposed him 
to Caligula's resentment, who banished 
him. Juv. 

Carseoli, a town of the ^Equi, 
at the west end of the lake Fucinus. 
Among the inhabitants, called Carseo- 
lani, there was a law to forbid the keep- 
ing of a fox alive, because by setting fire 
to the tail of one of these animals, it had 
accidentally burnt the standing corn of 
the country. 

Carteia, now Calpe, a town 

in Spain, near the sea of Gades. 

Cartena, now Tenez, a town 

of Mauritania. 

Carth£a, a town in the is* 
land of Cea. 

Carthago, a celebrated city 

of Africa, the rival of Rome. The pre- 
cise time of its foundation is unknown, 
yet writers seem to agree that it was first 
built by Dido, about 869 years before 
the Christian sera ; or, according to 
others, 72 or 93 years before the founda- 
tion of Rome. "This citv and republic 
flourished for 737 years, and the time of 
its greatest glory was under Annibal and 
Amilcar. it maintained three famous 
wars against Rome, called the Punic 
wars, [ Fid. Punicum Bellum] and wa§ 



CAS 



CAS 



at last totally destroyed by Scipio, the 
second Africanus, B. C. 147. It was 23 
miles in circumference; and when it 
was set on fire by the Romans, it burnt 
incessantly during seventeen days. Cae- 
sar planted a small colony on the ruins 
of Carthage, and Adrian rebuilt part of 
it, which he called Adrianopolis. Car- 
thage was conquered from the Romans 
by the arms of Genseric, A. D. 439 ; and 
it was for more than a century the seat 
of the Vandal empire in Africa, and 
fell into the hands of the Saracens in 
the 7th century. The Carthaginians 
were governed as a republic, and had 
two persons yearly chosen among them 
with regal authority. They bore the 
character of a faithless and treacherous 
people, and the proverb Punica fides is 
well known. Strab. Liv. &c— Nova, a 
town built in Spain on the coasts of the 
Mediterranean, by Asdrubal, the Car- 
thaginian general. It now bears the 
name of Carthagena. It was taken by 
Scipio, when Hanno surrendered himself 
after a heavy loss. 

Carvilius, a king of Britain, 
who attacked Caesar's naval station by 
order of Cassivelaunus, &c. C«*. — The 
first Roman whodivorced his wife during 
the space of about 600 years. This was 
for barrenness, B. C. 231. Dionys. Hal. 
Val. Max. 

Carus, a Roman emperor, who 

succeeded Probus. He was a prudent 
and active general, conquered the Sar- 
matians, and continued the Persian war, 
which his predecessor had commenced. 
He reigned two years, and died on the 
banks of the Tigris as he was going on 
an expedition against Persia, A. D. 283. 
Evtrop. — A person, who was commanded 
by Alexander to scale the rock, Aornus. 

Carta, a city of Laconia, in 
which was held a festival in honour of 
Diana Caryatis. At the time of the in- 
vasion of Greece by Xerxes the Laco- 
nian, from the fear of offending the 
goddess did not take the field. 

Caryat^e, a people of Arcadia. 

Carystus, a sea-port on the 
south of Eubcea, famous for its marble. 

Casca, oneof Cassar's assassins, 
who gave him the first blow. Pint. 

Cascellius Aulus, a lawyer 
of great merit in the Augustan age. 
Horat. 

Casilinum, a town in Cam- 
pania, which being besieged by Hanni- 
bal, the want was so great, that a mouse 
was sold for 200 denaria. 

Cast us, a mountain beyond 
Pelusium, in Egypt, where Pompey's 
tomb was raised by Adrian. Jupiter, 
aurnamed Casius, had a temple there. — 
Another in Syria, from whose top the 
nun can be seen rising, according to 
Pliny , three hours before it makes its 



appearance above the horizon, or to 
those who dwell at the bottom of the 
mountain. 

Casperia, wife of Rhcetus, 
king of the Marrubii, committed adul- 
tery with her son-in-law. Virg. 

CASPiiE PoRTiE, certain passes 
of Asia, which some place about Cau- 
casus and the Caspian sea, and others 
between Persia and the Caspian sea, or 
near mount Taurus, or Armenia, or 
Cilicia. Diod. 

Caspii, a Scythian nation near 

the Caspian sea. Such as had lived be- 
yond their seventieth year were starved 
to death. Herodot. 

Caspium mare, or Hyrca- 

NUM, a large sea in the form of a lake, 
which has no communication with other 
seas, and lies between the Caspian and 
Hyrcanian mountains, at the north of 
Parthia. It is 8Q0 miles long, and 650 
broad. The eastern parts are more par- 
ticularly called the Hyrcanian sea, and 
the western the Caspian. It is now 
called the sea of Sala or Baku. The 
Caspian is about 680 miles long, and in 
no part more than 260 broad. There 
are no tides in it, but it has strong cur- 
rents, and, like inland seas, is liable to 
violent storms. Herodot. Strab. Mela, 
&c. 

Casfius mons, part of mount 

Taurus, between Armenia and Media. 

Cassandane, the mother ftf 
Cambyses, by Cyrus the Great. Herodot. 

C as sander, son of Antipater, 
made himself master of Macedonia after 
his father's death, where he reigned for 
18 years. He married Thessalonica, the 
sister of Alexander, to strengthen him- 
self on his throne ; to drive him from 
which, Olympias, the mother of Alex- 
ander, and" Antigonus, had made great 
efforts, but in vain. Having obtained 
a memorable victory at Ipsus, B. C. 301 , 
over Antigonus, he died three years after 
of a dropsy. 

Cassandra, a daughter of 

Priam and Hecuba, was passionately 
loved by Apollo, who promised to grant 
her whatever she might require, if she 
would gratify his passion. She asked 
the power of knowing futurity ; and, as 
soon as she had received it, she refused 
to perform her promise, and slighted 
Apollo. The god, in his disappoint- 
ment, wetted her lips with his tongue, 
and by this action effected that no credit 
should ever be put upon her predictions. 
Some relate her story differently; the 
above, however, is the most generally 
accepted. She was looked upon by the 
Trojans as insane, and her predictions 
were always disregarded. She was 
courted by many princes during the 
Trojan war. When Troy was taken, 
she fled to the temple of Minerva, where 
Ajax Oileus found her, and offered her 



CAS 



CAS 



violence, at the foot of Minerva's statue. 
In the division of the spoils of Troy, 
Agamemnon took her, and returned 
with her into Greece. She repeatedly 
foretold to him the sudden calamities 
that awaited his return ; but he gave no 
credit to her, and was assassinated by 
his wife Clytemnestra. Cassandra shared 
his fate, and saw all her prophecies but 
too truly fulfilled. [Vid. Agamemnon.] 
Horn. Virg. 

Cass ANDRiA,a town in the pe- 
ninsula of Pallene, called also Potidaea. 

Cassiodorus, M. Aurelius, a 
great statesman and writer in the sixth 
century. He recommended himself, by 
his prudence and abilities, to Theodoric, 
king of the Goths, in Italy, by whom 
he was made governor of Sicily, and 
afterwards entrusted with the highest 
offices in the state. Athaleric, the son 
and successor of Theodoric, equally re- 
spected his talents. 

Cassiope and Cassiopea, 
married Cepheus, king of ^Ethiopia, by 
whom she had Andromeda. She boasted 
herself to be fairer than the Nereides ; 
upon which Neptune, at their request, 
pnnished the insolence of Cassiope, and 
senta hugesea monster to ravage ^Ethio- 
pia. The wrath of Neptune could be 
appeased only by exposing Andromeda, 
whom Cassiope tenderly loved, to the 
fury of a sea monster ; and just as she 
was going to be devoured, Perseus de- 
livered her. [Vid. Andromeda.] Cas- 
siope was made a southern constellation, 
consisting of 13 stars, called Cassiope. — 
Also a name proper to two cities, one in 
Epirus, the other in Corcyra. 

Cassiterjdes, islands in the 
western ocean, where tin was found, 
supposed to be the Scilly islands of the 
moderns. Plin. 

Cassivelaunus, a Briton in- 
vested with sovereign authority, when 
J. Caesar made a descent upon Britain. 
C&s. 

C. Cassius, the name of many 
eminent Romans, the most celebrated 
of whom is he who made himself known 
by being first quaestor to Crassus, in his 
expedition against Parthia, from which 
he extricated himself with uncommon 
address. He followed the interest of 
Pompey ; and when Caesar had obtained 
the victory in the plains of Pharsalia, 
Cassius was one of those who owed their 
life to the mercy of the conqueror. He 
married Junia, the sister of Brutus, and 
with him resolved to murder the man 
to whom he was indebted for his life, 
on account of his oppressive ambition : 
before he stabbed Caesar, he addressed 
himself to the statue of Pompey, who 
had fallen by the avarice of him he was 
going to assassinate. When the pro- 
vineeswere divided among Caesar's mur- 
derers, Cassius received Africa; and 



when his party had lost ground at Rome, 
by the superior influence of Augustus 
and M. Antony, he retired to Philippi, 
with his friend Brutus and their ad- 
herents. In the battle that was fought 
at that place, the wing which Cassius 
commanded was defeated, and his camp 
was plundered. In this unsuccessful 
moment, he suddenly gave up all hopes 
of recovering from his loss, and con- 
cluded that Brutus was conquered and 
ruined as well as himself. Fearful of 
falling into the enemy's hands, he or- 
dered one of his freedmen to run him 
through, and he perished by that very 
sword which had given a wound to 
Caesar. His body was honored with a 
magnificent funeral byhis friend Brutus, 
who declared over him that he deserved 
to be called the last of the Romans. If 
he was brave, he was equally learned. 
Some of hisletters are still extant among 
Cicero's epistles. He was often too rash, 
and too violent, and many of the wrong 
steps which Brutus took are to be as- 
cribed to the prevailing advice of Cas- 
sius. The day after Caesar's murder he 
dined at the house of Antony, who asked 
him whether he had then a dagger con- 
cealed in his bosom ; " Yes," replied he, 
(( if you aspire to tyranny." Suet. Plut. 
&c. — There were many other Romans 
of this name, in whose lives there is 
nothing very remarkable. 

Castalius fons, or Casta- 
LIA, a fountain of Parnassus, sacred to 
the muses. The waters of this fountain 
were cool and excellent ; they had the 
power of inspiring those that drank of 
them with the true fire of poetry. The 
muses have received the surname of 
Castalides from this fountain. Virg. 

Castalius, a son of Terja, 
father of Thyas, who became mother of 
Delphus, by Apollo. Paus. 

Castanea, a town near the 
Peneus, whence the nuces Castanets re- 
ceived their name. Plin. 

Cast ian ira one of Priam's 
mistresses,and the mother ofGorgy thion. 

Castor and Pollux were 

twin brothers, sons of Jupiter, by Leda, 
the wife of Tyndarus, king of Sparta. 
The manner of their birth is uncom- 
mon. Jupiter, who was enamoured of 
Leda, changed himself into a swan, and 
desired Venus to metamorphose herself 
into an eagle. After this transforma- 
tion, the goddess pursued the god with 
apparent ferocity, and Jupiter fled for 
refuge into the arms of Leda, who was 
bathing in the Eurotas. Jupiter took 
advantage of his situation, and nine 
months after, Leda, who was already 
pregnant, brought forth two eggs, from 
one of which came Pollux and Helena ; 
and from the other Castor and Clytem- 
nestra. The two former were the off- 
spring of Jupiter, and the latter were 
believed to be the children of Tyndarus. 



CAT 



CAT 



.Some suppose that Leda brought forth 
only one egg, from which Castor and 
Pollux sprung. Mercury, immediately 
after their birth, carried them to Pal- 
lena, where they were educated ; and 
as soon as they had arrived to years of 
maturity, they embarked with Jason, to 
go in quest of the golden fleece. In this 
expedition both behaved with superior 
cqurage : Pollux conquered and slew 
Amycus in the combat of the cestus, 
and was ever after reckoned the god of 
boxing and wrestling. Castor distin- 
guished himself in the management of 
horses. During the Argonautic expedi- 
tion, in a violent storm, two flames of 
fire were seen to play around their heads , 
and immediately the tempest ceased, 
and the sea was calmed. From this 
occunence their power to protectsailors 
has been more firmly credited. They 
made war against tbe Athenians to re- 
cover their sister Helen, whom Theseus 
had carried away. Being invited to the 
marriage of Lynceus and Idas, they 
became enamoured of Phoebe and Ta- 
laira, their intended spouses, and re- 
solved to carry them off and marry 
them. This violent step provoked Lyn- 
ceus and Idas : a battle ensued, and Cas- 
tor killed Lynceus, and was killed by 
Idas. Pollux revenged the death of his 
brother by killing Idas ; and, as he was 
immortal, and tenderly attached to his 
brother, he entreated Jupiter to restore 
him to Life, or to be deprived himself of 
immortality, Jupiter permitted Castor 
to share the immortality of his brother ; 
and consequently , as long as the one was 
upon earth, so long was the other de- 
tained in the infernal regions, and they 
alternately lived and died every day. 
This act of fraternal love Jupiter re- 
warded by making the two brothers con- 
stellations in heaven, under the name 
of Gemini, which never appear together, 
but when one rises the other sets, and 
so on alternate] y. They received divine 
honors after death, and were generally 
called Dioscuri, sons of Jupiter. Horn. 
Virg. Ovid, &c. — There were others of 
this name, in whose lives there is no- 
thing very remarkable. 

Cast rat ius, a Roman gover- 
nor of Placentia, during the wars of Ma- 
rius and Sylla. 

Cast rum Novum, a place on 

the coast of Etruria. Liv. — Inui, a town 
on the shores of the Tyrrhene sea. 

Catarathmos, a great decli- 
vity near Cyrene, fixed by Sallust as 
the" boundary of Africa. Sallust. 

Catadupa, the name of the 
large cataracts of the Nile, whose im- 
mense noise stuns the ear for a short 
space of time. Cic. 

Catagogia, festivals cele- 
brated by the people of Erix m honor 
of Venus. 



Catamejtteles, king of the 

Sequani. Ccesar. de Bell. Gall. 

Catana, a town of Sicily, at 
the foot of Mount /Etna, founded by a 
colony from Chalcis, 753 years before 
the Christian era. It was large and 
opulent. 

Cathari, certain gods of the 
Arcadians. — An Indian nation, where 
the wives accompany their husbands to 
the burning pile, and are burnt with 
them. Biod. 

Catienus, a Roman actor in 
the time of Virgil and Horace. Hor. 
Sat. 

L. SERG1US CatTlInA, de- 
scended of a noble family, having squan- 
dered away his fortune by his debauch- 
eries and extravagance, and having been 
refused the consulship, secretly medi- 
tated the ruin of his country, and con- 
spired with many of the most illustrious 
of the Romans, to extirpate the senate, 
and set Rome on fire. This conspiracy 
was timely discovered by the consul 
Cicero. Catiline, in the full senate, at- 
tempted to vindicate himself, and, on 
seeing five of his accomplices arrested, 
retired to Gaul, where his partizans 
were assembling an army ; while Cicero 
at Rome punished the condemned con- 
spirators. Petreius, the other consul's 
lieutenant, attacked Catiline's ill-dis- 
ciplined troops, and routed them. Ca- 
tiline was killed in the engagement, 
bravely fighting, about the middle of 
December, B. C. 63. Sallust has written 
an account of the conspiracy. His cha- 
racter has been deservedly branded with 
the foulest infamy; and to the violence 
he offered to a vestal, he added the 
more atrocious murder of his own bro- 
ther. It has been reported that Catiline 
and the other conspirators drank human 
blood, to make their oaths more firm 
and inviolable. 

Catilius, a prince of Dal- 
matia, mentioned by Cicero. 

Catillus or Catixus, a son 

of Amphiaraus, who came to Italy with 
his brothers, Coras and Tiburtus, where 
he built Tibur, and assisted Turnus 
against iEneas. Virg. 

M. Cat ius, an epicurean phi- 
losopher of Insubria, who wrote a trea- 
tise, in four books, on the nature of 
things, and the summum bonum, and 
an account of the doctrine and tenets of 
Epicuruf. 

Catizt, a people of the Pyg- 
mseans, supposed to have been driven 
from their country by cranes. Plin. 

Cato , a surname of the Porciaia 
family, rendered illustrious by M. Por- 
cius Cato, a celebrated Roman, after- 
wards called Censorius, from his having 
exercised the office of censor, lie rose 
to all the honors of the state. During his 



CAT 



CAU 



censorship, which he obtained, though 
he had >:iade many declarations of his 
future severity if ever in office, he be- 
haved with the greatest rigor and im- 
partiality, shewed himself an enemy to 
all luxury and dissipation, and even ac- 
cused his colleague of embezzling the 
public money. He is famous for the 
great opposition which he made against 
the introduction of the finer arts of 
Greece into Italy, and his treatment of 
Carneades [_quem vide] is well known. 
This prejudice arose from an appre- 
hension that the learning and luxury 
of Athens would destroy the valor and 
simplicity of the Roman people. He 
himself educated his son, and instructed 
him in writing and grammar. He 
taught him dexterously to throw a ja- 
velin, and inured him to the labors of 
the field, and to bear cold and heat 
with the same indifference, and to 
swim across the most rapid rivers with 
ease and boldness. He was universally 
deemed so strict in his morals., that Vir- 
gil makes him one of the judges of hell. 
He distinguished himself as much for 
his knowledge of agriculture as his po- 
litical life. In Cicero's age there were 
150 orations of his, besides letters, and 
a celebrated work called Origines. Cato 
died in extreme old age, about 160 B. C. 
and Cicero, to show his respect for him, 
has introduced him in his treatise on old 
age as the principal character. Plutarch 
and C. Nepos have written an account of 
his life. — The next most celebrated of 
this name is Marcus ^xirnamedUticensis, 
from his death at Ucica, great grandson 
to the censor. The virtues that appeared 
in his childhood seemed to promise a 
great man ; and, at the age of fourteen, 
he earnestly asked his preceptor for a 
sword to stab the tyrant Sylla. He was 
austere in his morals, and a strict fol- 
lower of the tenets of the Stoics ; he was 
careless of his dress , often appeared bare- 
foot in public, and never travelled but 
on foot. His fondness for candor was so 
great, that the veracity of Cato became 
proverbial. He was very jealous of the 
safety and liberty of the republic, and 
watched carefully over the conduct of 
Pompey, whose power and influence were 
great. In the conspiracy of Catiline he 
supported Cicero, and was the chief 
cause that the conspirators were capi- 
tally punished. When the provinces of 
Gaul were voted for five years to Caesar, 
Cato observed to the senators, that they 
had introduced a tyrant into the capitol. 
When the first triumvirate was formed 
between Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus, 
Cato opposed them with all his might, 
and with independent spirit, foretold to 
the Roman people all the misfortunes 
l?hich soon after followed. He applied 
for the consulship, but could never ob- 
tain it. When Caesar had passed the 
Rubicon, Cato advised the Roman se- 
nate to deliver the care of the republic 
into the hands of Pompey. After the 
battle of Pharsalia, Cato took the com- 



mand of the Corey rean fleet; and when 
he heard of Pompey's death, on the 
coast of Africa, he traversed the deserts 
of Libya, to join himself to Scipio. He 
refused to take the command of the 
army in Africa, a circumstance of which 
he afterwards repented. When Scipio 
had been defeated, Cato fortified himself 
in Utica, but not with an intention of 
supporting a siege. W T hen Caesar ap- 
proached the city, he disdained to fly, 
and, rather than fall alive into the con- 
queror's hands, he stabbed himself, after 
he had read Plato's treatise on the im- 
mortality of the soul. B. C. 46, in the 
59th year of his age. Plutarch has written 
an account of his life. — A son of Cato of 
Utica, who was killed in a battle after he 
had acquired much honor. Pint. 

Cat re us, a king of Crete, 
whom his son killed unknowingly at 
Rhodes. 

Catta, a woman supposed to 

have had the gift of prophecy. 

Catullus, C or Q.Valerius, 

a poet of Verona, whose compositions, 
elegant and simple, are the offspring of 
a luxuriant imagination. He directed 
his satire against Caesar, whose only re- 
venue was to invite the poet to a good 
supper. Catullus was the first Roman 
who imitated with success the Greek 
writers, and introduced their numbers 
among the Latins. He died in the 46th 
year of his age, B. C. 40. Though the 
pages of the poet are occasionally dis- 
figured with licentious expressions, and 
all the bitterness of satire, yet the whole 
is written with great purity of style. His 
compositions were numerous, and those 
which have survived the ravages of 
time have been divided into three books 
by some commentators ; the first of ly- 
rics, the second of elegiacs, and the third 
of epigrams. 

Q. Luctatius Catulus, a 

Roman consul, went with 300 ships, 
during the first Punic war, against the 
Carthaginians, and destroyed G00 of their 
ships under Hamilcar, near the iEgates. 
This celebrated' victory put an end to 
the war. 

Cavarixus, a Gaul, made 
king of the Sencnes by Caesar, and ba- 
nished by his subjects. Cess. 

Caucasus, a celebrated moun- 
tain between the Euxine and Caspian 
seas, which may be considered as the 
continuation of the ridge of Mount 
Taurus. Its height is immense. It was 
inhabited anciently by various savage 
nations, who lived upon the wild fruits 
of the earth. The passes near this 
mountain,.called Caucasia? Porta?, bear 
now the name of Derbent, and it is sup- 
posed that through them the Sarmatians, 
called Huns, made their way when they 
invaded the provinces of Rome under 
their king, Attila. Prometheus was tied 
on the top of Caucasus by Jupiter, and 



CEB 



CEC 



continually devoured by vultures, ac- 
cording to ancient authors. Herodot. 
Strab. Mela, &c. 

Caucox, a man who introduced 
the orgies from Eleusis into Messenia. 

Caucoxes, a people of Pa- 
phlagonia, originally inhabitants of Ar- 
cadia, or Scythia, according to some ac- 
counts. Some of them made a settle- 
ment near Dymae in Elis. Herodot. 

Catjdi and Caudium, a town 

of the Samnites, near which, in a place 
called Caudince Yurcnla, the Roman 
army, under T. Veturius Calvinus, and 
Sp. Posthumius, was obliged to surren- 
der to the Samnites, and pass under the 
yoke with the greatest disgrace. Liv. 

Cauloxia or Caul on, a town 
of Italy, near the country of the Brutii, 
founded by a colony of Achaean s, and 
destroyed in ihe wars between Pyrrhus 
and the Romans. Virg. 

Cauxius, a man whom Ar- 
tnxerxes raised from poverty to af- 
fluence. 

Cauxus, a son of Miletus and 

Cyane. He was tenderly loved by his 
sister Byblis, and, to avoid an incestu- 
ous commercer he retired to Caria, 
where he built a city called by his own 
name. {J r id. Byblis.] Ovid. 

Cauros, an island in theyEgean 
sea. 

Caurus, a wind blowing from 
the west. Virg. 

C a u s, an Arcadian village. 

Paus. 

Cavii, a people of Illyricum. 

Cayci, a nation inhabiting that 
part of Germany now called Groningen 
and Fries! and. 

Cay c us, a river of Mysia. 

Cayster, a rapid river of Asia^ 
rising in Lydia,and, after a meandering 
course, falling into the y£gean sea near 
Ephesus. According to the poets, the 
banks of this river were generally fre- 
quented by swans. Ovid. Virg. &c. 

Cea, or Ceos, an island near 
Eubcea, called also Cos. 

Cera, a town in Italy, famous 
for its cheese, now called Ceva. 

CehallInus, a person who is 
mentioned by Diodorus and Curtius as 
having given information of several 
plots laid against Alexander. 

Ceharenses, a people of 

Gaul, mentioned by Pausanias. 

Cebexxa, mountains, now the 
C'£vennes, in Languedoc, separating the 
Arverni from the Helvii, extending 
from the Garonne to the Rhone. Cces. 
B. G. 

Cebes, a Theban philosopher, 
one of the disciples of Socrates, B. C. 



405. He attended his learned preceptor 
in his last moments, and distinguished 
himself by three dialogues that he 
wrote ; but more particularly by his 
tables, which contain a beautiful and 
affecting picture of human life, de- 
lineated with accuracy of judgment, 
and great splendor of sentiment. 

Cebrexia, a country of Troas, 
with a town of the same name, called 
after the river Cebrenus in the neigh- 
bourhood. 

Cebrioxes, one of the giants 

conquered by Venus. — An illegitimate 
son of Priam , killed by a stone by Pa- 
troclus. Homer. 

Ceerus, now Zebris, a river 
falling in a southern direction into the 
Danube, and dividing lower from upper 
Moesia. 

A. Cecixxa. The most re- 
markable of this name was a Roman 
knight in the interest of Pompey, who 
used to bring up young swallows, and 
send them to carry news to his friends 
as messengers. He was a particular 
friend of Cicero, with whom he corre- 
sponded. Some of his letters are still 
extant in Cicero. 

Cecropia, the original name 
of Athens, in honor of Cecrops, its first 
founder. The ancients often use this 
word of Attica, and the Athenians are 
often called Cecropidae. Virg. 

Cecropim:, an ancient name 

of the Athenians, more particularly ap- 
plied to those who were descended from 
Cecrops, the founder of Athens. 

Cecrops, a native of Sais in 
Egypt, who led a colony to Attica about 
155G years before the christian aera, and 
reigned over part of the country, whicli 
was called from him Cecropia. He soft- 
ened and polished the rude and unculti- 
vated manners of the inhabitants, gave 
them laws and regulations, and intro- 
duced among them the worship of those 
deities which were held in adoration in 
Egypt. Me married the daughter of Ac- 
taeus, a Grecian prince, and was deemed 
the first founder of Athens. He taught 
his subjects to cultivate the olive, and 
instructed them to look upon Minerva 
as the watchful patroness of their city. 
After a reign of thirty years, spent in 
regulating his newly formed kingdom, 
and in polishing the minds of his sub- 
jects, Cecrops died, leaving three daugh- 
ters. He was succeeded by Cranaus, a 
native of the country. [Vid. Athena?.] 
Some authors have described Cecrops 
as a monster, half a man and half a ser- 
pent ; and this fable is explained by the 
recollection that he was master of two 
languages, the Greek and Egyptian ; or 
that he had the command over two 
countries, Egypt and Greece. Strab. 
Herodot. &c. — The second of that name 
was the seventh king of Athens, and 
the son and successor of Erec btheus, 
F2 



CEL 



CEN 



Cecyphal^e, aplace of Greece, 
where the Athenians defeated the fleet 
of the Peloponnesians. Thucyd. 

Cedreatis, thename of Diana 

among the Orchomenians, because her 
images were hung on lofty cedars. 

CEL^ENiE, a city of Phrygia, of 
which it was once the capital. Cyrus the 
younger had a palace there, with a park 
rilled with wild beasts, where he exer- 
cised himself in hunting. The river 
Maeander rose in this park. 

Cel^eno, one of the daughters 
of Atlas, lavished by Neptune. Ovid, — 
One of the harpies, daughter of Neptune 
and Terra. [Fid. Harpya?.] Virg... 

CeLENDRJE, CELENDRIS,and 
CELENDERIS, a colony of the Sa- 
mians in Cilicia, with a harbour of the 
same name at the mouth of the Selinus. 
Lucan, 

Celenna or Cel^na, a town 
of Campania, where Juno was wor- 
shipped. Virg. Mn. 

Celer, a man called Fabius, 
who killed Remus when he leaped over 
the walls of Rome, by order of Ro- 
mulus. It is said that Romulus pur- 
sued him for so hastily shedding his 
brother's blood, but that he escaped his 
vengeance, and, inconsequence of this, 
Iris name was afterwards adopted to 
express quickness and haste. Ovid. Fast. 

Celeres, 300 of the noblest 
and strongest youths at Rome, chosen 
by Romulus to be his bodyguards, to 
attend him wherever he went, and to 
protect his person. The chief or captain 
was called Tribunus Celerum. Liv. 

Celeus, a king of Eleusis, 
father to Triptolemus by Metanira. He 
gave^ a kind reception to Ceres, who 
taught his son the cultivation of the 
earth. His rustic dress became a pro- 
verb. Virg. 

Ce lmits, a man who nursed 
J upiter, by whom he was greatly es- 
teemed. He was changed into a magnet 
stone for saying that Jupiter was mor- 
tal. Ovid. 

Celsus, Corn, a physician, in 
the age of Tiberius, who wrote eight 
books on medicine, besides treatises on 
agriculture, rhetoric, and military af- 
fairs. — Albinovanus, a friend of Horace, 
warned bv him against plagiarism, and 
pleasantly ridiculed in his eighth epistle 
for his foibles. Some of kis elegies have 
been preserved.— Titus, a man pro- 
claimed emperor, A, D. 265, against his 
will, and murdered seven days after. 

CELTiE, a name given to the 
nation that inhabited the country be- 
tween the Ocean and the Palus Maeotis, 
according to some authors, mentioned 
by Pint. in Mario. This name, though 
anciently applied to the inhabitants of 
Gaul, as well as of Germany and Spain, 



was more particularly given to a part of 
the Gauls, whose country, called Gallia 
Celtica, was situate between the rivers 
Sequana and Garumna, modernly called 
la Seine and la Garomie. Caesar, &c. 

Celtiberi, a people of Spain, 
descended from the Celtae. They settled 
near the Iberus, and added the name of 
the river to that of their nation, and 
were afterwards called Celtiberi. Flor. 
Strab. 

Celtica, a well populated part 

of Gaul, inhabited by the Celtae. 
Celt ill us, the father of 

Vercingetorix. 

CELTOscYTHiE, a northern 

nation of Scythians. Strab. 

Cemmenus, a high mountain 
in Gaul. 

Cempsi, a people of Hispania, 

living at the feet of the Pyrenees. 
CENiEUJi, a promontory of Eu- 

boea, where Jupiter Caeneus had an altar 
raised by Hercules. Ovid. 

Cenchreis, the wife of Ci- 

nyras, king of Cyprus. 

Cencrretjs, a son of Nep- 
tune, remarkable for having killed an 
immense serpent at Salamis. Pans. 

Cenchrius, a river of Ionia, 
near Ephesus, where some suppose 
that Lacona was washed after she had 
brought forth. Tacit. 

Cenepolis, a town of Spain, 
the same as Carthago Nova. Polyb. 
Cexetjs. [Vid. Casnis.] 
Cekimagni, a people on the 

western parts of Britain. 

Censores, two magistrates of 
great authority at Rome, first created 
B. C. 443. Their office was to number 
the people, estimate the possessions cf 
every citizen, reform and watch over the 
manners of the people, and regulate the 
taxes. Their power was also extended 
over private families; they punished 
irregularity, and inspected the manage- 
ment and education of the Roman youth- 
They couJd inquire into the expenses of 
everv citizen, and even degrade a senator 
from all his privileges and honors, if 
guilty of any extravagance. The office 
was first exercised by the kings, next by 
the consuls, but when the citizens be- 
came very numerous two censors were 
established, who remained in office five 
vears. The office was by a law, A. U. C . 
420, afterwards limited to eighteen 
months. The first census was esta- 
blished by Servius Tulhus. The em- 
perors abolished the censors, and tooic 
upon themsel ves to execute their office. 

Censorinus, Ap. CL The 

most eminent of this name was com- 
pelled, after many services to the state, 
to assume the imperial purple by his 
soldiers, by whom he was murdered 



CEN 



CEP 



some days after, A. D. 270. — A very 
learned and ingenious grammarian of 
the third century, whose book, de die 
natali, is extant. It treats of the birth 
of man, of years, months, and days. 

Census, the numbering of the 
people at Rome, performed by the cen- 
sors; a venseo, to value. [Vid. Censores.] 
— A god worshipped at Rome, the same 
as Consus. 

Centare tus, a Galatian. 

Pliny records, that when he heard of the 
death of Antigonus, he mounted his 
horse in a transport of exultation. The 
horse immediately became restive ; and, 
as if conscious of the disgrace of bearing 
such a person, leaped down a precipice 
with Centaretus upon his back, and 
both were dashed to pieces. 

Centauri, a people of Thes- 
saly, half men and half horses. The 
most generally received account is, that 
they were the offspring of Centaurus, 
son of Apollo, by Stilbia, daughter of 
the Peneus. According to some, the 
Centaurs were the fruit of Ixioirs ad- 
venture with the cloud in the shape of 
Juno. This fable of the existence of 
the Centaurs arises from the ancient 
people of Thessaly having tamed horses, 
and having appeared to their neighbours 
mounted on them. Some derive the 
name ktto tov xsvtsiv ravpov^ from 
goading bulls, because they went on 
horseback after their bulls which had 
strayed, or because they hunted wild 
bulls with horses. The battle of the 
Centaurs with the Lapithas is famous in 
history. Ovid, Hesiod, Vol. Flaccus, 
have all described it; and the famous 
painters, Phidias and Parrhasius, repre- 
sented it in the temple of Jupiter at 
Olympia, and at Athens. The origin of 
this battle was a quarrel at the marriage 
of Hippodamia with Piruhous, where 
the Centaurs, intoxicated with wine, 
behaved with rudeness, and even offered 
violence to the women that were pre- 
sent. Such an insult irritated Hercules, 
Theseus, and the rest of the Lapithse, 
who defended the women, wounded and 
defeated the Centaurs, and obliged them 
to leave their country, and retire to Ar- 
cadia. They were almost all afterwards 
extirpated by Hercules, and few escaped 
the common destruction. Diod. Hesiod. 
Homer, &c. — The most celebrated of 
the Centaurs were Chiron, Eurytus, 
Amycus, Gryneus. Caumas, Lycidas, 
Ameus, Medon, Rhoetus, Pisenor, Mer- 
rneros, Pholus, &c. Diod. 

Cent rones, a people of Gaul, 
severely beaten by Julius Caesar when 
they attempted to obstruct his passage. 
Cos. 

Centronius, a man who 

squandered his immense riches on use- 
less and whimsical buildings. Juv. 

Centum Cellum, a seaport 
town of Etruria, built by Trajan, who 



had there a villa. It is now called Ci- 
vita Vecchia, and is in the patrimony of 
the pope. 

Centumviri, the members of 
a court of justice at Rome. They were 
originally chosen, three from the 35 
tribes of the people, and though 105, 
they were always called Centumvirs. 
They were afterwards increased to the 
number of 180, and still kept their ori- 
ginal name. The praetor sent to their 
tribunal causes of the greatest import- 
ance, as their knowledge of the law was 
extensive. They assembled in the Ba- 
silica, or public court, and had their tri- 
bunal distinguished by a spear with an 
iron head, whence a decree of their 
court was called Hasta judicium : their 
sentences were very impartial, and with- 
out appeal. Cic. &c. 

Centuria, a division of the 
people among the Romans, consisting 
of a hundred. The word Centuria is 
also applied to a subdivision of one of 
the Roman legions ; it consisted of an 
hundred men, and was the half of a 
maniptilus, the sixth part of a cohort, 
and the sixtieth part of a legion. The 
commander of a^centuria was called cen- 
turion, and he was distinguished from 
the rest by the branch of a vine which 
he carried in his hand. For a more co- 
pious account of the centuria, vid. Lem- 
priere's 4to. Dictionary, or Kennet's Ro- 
man Antiquities. 

Cephalas, a lofty promontory 
of Africa, near the Syrtis Major. 

Cephaledion, a town of Si- 
cily, near the river Himera. 

Cephalena and Cephalle- 
v NIA, an island in the Ionian sea, below 
Corcyra, v/hose inhabitants went with 
Ulysses to the Trojan war. It abounds 
in oil and excellent wines. It was an- 
ciently divided into four different di- 
stricts, from which circumstance it re- 
ceived the name of Tetrapolis. It is 
about 90 miles in crrcumference, and, 
from its capital, Samo, or Samos, it has 
frequently been called Same. Strab. 
Mela. 

Ceph allen, a celebrated mu- 
sician of high rank, the son of Lampus. 
Cephalon, a Greek of Ionia, 

who wrote a history of Troy, besides 
an epitome of universal history from 
the age of Ninus to Alexander, which 
he divided into nine books, inscribed 
with the name of the nine muses. He 
lived in the reign of Adrian. 

Cephalus, son of Deioneus, 
king of Thessaly, by Diomede, daughter 
of Xuthus , married Procris, daughter of 
Erechtheus, king of Athens, or, as some 
assert, of Mercury and Herse.' Aurora 
fell in love with him, and carried him 
away ; but he refused to listen to her 
addresses, and was impatient to return 
to Procris^ The goddess sent him back ; 



CEP 



CER 



and, to try the fidelity of his wile, she 
made him put on a different form, and 
he arrived at the house of Proeris in the 
habit of a merchant. Proeris was deaf 
to every offer ; but she suffered hersel f to 
be seduced by the gold of this stranger, 
who discovered himself the very mo- 
ment that Proeris had yielded up her 
virtue. This circumstance so abashed 
Proeris that she fled, and devoted her- 
self to hunting. After this, Proeris 
returned in disguise to Cephalus, who 
was willing to disgrace himself by some 
unnatural concessions to obtain a dog 
and the dart Proeris had obtained of 
Diana. Proeris discovered herself at 
the moment that Cephalus shewed him- 
self faithless, and a reconciliation was 
easily made between them. They loved 
one another with more tendernest than 
before, and Cephalus received from his 
wife the presents of Diana. As he was 
particularly fond of hunting, he every 
morning repaired to the woods, and, 
after much fatigue, laid himself down 
in the cool shade, and earnestly called 
for Aura, or the refreshing breeze. This 
ambiguous word was mistaken foY a 
mistress ; and some informer reported 
to the jealous Proeris, that Cephalus 
daily paid a visit to a mistress, whose 
name was Aura. Proeris believed the 
information, and secretly followed her 
husband into the woods. According to 
custom, Cephalus retired to the cool, 
and called after Aura. At the name of 
Aura, Proeris eagerly lifted up her head 
to see her expected rival : her motion 
made a rustling among the leaves of 
the bush that concealed her. Cephalus 
listened, and, thinking it to be a wild 
beast, let fly his unerring dart. Proeris 
was struck to the heart, and instantly 
expired in the arms of her husband ; 
confessing that ill-grounded jealousy 
wae the cause of her death. Ovid. Hy- 
gin. — A Corinthian lawyer, who assisted 
Timoleon in regulating the republic of 
Syracuse. 

Cephestes, an ancient name of 
the Persians, Herodot. — A name of the 
^Ethiopians, from Cepheus, one of their 
kings. Ovid. 

Cepheus, a king of ^Ethiopia, 
father of Andromeda, by Cassiope. He 
was one of the Argonauts, and was 
changed into a constellation after his 
death. Ovid. Met. 

Cephisia, that part of Attica 
through which flows the Cephisus. 

CephIsiades, a patronymic of 
Eteocles, son of Andreus and Evippe, 
from the supposition of his being the 
son of the Cephisus. Paus. 

Cephisidorus, an author, 
who wrote a History of the Phocian 
war ; — a writer of tragedies, cotem- 
porary with ^Eschylus. 

Cephisodotus, one of the 



disciples of Isocrates, who wrote a book 
of proverbs. 

Cephisus and Cephissus, a 

celebrated river of Greece, that rises at 
Lilaea in Phocis, and, af:er passing at 
the north of Delphi and mount Parnas- 
sus, enters Bceotia, where it flows into 
the lake Copais. The Graces were par- 
ticularly fond of this river, whence they 
are called the goddesses of the Cephisus. 
—There was a river of the same name 
in A ttica, and another in Argolis. St rob. 

Cephren, a king of Egypt, 

who built one of the pyramids. Diod. 

Cepio, a man who, by a quar- 
rel with Drusus, caused a civil war at 
Rome, &c. — Servilius, a Roman consul 
who put an end to the war in Spain. He 
took gold from a temple, and for that 
sacrilege it was said that the rest of his 
life was always unfortunate. He was 
conquered by the Cimbrians, his goods 
were publicly confiscated, and he died 
at last in prison. 

Cerambus, a man changed 

into a beetle, or, according to others, 
into a bird, on mount Parnassus, by the 
nymphs, before the deluge. Ovid. 

Ceramicus, a public walk, 
and a place to bury those that were 
killed in defence of their country, at 
Athens. 

Ceramium, apart of Rome in 

which stood the house of Cicero. 

Cerasus, (units) a maritime 
city of Cappadoeia, from which cherries 
were first brought to Rome by Lucullus. 

Mela. 

Ceraton, a celebrated altar in 

the temple of Apollo at Delos. It was 
totally erected with the horns of stags, 
without the assistance of cement ; and 
as it was the work of the god who pre- 
sided over the temple, it passed for one 
of the wonders of the world. It was 
said to exist till the time of Plutarch. 
Ovid, Pint. 

Ceraunta and Ceraunii. 

[Vid. Acroceraunium.3 

Ceraunii, mountains of Asia, 
opposite the Caspian sea. Mela. 

Ceraunus, a name given to 

Ptolemy II. for his intrepidity. 

Cerberion, a town of the 

Cimmerian Bosphorus. Plin. 

• Cerberus, a dog of Pluto, the 

fruit of Echidna's union with Typhon. 
He had 50 heads according to Hesiod, 
and three according to other mytholo- 
gists. He was stationed at the entrance 
of hell, as a watchful keeper, to prevent 
the living from entering the infernal 
regions, and the dead from escaping 
from their confinement. It was usual 
for those heroes who, in their lifetime, 
visited Pluto's kingdom, to appease the 
barking mouths of Cerberus with a cake. 



CER 



CER 



Orpheus lulled him to sleep with his 
lyre ; and Hercules dragged him from 
hell when lie went to redeem Aleeste. 
Virg. Homer, &e. 

Cercasorum, a town of 

.Egypt, where the Nile divides itself 
into the Pelusian and Canopic mouths. 
Herodot. 

Cercopes, a people of Ephe- 
sus, made prisoners by Hercules. Apol- 
lod.— The inhabitants of the island Pi- 
thecusa., changed into monkeys on ac- 
count of their dishonesty and debauch- 
eries. Ovid, 

Cercyox and Cercyqnes, 

a king of Eleusis, son of Neptune, or, 
according to others, of Vulcan. He ob- 
liged all strangers to wrestle with him, 
whom he easily conquered and put to 
death. After many cruelties he chal- 
lenged Theseus in wrestling, who con- 
quered and put him to death. Theseus 
placed his grandson Hippothoon upon 
the throne. Ovid, &e. 

Cercyra and Corcyra, an 
island ia the Ionian sea, which receives 
its name from Cercyra, daughter of the 
Asopus. Diod. 

Cereal i a, festivals in honor 
of Ceres ; first instituted at Rome by 
Memmius the edile, and celebrated on 
the 19Lh of April. They are the same 
as the Thesmophoria of the Greeks. 
\Vid. Thesmophoria.] 

Cereleta or Cgerellia, a 

Roman matron, unusually fond of phi- 
losophy and literature. Her intimacy 
with Cicero, as a literary character, has 
been imputed by Calenus to unchaste 
motives. 

Ceres, the goddess of corn and 
of harvest, was daughter of Saturn and 
Vesta. She had a daughter by Jupiter, 
whom she called Pherephata, fruit- 
bearing, and afterwards Proserpine. 
This daughter was carried away by 
Piuto, as she was gathering flowers in 
the plains near Enna. The rape of Pro- 
serpine was grievous to Ceres, her search 
after her toilsome and laborious, until 
the nymph Arethusa informed her that 
her daughter had been carried away by 
Pluto. As the grant of Proserpine's re- 
storation was of no effect because she 
had eaten of a pomegranate in the king- 
dom of Pluto; the grief of Ceres for the 
loss of her daughter was so great, that 
Jupiter granted Proserpine to pass six 
months with her mother, and the rest 
of the year with Pluto. To repair the 
loss which mankind had suffered by her 
absence, during her enquiries after Pro- 
serpine, the goddess went to Attica, 
which was become the most desolate 
country in the world, and instructed 
Triptolemus, of Eleusis, in every thing 
which concerned agriculture. She taught 
him how to plough the ground, to sow 
and reap the corn, to make bread, and 



to take particular care of fruit-trees. 
After there instructions she gave him 
her chariot, and commanded him to 
travel all ever the world, and communi- 
cate his knowledge of agriculture to the 
rude inhabitants, who had hitherto lived 
upon acorns and the roots of the earth. 
\_Vid. Triptolemus.] Her beneficence 
to mankind made Ceres respected, and 
Sicily was supposed to be the favorite 
retreat of the goddess, where the com- 
memoration of the rape was celebrated 
at the waters of the fountain Cyane 
about the beginning of the harvest, and 
the search of Ceres at the time that corn 
is sown in the earth. Attica, which had 
been so eminently distinguished by the 
goddess, gratefully remembered her fa- 
vors in the celebration of the Eleusinian 
mysteries. [\ r id. Eleusinia.] Ceres also 
performed the duties of a legislator, and 
the Sicilians found the advantages of 
her salutary laws; hence her surname of 
Thesmophora. She is the same as the 
Isis of the Egyptians, and her worship, 
it is said, was first brought into Greece 
by Erechtheus. While the corn was yet 
in grass, they offered her a ram, after 
the victim had been led three times 
round the field. Ceres was represented 
with a garland of ears of coin on her 
head, holding in one hand a lighted 
torch, and in the other a poppy, -Ahieh 
was sacred to her. She was supposed to 
be the same as Rhea, Tellus, Cybele, 
Bona Dea, Berecynthia, &e. The Ro- 
mans paid her great adoration, and her 
festivals were yearly celebrated by the 
Roman matrons in the month of April, 
during eight days. Ceres is metaphori- 
cally called bread and corn, as the word 
Bacchus is sometimes used to signify 
wine. Apollod. Pans. Hesiod, &c. 

Cerialis Anicius, a Roman 

who desired that a temple should be 
erected to Nero. Tacit. 

Cerinthus, a town ofEubcea. 
— A beautiful youth, long the favorite 
of the Roman ladies, and especially of 
Sulpitia, &c. Hordt. 

Cerius and Raetius, cha- 
rioteers of Ca-tor and Pollux. 

Cer max us, a place where Ro- 
mulus was exposed by one of the ser- 
vants of Amulius. Plut. 

Cerne, an island on the Afri- 
can coast, beyond the Pillars of Her- 
cules. 

Cernes, a priest of Cybele. 

C E R o n , a foun tain of Histiasot is, 

whose waters made black all the sheep 
that drank of them. Plin. 

Ceropasades, one of the sons 

of Phraates, who was given as a hostage 
to Augustus Caesar. 

Cerpheres, a king of Egypt, 

who is supposed to have built the small- 
est pyramid. 



CHA 



CHA 



Cerrh^ei, a people of Greece, 
who profaued the temple of Delphi. 

Cersobleptes, a Thracian 
kin*, subdued by Philip of Macedon. 

Cervarius, a Roman knight, 
who conspired with Piso against Nero. 
Tacit. 

CesellitjsBalsus, a turbu- 
lent Carthaginian, who dreamt of mo- 
ney, and persuaded Nero that immense 
treasures had been deposited by Dido 
in a certain place which he described. 
Enquiry was made, and when no money 
was found, Ceseliius destroyed himself. 
Tacit. 

Cestrinus, son of Helenus 

and Andromache, after his father's 
death, settled in Epirus, above the river 
Thyamis, and called the country Ces- 
trina. Pans. 

Cethegus. The most remark- 
able of this name among the Romans 
are the three following : A tribune at 
Rome, of the most corrupted morals, 
who joined Catiline in his conspiracy 
against the state, and was commissioned 
to murder Cicero. He was apprehended, 
and, with Lentulus, put to death by the 
Roman senate. Plut. — P. Corn, a power- 
ful Roman, who embraced the party of 
Marius against Sylla. His mistress had 
obtained such an ascendancy over him, 
that she distributed his favors, and Lu- 
cullus was not ashamed to court her 
smiles, when he wished to be appointed 
general against Mithridates. — Marcus, 
an eloquent orator, called, from his per- 
suasive powers, Suadce medulla. He 
was consul in the second Punic war. 
Cic. in Brut. 

Ceto, a daughter of Pontus 
and Terra, who married Phorcys, by 
whom she' had the three Gorgons, &c. 
Hesiod. 

Ceus and Cjeus, a son of 

Coelus and Terra, who married Phoebe, 
by whom he had Latona and Asteria. 
Hesiod. 

Ceyx, a king of Trachinia, 

son of Lucifer, and husband of Alcyone. 
He was drowned as he went to consult 
the oracle of Claros. His wife was ap- 
prised of his misfortune in a dream , and 
found his dead body washed on the sea 
shore. They were both changed into 
birds, called Alcyons. [Vid. Alcyone.] 
Ovid. According to Apollodorus, the 
husband of Alcyone and the king of 
Trachinia were two different persons. 

Chabinus, a mountain in 
Arabia Felix. 

Chabrias, an Athenian ge- 
neral and philosopher, who chiefly sig- 
nalized himself when he assisted the 
Boeotians against Agesilaus. He assisted 
also Nectanebus, king of Egypt, and 
conquered the whole island of Cyprus ; 
but he at last fell a sacrifice to his ex- 



cessive courage, and despised to fly from 
his ship, when he had it in his power, to 
save his life like his companions* B. C. 
376. C Nep. 

CH/EANiTiE, a people inhabit- 
ing a country at the foot of Mount Cau- 
casus. 

Ch/EREas, an officer at Rome, 
who murdered Caligula, A. D. 41, to 
prevent the infamous death which was 
prepared against him self. In destroying 
the tyrant, Choereas hoped to rouse his 
countrymen to assert their ancient liber- 
ties; but his efforts were vain, and the 
elevation of Claudius to the throne was 
followed by the death of the assassin and 
of his associates. 

Ch^ere strata, mother of 

Epicurus. 

Ch^ero, the founder of Chas- 

ronea. 

Celerojua, Ch^ronea, and 

CHERRONEA, a cityof Bceotia,onthe 
Cephisus, so called from Chaeron, the 
founder, celebrated for a defeat of the 
Athenians, by the Boeotians, B. C. 447, 
and for the victory which Philip of Ma- 
cedonia obtained therewith 32,000 men, 
over the confederate army of the The- 
bans and Athenians, consisting of 30,000 
men, the 2d of August, B. C. 338. Plu- 
tarch was born there. 

Chalcea, a festival at Athens. 

[Vid. Panathenaea.] 

Chalcedon and Ckalce- 

DONIA, an ancient city of Bithynia, 
opposite Byzantium, built by a colony 
from Megara. 

Chalcidexses, the inhabit- 
ants of the isthmus between Teos and 
Erythrae. 

Chalcidica, a country of Sy- 
ria ; — of Thrace. 

Chalcice us, a surname of Mi- 
nerva, because she had a temple at Chal- 
cis, in Eubcea. She was also called Chai- 
ciotis and. Chalcidica. 

Chalciope. The most cele- 
brated of this name was a daughter of 
iEetea, king of Colchis, who married 
Phryxus, son of Athamas, who had fled 
to her father's court for protection. She 
had some children by Phryxus, and she 
preserved their life from the avarice and 
cruelty of her father,who had murdered 
her husband to obtain the golden fleece. 
[Vid. Phryxus.] Ovid, &c. 

C h a l c i s, the chief city of 

Eubcea, in that part which is nearest to 
Bceotia. It was founded by an Athenian 
colony. The island was said to be joined 
to the continent in the neighbourhood 
of Chaleis. There were three other 
towns ycf the same name in Thrace, 
Acarnania, and Sicily, all belonging to 
the Corinthians. Plin. &c. 

C hal codon, the father of 



CHA 



CHA 



Elephenor, one of the Grecian chiefs in 
the Trojan war. He was killed by Am- 
phitrion, in a war which he, at the head 
of the Eubceans, carried on against the 
Thebans. 

Chalcost, a Messenian, who 
remanded Antilochus, son of Nestor, to 
beware of the ^Ethiopians, by whom he 
was to perish. 

Chalcus, a person whom 
Alexander made governor of Cyzicus. 

Chaeb^ea, a country of Asia, 
between the Euphrates and Tigris. Its 
capital is Babylon, whose inhabitants 
were famous for their knowledge of 
astrology. Cic. 

Chald^ei, the inhabitants of 
Chaldasa. 

C hal y be s and Caeyees, a 
powerful people of Asia Minor, near 
Pontus, possessed of a great extent of 
country, abounding in iron mines. They 
were partly conquered by Croesus, king 
of Lydia. Some authors imagine that 
the Calybes are a nation of Spain. Virg. 

Chalybox. now supposed to 
l>e Aleppo, a town of Syria, which gave 
the n-jme of Chalybonius Sb the neigh- 
bouring country. 

Chalyboxitis, a country of 
Syria, so famous for its wines' that the 
kings of Persia drank no other. 

Chalybs, a river of Hispania, 
flowing through the country of the Ca- 
lybes. 

Chaoxes, a people of Epirus. 

Ckaoxia, a mountainous part 
of Epirus, which receives its name from 
Chaon, a son of Priam, inadvertently 
killed by his brother Helenus. Virg. 

Chaos, a rude mass of matter, 
and confused assemblage of inactive 
elements, which, as the poet:-; suppose, 
pre-existed the formation of the world, 
and from which the uni verse was formed 
by the hand and power of a superior be- 
ing : this doctrine was first established 
by Hesiod, from whom the succeeding 
poets have copied it. Chaos was deemed, 
by some, as one of the oldest of the 
gods, and invoked as one of the infernal 
deities. Virg. Ovid. 

Char^eabas, an Athenian ge- 
neral, sent with 20 ships to Sicily during 
the Peloponnesiaa war. He died 426 
B. C. Thucyd. 

Charax, a philosopher of Per- 
gamus, who wrote a history of Greece 
in 40 books. 

Charaxes and Charaxtjs, a 
Mitylenean, brotner to Sappho, who be- 
came passionately fond of the courtezan 
Rhodope, upon whom he squandered 
all his possessions, and reduced himself 
to poverty, and the necessity of piratical 
excursions. Ovid, Herodot. &c. 

Charax u s, one of the Cen- 



taurs, who was present at the marriage 
of Pirithous. He was attacked by Rhce- 
tus, who struck his head with a burning 
brand, and set his hair on fire, so that 
he died in the most excruciating tor- 
ments. Ovid. Met. 

Chares. The most remark- 
able of this name recorded by ancient 
writers, is a statuary, who was twelve 
years employed in making the famous 
Colossus at Rhodes. Plin. 

Charicees, one of the thirty 
tyrants set over Athens by the Lacedse- 
monians. 

ChariclIbes, an officer of the 

younger Dionysius, whom Dion gained 
to dethrone his master. 

Chariceo, the mother of Ti- 
resias, greatly favored by Minerva. Apol- 
lod. — A daughter of Apollo, who married 
the centaur Chiron. Ovid. 

Cha rib emes, an Athenian, 
banished by Alexander, and killed by 
Darius. 

Char I la, a festival observed 
once in nine years by the Delphians, so 
called from a poor girl put to death by 
the Delphian king in the time of famine. 

Charieaus and Chartllus, 
a son of Polydectes, king of Sparta, 
educated and protected by his uncle Ly- 
curgus. He made war against Argos, 
and attacked Tegea. He was taken pri- 
soner, and released on promising that 
he would cease from war, an engage- 
ment he soon broke. He died in the 
G4th year of his age. Pans. 

Charixi, a people of Ger- 
many. 

Charis, a goddess among the 

Greeks, surrounded with pleasures, 
graces, and delight. She was the mis- 
tress of Vulcan. Homer. 

Charis i a, a festival in honor 
of the Graces, with dances which con- 
tinued all night. He who continued 
awake the longest was rewarded with a 
cake. 

Charistia, festivals at Rome, 

celebrated with the intention of recon- 
ciling friends and relations. The head 
of the family then hospitably entertained 
all those who were connected to him; 
and by the benevolent distribution of 
mutual presents, it was hoped that all 
animosities would cease. Veil. Max. 
Ovid. 

Charites and Grati.e, the 

Graces, daughters of Venus, by Jupiter 
or Bacchus, are three in number, A glaia, 
Thalia, and Euphrosyne. They were 
the constant attendants of Venus, and 
they were represented as three young, 
beautiful, and modest virgins, all hold- 
ing one another by the hand. 1 hey 
presided over kindness, and all good 
offices, and their worship was the same 



CHA 



CHE 



as that of the nine muses, with whom 
they had a temple in common. They 
were generally represented naked, be- 
cause kindness ought to be done with 
sincerity and candor. The moderns ex- 

Klain the allegory of their holding their 
ands joined, by observing, that there 
ought to be a perpetual and never- 
ceasing intercourse of kin&aess and 
benevolence among friends. 

Chab.it ON, author of the ce- 
lebrated Gresk romances entitled the 
Loves of Chasreas and Calrihoe. 

Char mad as, a person remark- 
able for his great memory. 

Charme and Carme, the 
mother of Britomartis by Jupiter. 

Charmides, a philosopher of 
the third academy. 

Charmis, a physician of Mar- 
seilles, in Nero's age, who used cold 
baths for his patients, and prescribed 
medicines contrary to those of his con- 
temporaries Plin. 

Charox, a god of hell, son of 

Erebus and Nox, who conducted the 
souls of the dead in a boat over the river 
Styx and Acheron to the infernal re- 
gions, for an obulus placed under the 
tongue of the deceased. Such as had 
not been honored with a funeral were 
not permitted to enter his boat without 
previously wandering on the shore for 
one hundred years. If any living per- 
son presented himself to cross the Sty- 
gian lake, he could not be admitted be- 
fore he shewed Charon a golden bough 
as a passport, which he received from 
the Sybil. Charon is represented as a 
robust old man, with a hideous coun- 
tenance, long white beard, and piercing 
eyes. His garment is ragged and filthy , 
and his forehead is covered with 
wrinkles. This fable of Charon and his 
boat is borrowed from the ^Egyptians. 
[Vid. Acherusia.] Diod. Virg. &.?.— 
Also the name of two eminent histo- 
rians, one of Lampsacus, the other of 
JSTaucratis. 

CHARONiTJM,aeavenearNysa, 
where the sick w r ere supposed to be de- 
livered fi'om their disorders by certain 
superstitious solemnities. 

Charops and Charopes, a 

Trojan, killed by Ulysses. Homer. — A 
powerful E pi rot who assist; d Flaminiu s 
when making war against Philip, the 
king of Macedonia. 'Plut. 

Charybdis, a dangerous 
whirlpool on the coast of Sicily , opposite 
another whirlpool called Scylla, on the 
coast of Italy. It proved fatal to part of 
the fleet of Ulysses. The words 

Incidit in Scjllam qui unit vitare Cha- 
rybdim, 

became a proverb, to show that in our 
eagerness to avoid one evil, we fall iuto 
a greater. The name of Charybdis was 



properly bestowed on mistresses who 
repay arfection and tenderness with in- 
gratitude. It is supposed that Charyb- 
dis was an avaricious woman, who stole 
the oxen of Hercules, for which theft 
she was struck with thunder by Jupiter, 
and changed into a whirlpool. * A signal- 
tower, or Pharos, was erected near this 
dangerous place, which now bears the 
name of the Pharos of Messina. Horn. 
Tiro-. 

Chauras and Choras, a cold 

wind blowing from the X. W. 

Chelae, a Greek word (yjiKr,) 

signifying claws, which is applied to 
the Scorpion, one of the signs of the zo- 
diac, and lies, according to the ancients, 
contiguous to Virgo. Virg* 

Ch ee id ox, a mistress of Ver- 
res. Cic. in Verr. 

Chelidoxia, a festival of the 
boys at Rhodes, who were accustomed 
to go from door to door asking money 
and singing songs. 

Chelidoxi^e, a collection ot 
small islands near the promontory of 
Taurus, w hich projected into the Pam- 
phy ian sea. 

Chelidoxis, wife of Cleony- 
mus. and daughter of king Leotychidt -. 

Cheloxe, a nymph changed 
into a tortoise by Mercury, for not being 
present at the nuptials of lupiter and 
Juno, and condemned to perpetual si- 
lence for having ridiculed these deities. 

ChelOxis, daughter of Leo- 
nidas, king of Sparta. 

Cheloxophagi, a people of 

Carmania, who fed upon turtle, and co- 
vered their habitations with the shells. 
Plin. 

Chexiox, a mountain in Asia 

Minor, from which the ten thousand 
Greeks first saw the sea. Diod. 

Cheops and Cheospes, a 

king of E^ypt, after Rhampsinitus, who 
built famous pyramids, upon which 10SO 
talents were expended only in supplying 
the workmen with leeks, parsley, garlic, 
and other vegetables. Herodot. 

Chephrex, a brother of 
Cheops, who also built a pyramid. The 
Egyptians so inveterately hated these 
two royal brothers, that "they publicly 
reported that the pyramids which they 
had built had been" erected by a shep- 
herd. Herodot. 

Cheremocrates, an artist 
who built Diana's temple at Ephesiu, 
&c. 

Cheris5phus, a commander 

of 800 Spartans, in the expedition which 
Cyrus undertook against his brother 
Artaxerxes. Diod. 

Chersoxesus, a Greek word, 
rendered by the Latins Peninsula. There 



CHI 



CIIO 



were many of these among the ancient s, 
of which these five are the most cele- 
brated: one called Peloponnesus, one 
called Thracian, in the south of Thrace, 
and west of the Hellespont, where Mil- 
tiades led a colony of Athenians, From 
its isthmus to its further shores it mea- 
sured 420 stadia. The third, called Tau- 
rica, now Crim Tartary, was situated 
near the Palus Maeotis. The fourth, 
called Cimbrica, now Jutland, is in the 
northern parts of Germany ; and the 
fifth, surnamed A urea, lies in India, 
beyond the Ganges. 

Cher us ci, a people of Ger- 
many, who long maintained a war 
against Rome. They inhabited the 
country between the Weser and the 
Elbe. Tacit, Cces. Bel. 

CHiLO,a Spartan philosopher, 

who has been called one of the seven 
wise men of Greece. He died through 
excess of joy, in the arms of his son, 
who had obtained a victory atOiyrhpia, 
B. C. 597. Plin. Three of his maxims, 
as conveying the purest morality, were 
inscribed in gold letters in the temple of 
Delphi, and fully deseivcd immortality : 
they were, Know thyself; — Desire no- 
thing too much ; — and Misery is the sure 
companion of debt and strife. He was 
short in his manner of speaking, from 
whence the epithet of Chilonian is ap- 
plied to concise laconic expressions. 
Laert. Aid. Gell. &c. 

Chimera, a celebrated mon- 
ster sprung from Echidna and Typhon, 
which had three heads, that of a lion, a 
goat, and a dragon, and continually vo- 
mited flames. The fore parts of its body 
were those of a lion, the middle was that 
of a goat, and the hinder parts were 
these of a dragon. It generally lived in 
Lycia, about the reign of Jobates, by 
whose orders, Belierophor., mounted on 
the horse Pegasus, overcame it. This 
fabulous tradition is explained by the 
recollection that there was a burning 
mountain in Lycia, whose top was the 
resort of lions, on account of its desolate 
wilderness ; the middle, which was fruit- 
ful, was covered with goats ; and at the 
bottom the ma shy ground abounded 
with serpents. Bellerophon is said to 
have conquered the Chimsera, because 
he first made his habitation on that 
mountain. Plutarch says that it is the 
captain of some pirates, who adorned 
their ship with the images of a lion, a 
goat, and a dragon. Hesiod, Qvid, &c. 

Chione. The most celebrated 
of this name was the daughter of Dasda- 
lion, of whom Apollo and Mercury be- 
came enamoured. To enjoy her com- 
pany, Mercury lulled her to sleep with 
his Caduceus ; and Apollo, in the night, 
under the form of an old woman, ob- 
tained the same favors as Mercury. 
Chio.ne grew so proud of her commerce 
with the gods, chat she even preferred 



her beauty to that of Diana, for whieb 
impiety she was killed by the goddess, 
and changed into a hawk. Ovid. 

Chionides, an Athenian poet, 
supposed by some to be the inventor of 
comedy. 

Chionis, a victor at the Olym- 
pian games. 

Chios, an island in the /Egean 
sea between Lesbos and Samo , on the 
coast of Asia Minor. The wine of this 
island, so much celebrated by the an- 
cients, is still in general esteem. 

Chiron, a centaur, half a man 
and half a horse, son of Philyra and Sa- 
turn, was famous for his knowledge of 
music, medicine, and shooting. He 
taught mankind the use of plants and 
medicinal herbs; and he instructed in 
all the polite arts the greatest heroes of 
his age, such as Achiiles, iEsculapius, 
Hercules, &c. He was wounded in the 
knee by a poisoned arrow by Hercules, 
in his pursuit of the centaurs. Hercules 
flew to his assistance; but as the wound 
was incurable, and the cause of the most 
excruciating pains, Chiron begged Jupi- 
ter to deprive him of immortality. His 
prayers were heard, and he was placed 
by the god among the constellations, 
under the name of Sagittarius. Hesiod, 
Homer, &c. 

Chloe, a surname of Ceres, 
at Athens. Her yearly festivals, called 
Chloeia, were celebrated with much 
mirth and rejoicing, and a ram was 
always sacrificed to her. The name of 
Chloe is supposed to bear the same sig- 
nification as Flava, so often applied to 
the goddess of corn. The name, from 
its signification, (x. :a - oj 75 herba virens) 
has generally been applied to women 
possessed of beauty and simplicity. 

Chloreus, a priest of Oybele, 
slain by Turnus. Virg. Mn. 

Chloris, the goddess of 
flowers, who married Zephyrus. She 
is the same as Flora. — A daughter of 
Amphion, who married Neleus, king of 
Pylos, by whom she had one daughter 
and twelve sons, who all, except Nestor, 
were killed by Hercules. Homer. 

Chlokus Constantinus, 

one of the Caesars in Diocletian's age, 
who reigned two years after the em- 
peror's abdication, and died July 25, 
A. D. 306. 

Ch carina, a country on the 
borders of India. 

Choaspes, a river of Media, 

flowing into tne Tigris. Its waters are 
so sweet that the kings of Persia drank 
no other, and in their expeditions t' ey 
always had some with them, which had 
been previously boiled. Herodot. 

Chorus, a river of Colchis. 



CHR 



CHR 



Chcerades and Pharos, 

two islands opposite Alexandria. 

Chcerilus, a tragic poet of 
Athens, who wrote 150 tragedies, of 
which 13 obtained the prize. — An his- 
torian of Samos. — Two other poets, one 
of whom was very intimate with Hero- 
dotus. He wrote a poem on the victory 
which the Athenians had obtained over 
Xerxes, and on account of the excel- 
lence of the composition, he received a 
piece of gold for each verse from the 
Athenians, and was publicly ranked 
with Homer as a poet. — The other was 
one of Alexander's flatterers: it is said 
the prince promised him as many pieces 
of gold as there should be good verses 
in his poetry, and as many slaps on his 
forehead as there were bad ; and in con- 
sequence of this, scarce six of his verses 
in each poem were entitled to gold, 
while the rest were rewarded with casti- 
gation. Pint. &c. 

Chon^idas, the preceptor of 
Theseus, to whom the Athenians in- 
stituted sacrifices, for having incul- 
cated such excellent precepts into the 
mind of his pupil. 

Chorcebus, a man of Elis, 
who obtained a prize the first olympiad. 
[Vid, Coroebus.] 

Chosroes, a king of Persia, 
in Justinian's reign. 

Chremes, a sordid old man, 
mentioned in Terence's Andria. Horat. 

Chresifhon - , an architect of 
Diana's temple in Ephesus. Plin. 

Chresphontes, a son of 

Aristomachus. \_Vid. Aristodemus.] 

Chromios, a son of Neleus 
and Chloris, who, with ten brothers, 
was killed in a baf fle by Hercules. — A 
sou of Priam, killed by Diomedes. 

Chromius, an Argive, who, 
alone with Alcenor, survived a battle 
between 300 of his countrymen and 300 
Spartans. Herodot. 

Chroxos, the Greek name of 
Saturn, or time, in whose honor festi- 
vals called Chronia were yearly cele- 
brated by the Rhoclians and some of the 
Greeks. " 

Chrysa and Chryse, a town 

of Cilicia, famous for a temple of Apoiio 
Smintheus. Homer. 

Chrysa me, a Thessalian, 

priestess of Diana Trivia. She fed a bull 
with poison j which she sent to the ene- 
mies of her country, wlio ate the flesh 
and became delirious, and were an easy 
eonqU/est. Polycen. 

Chrysanthius, a philoso- 
pher in the age of Julian, known for 
the great number of volumes which he 
wrote. 

Chrysaor, a son of Medusa, 



by Neptune. Somereport that he sprang 
from theblood of Medusa, armed with a 
golden sward* whence his name y_pvco; 
aop. He married Callirhoe, one of the 
Oceanides, by whom he had Geryon, 
Echidna, and" the Chimaera. Hesiod. 

Chrysaoreus, a surname of 
Jupiter, from his temple at Stratonice. 

Chrysas, a Sicilian river, wor- 
shipped as a god. 

Chrysets, the daughter of 
Chryses. [Vid. Chryses.] 

Chrysermus, a Corinthian, 
author of a history of the Peloponnesus 
and India. 

Chs yses, the priest of Apollo, 

father of Chryseis. When Lyrnessus was 
taken, and the spoils divided among the 
conquerors, Chfyseis fell to the share of 
Agamemnon. Chryses, upon this, went 
to the Grecian camp to solicit his 
daughter's restoration ; and when his 
prayers were fruitless, he implored the 
aid of Apollo, who visited the Greeks 
with a plague, and obliged them to re- 
store Chrysei*. Homer. 

Chrystppe, a daughter of 

Danaus. 

ClIRYSIPPUS. The most re- 
markable of this name was a natural 
son of Pelops, highly favored by his fa- 
ther, for which Hippodamia, his step- 
mother, ordered her own sons, Atreus 
and Thyestes, to kill him, on account 
of which they were banished. Some say 
that Hippodamia's sons refused to mur- 
der Chrysippus, and that she did it her- 
self. Hi/gin. &c — A stoic philosopher 
of Tarsus, who wrote about 311 trea- 
tises. Among his curious opinions was 
his approbation of a parent's marriage 
with his child, and his wish that dead 
bodies should be eaten rather than 
buried. He died, it is said, through ex- 
cess of wine, 207 B. C. in the 80th year 
of his age. 

Chrysoaspides, soldiers in 
the armies of Persia, whose arms were 
all covered with gold to display the 
opulence of the prince whom they 
served. Justin. 

Chrysogones, a celebrated 

singer in Domitian's reign. Juv. 

Chrysopolis, a promontory 

of Asia, opposite Byzantium. 

Chrysorrho^e, a people in 

whose country were sands of gold. 

Chrysostom, a bishop of 
Constantinople, who died A. D. 407, in 
his 53d year. He was a great disciplina- 
rian, and by severely lashing the vices of 
his age, he procured himself many ene- 
mies. He was banished for opposing 
the raising of a statue to the empress, 
after having displayed his abilities as an 
elegant preacher, a sound theologian, 
and a faithful interpreter of scripture. 



CIC 

Chrysothemis, a daughter 

of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. 

Chthonia, a daughter of 
Ereehtheus, who married Butes. Apol- 
lod. 3, c. 15. — A surname of Ceres, from 
a temple built to her by Chthcnia, at 
Hermione. She had a festival there 
called by the same name, and cele- 
brated every summer. Pausanias fully 
describes the mode of its celebration, 
which was as follows: The priests of 
the goddess marched in procession, ac- 
companied by the magistrates, and a 
crowd of women and boys in white ap- 
parel, with garlands of flowers on their 
heads. Behind was dragged an un- 
tamed heifer, just taken from the herd. 
When they came to the temple, the 
victim was let loose, and four old wo- 
men, armed with scythes, sacrificed the 
heifer. A second, a third, and a fourth 
victim were in a like manner dispatched 
by the old women ; and it was observa- 
ble that they all fell on the same side. 
Pans. 

Chthoxitjs, a centaur, killed 
by Nestor in a battle at the nuptials of 
Pirithous. Gvid. 

CiBALiE, a town of Pannonia, 
the birth-place of Gratian; and near 
wh'ch Constantine defeated Licinius. 

Cibyka, a Phrygian town, in 
which lived many dexterous hunters. 

31. T. Cicero, born at Arpi- 
num, was son of a Roman knight, and 
h neatly descended from the ancient 
kings of the Sabines. His mother's name 
was Helvia. After having displayed pro- 
mising abilities at school, he was taught 
philosophy by Philo, and law by Mutius 
Scaevola. He perfected a taste for mili- 
tary knowledge in the Marsian war, and 
retired from Rome, to indulge his philo- 
sophic propensities. He was naturally 
of a weak and delicate constitution, and 
he visited Greece on account of his 
health. On his return, he soon distin- 
guished himself above all the speakers 
of his age in the Roman forum. When 
he went to Sicily as quaestor he behaved 
with great justice and moderation ; and 
the Sicilians remembered with gratitude 
thp eloquence of Cicero, their common 
patron, who had delivered them from 
the tyranny and avarice of Verres. After 
he had passed through the subordinate 
offices of the state, he stood a candidate 
for the consulship, A. U. C. 691 ; and 
the patricians and plebeians were equally 
anxious to raise him to that dignity, 
against the efforts and bribery of Cati- 
line, who, with many dissolute and de- 
sperate Romans, had conspired against 
their country, and combined to murder 
Cicero himself. His extreme vigilance, 
however, baffled all Catiline's projects : 
and this desperate conspirator marched 
out in triumph to meet the 20,000 men 
who were assembled to support his cause. 
Petreius, the lieutenant of C. Antony, 



CIC 



the other consul, defeated them in Gaui, 
and Cicero, at Rome, punished the rest 
of the conspirators with death. After 
this memorable deliverance, Cicero re- 
ceived the thanks of all the people, and 
Avas styled The father of his country, arid 
the second founder of Rome. The vehe- 
mence with which he had attacked Cio- 
dius, proved in juricus to him ; and when 
his enemy was made tribune, Cicero was 
banished from Rome, though 20,000 
young men were supporters of his inno- 
cence. He vi as not, however, deserted in 
his banishment. After sixteen month 5' 
absence, he entered Rome with uni- 
versal satisfaction ; and was sent, with 
the power of proconsul, to Cilicia. After 
much hesitation, he espoused the cauce 
of Pompey against Caesar; and, when 
victory had declared in favor of Caesar, 
at the battle of Pharsalia, Cicero went 
to Brundusium, and was reconciled to 
the conqueror, who treated him with 
great humanity. From this time Cicero 
retired into the country, and seldom 
visited Rome. When Caesar had been 
stabbed in the senate, Cicero recom- 
mended a general amnesty. But when 
he saw the interest of Caesar's mur- 
derers decrease, and Antony come inTo 
power, he retired to Athens. He soon 
after returned, but lived in perpetual 
fear of assassination. The great enmity 
which Cicero bore to Antony was fatal 
to him ; and Augustus, Antony , and Le- 
pidus, the newly-formed triumvirate, 
in order to destroy all cause of quarrel, 
and each to dispatch his enemies, pro- 
duced their list of proscription. About 
two hundred were doomed to death, 
and Cicero was among them upon the 
list of Antony. Augustus yielded a man 
to whom he partly owed his greatness, 
and Cicero was pursued by the emissa- 
ries of Antony. He had fled in a litter 
towards the sea of Caieta ; and when the 
assassins came up to him, he put his 
head out of the litter, and it was severed 
from the body by Herennius. This me- 
morable event happened in December, 
43 B. C. after the enjoyment of life for 
63 years, 11 months," and five days. The 
head and right hand were carried to 
Rome, and hung up in the Roman fo- 
rum. Cicero has acquired more real 
fame by his literary compositions, than 
by his spirited exertions as a Roman 
senator. The learning and the abilities 
which he possessed, have been the ad- 
miration of every age and country, and 
his style has always been accounted as 
the true standard of pure latinity. He 
was of a timid disposition ; and he who 
shone as thefather of Roman eloquence, 
never ascended the pulpit to harangue, 
without feeling a secret emotion of 
dread. His conduct, during the civil 
wars, was far from that of a patriot. He 
married two wives, Terentia, and a 
young woman to whom he was guardian, 
but repudiated them both. The works 
of this celebrated man,of which, accord- 



CIM 



CIN 



iug o> some, the tenth part is scarcely 
extant, have been edited by the best 
scholars in every country. — Marcus, the 
son of Cicero, was taken by Augustus 
as his colleague in the consulship. He 
re venged his father's death, by throwing 
public dishonor on the memory of An- 
tony, but disgraced his father's virtues. 
— Quintus, the brother of the orator, 
was Caesar's lieutenant in Gaul, and 
proconsul of Asia for three years. He 
was proscribed with his son at the same 
time as his brother Tully. Plut. 

Cicones, a people of Thrace, 
near the Hebrus. Ulysses, at his return 
from Troy, conquered them, and plun- 
dered their chief city Ismarus. They 
tore to pieces Orpheus, for his obscene 
indulgences. Ovid. 

Cilicia, a country of Asia 
Minor, on the sea coast, at the north of 
Cyprus, the south of mount Taurus, 
and the west cf the Euphrates. It re- 
ceives its name from Cilix, the son of 
Agenor. Avollod. — Part of the country 
between iEolia and Troas is also called 
Cilicia. Strab. 13, calls it Trojan, to 
distinguish it fiom thp other Cilicia. 

Cilix, a son of Phoenix, or ac- 
cording to Herodotus, of .Agenor, who 
gave his name to Cilicia. Apollod. 

Cilia, a name common to three 
different towns in Europe, Asia, and 
Africa. 

Cillus, Pelops' charioteer, in 
honor of whom a city was built. 

Cilnius, the surname of Mae- 
cenas. 

Cilo, Jun. an oppressive go- 
vernor of Bithynia and Pontus. The 
provinces carrried their complaints 
against him to Rome; but such was the 
noise of the flatterers that attended the 
emperor Claudius that he was unable to 
hear them; and when he asked what 
they had said, he was told by one of 
Ciio's friends that they returned thanks 
for his good administration ; upon which 
the emperor said, Let Cilo be con- 
tinued two years longer in his province." 
Bio. Tacit. 

Cimber, Tull. one of Caesar's 
murde;ers. He laid hold of the dicta- 
tor's robe, which was a signal for the 
rest to strike. Plut. in Cces. 

Cimberius, a chief of the 

Suevi. 

Cimbri, a people cf Germany, 

who invaded the Roman empire with a 
large army, and were conquered by Ma- 
rius. Flor. 3, e. 3. 

ClMBRlCTJM BELLTJ3I, was 
begun by the Cimbri and Teu tones, by 
an invasion of the Roman territories, 
B. C. 109. These barbarians in the first 
battle destroyed 80 000 Romans, under 
the consuls Manlius and Servilius Cae- 
pio. But Marius, in a second engage- 
ment at Aquae Sextiae. left dead of the 



Teutones on the field of battle 20,000, 
and took 90,000 prisoners, B. C. 102. 
The Cimbri, in the following year, pe- 
netrated into Italy, where, at the river 
Athesis, Marius and his colleague Ca- 
tullus defeated them with the loss of 
140,000 slain. This last battle put an 
end to this dreadful war, and the two 
consuls entered Rome in triumph. Flor. 
Plut. in Mario. 

Ciminus, a lake and mountain 

of Italy. Virg. 

Cimmerii, a people near the 

Palus Mceotis.— Another nation on the 
western coast of Italy. Their country 
was supposed to be so gloomy, that, to 
mention a great obscurity, the expres- 
sion of Cimmerian darkness has prover- 
bially been used. Homer, according to 
Plutarch, drew his images of hell and 
Pluto from this gloomy and dismal 
country, where also Virgil and Ovid 
have placed the Stvx, the Phlegethon, 
and all the dreadful abodes of the in- 
fernal regions. Horn. Virg. he. 

Cimolus, now Ai'gentiera, an 
island in the Cretan :>ea, producing chalk 
I and fullers' earth. Plin. Ovid. 
i Cmox, an Athenian, son of 
j M ltiades and Hegisipyle. When his 
! father died, he was imprisoned, because 
unable to pay the fine laid upon him 
by the Athenians ; but he was released 
from confinement by his sister and wife 
Elpinice.[ Vid. Elpinice.] He behaved 
with great courage at the battle of Sala- 
mis,and rendered himself popilar by his 
munificence and valor. He defeated the 
Persian fleet, and took 200 ships, and 
totally routed their land army the very 
same day, near the river Eurymedon in 
Pamphylia. He was shortly after ba- 
nished Athens, but again recalled, he 
adjusted the dispute existing between 
the Athenians and Lacedaemonians, and 
was afterwards appointed to carry on the 
war against Persia in Egypt, and Cy- 
prus, with a fleet of 200 ships; and on 
the coast of Asia, he gave battle to the 
enemy, and totally ruined their fleet. 
He died as he was besieging the town of 
Citium, in Cyprus, B. C. 449, in the 
5 1st year of his age. He may be called 
the last of the Greeks, whose spirit and 
boldness defeated the armies of the bar- 
barians. He fortified and embellished 
the city with the money obtained by his 
victories. His munificence has been 
highly extolled by his biographers, and 
he has been praised for leaving his gar- 
dens open to the public. Thucyd. Justin. 
&c. There were others also of this 
name, but of inferior note. 

Cixaradas, a descendant of 
Cinyras, who presided over the cere- 
monies of Venus at Paphos. 

Cincia Lex, by which it was 
rendered illegal for a judge to take 
fees. 

L. Q. Cikcinnatus, a cele- 



CIN 



CIR 



brated Roman, who was informed, as he . 
ploughed his field, that the senate had 
chosen him dictator. Upon this he left 
his ploughed land with regret, and re- 
paired to the field of battle, where his 
countrymen were closely besieged by the 
Volsci and .£qui. He conquered the 
enemy, and returned to Rome in tri- 
umph, and 16 days after his appoint- 
ment, he laid down his office, and re- 
tired back to plough his fields. In his 
SOth year he was again summoned 
against Praeneste as dictator : and after 
a successful campaign, he resigned the 
absolute power he had enjoyed only 21 
days, disregarding the rewards that were 
offered him by the senate. He nou- 
rished about 460 vears before Christ. 
Liv. 

Cixcius JUarcus, author of 
the Oincia Lex. See above. 

Cine as. The most celebrated 
of this name is a Thessaiian minister 
and friend to Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, 
sent to Rome by his master sue for a 
peace, which he however could not ob- 
tain. He, at his return, told Pyrrhus, 
that the Roman senate was a venerable 
assembly of kin^s ; and observed, that 
to fight with them, was to fisdit against 



Cixesias, a Theban dithy- 
rambic poet. 

Cixethox, a genealogical poet 
at Laced emon. 

Cixga, now Chica, a river of 
Spain, flowing from the Pyrenean 
mountains into the lberus. 

C i>: get or ix, a prince of Gaul, 
in alliance with Rome. Cces. — A prince 
of Britain, who attacked Caesar's camp, 
by order of Cassivelaunus. Id. 

L. Corx. Cixxa. A name 
common to some illustiioxis Romans, 
the most celebrated of whom are the fol- 
lowing : — A Roman who oppressed the 
republic with his cruellies, and was ba- 
nished by Octavius, for attemp-ing to 
make the* fugitive slaves free. One of 
his officers assassinated him at Ancona, 
as he was preparing war against Sylla. 
Plut. &c. — C. Helvetius Cinna, a poet 
intimate with Caesar. He went to attend 
the obsequies of C csar, and being mis- 
taken by the populace for the other 
Cinna, he was torn to pieces. Phn. — 
A grandson of Pompey. He conspired 
against Augustus, who pardoned him, 
and made him one of his most intimate 
friends. He was (onsul, and made Au- 
gustus his heir. Dio. 

ClNNADON, a Lacedaemonian 
youth, who resolved to put the Ephori 
to death, and seize upon the sovereign 
power. His conspiracy was discovered, 
and he was put to death, siristot. 



Cinxia, a surname of Juno, 
who presided over marriages, and was 
supposed to untie the girdle of new 
brides. 

Cyxips and Cinyphus, a 

river and country of Africa, near the 
Garamantes, whence Cinyphius. Virg. 
Cinyras. The most celebrated 

of this name is a king of Cyprus, son 
of Paphus, who married Cenchreis, by 
i whom he had a daughter called Myrrh;:. 
Myrrha fell in love with her father, and 
in the absence of her mother, she intro- 
duced herself into his bed by means of 
her nurse. Cinyras had by her a son 
called Adonis ; and when he knew the 
incest he had committed, he attempted 
to stab his daughter, who escaped his 
pursuit and fled' to Arabia, where, after 
she had brought forth, she was changed 
into a tree, which still bears her name. 
Cinyras, according to some, stabbed 
himself. Ovid.* Hygin. &c: 

Cipius, a man who permitted 
his wife to indulge her licentious in- 
clinations by pretending to be asleep. 
When a slave, taking advantage of his 
supposed slumber, stole a goblet from 
his table, the angry master stopped 
him, exclaiming, " Non omnibus ttor- 
mio," i. e. I do not sleep for all men. 

Cippus, a noble Roman, who, 

as he returned home victorious, was told 
that if he entered the city he must reign 
there. Unwilling to enslave his country, 
he assembled the senate without the 
walls, and banished himself for ever 
from the city, and retired to live upon 
a single acre of ground. Ovi f. 

Circe, a daughter of Sol and 
Perseis, celebrated for her skill in magic 
and venomous herbs, married a Sarma- 
tian prince of Colchis, whom she mur- 
dered to obtain the kingdom. She was 
expelled by her subjects, and carried by 
her father upon the coasts of Italy, in an 
island called y£a. Ulysses, at his return 
from the Trojan war," visited her coasts ; 
and all his companions, who ran head- 
long into pleasure and voluptuousness, 
were changed by Circe's potions into 
swine. Ulysses, who was fortified against 
all enchantments by an herb called moly, 
which he had received from Mercury, 
went to Circe, and demanded the re- 
storation of his companions to their 
former state. She complied, and loaded 
the hero with pleasures and honors. 
For one whole year, Ulysses forgot his 
glory in Circe's "arms. At his departure, 
the nymph advised him to descend to 
hell, and consult the manes of Tiresias, 
concerning the fates that attended him. 
Circe shewed herself cruel to Scylla, her 
rival, and to Picus. [Fid. Scylla and 
l J ieus.] Ovid. Virg. &c. 

Circexses ltjdi, games per- 
formed in the circus at Rome. They 



CIV 

were dedicated to the god Consus, an. I 
were first established by Romulus, at 
the raps of the Sabines. They were in 
imitation of the Olympian games, and, 
by way of eminence, were often called 
the great games. They were not ap- 
propriated to one particular exhibition, 
but were equally celebrated for leaping, 
wrestling, throwing the quoit and jave- 
lin, races on foot as well as in chariots, 
and boxing. The celebration continued 
five days, beginning on the 15th of Sep- 
tember. All games in general that were 
exhibited in the circus, were soon after 
called Circensian games. Some sea-fights 
and skirmishes, called by the Romans 
Naumaehise, were afterwards exhibited 
in the circus. Virg. JEn. 

Circius, a tempestuous wind, 
so called in Gallia Narbonensis, said to 
be unknown in any other part of the 
world. 

Circus, a large and elegant 
building at Rome, where plays and 
shows were exhibited. There were 
about eight at Rome; the first, called 
Maxim us Circus, was the grandest, and 
raised and embellished by Tarquin Pris- 
cus. Its figure was oblong, and it could 
contain, as some report, about 300 000 
spectators. 1 1 was about 21S7 feet long, 
and 960 broad. 

Ciris, the name of Scylla, a 
daughter of Nisus, who was changed 
into a bird of the same name. Ovid. 

Cirrha and Cyrrha, a town 
of Phocis, at the foot of Parnassus, 
where Apollo was worshipped. Lucan. 

CisalpIna Gallia, a part of 
Gaul, called also Citerior and Togata. 
Its farthest boundary was near the Ru- 
bicon, and it touched the Alps on the 
Italian side. 

Cisseis, a patronymic given to 
Hecuba as danghter of 

CissEus, a king of Thraee. 
Virg. 

Cissia, a country of Susiana. 

Cissides, one of the generals 
of Dionysius who was sent to assist the 
Spartans. 

Cissus, a city of Thrace ; — a 

mountain of Macedonia. 

Cith^erox, a king who gave 
his name to a mountain of Bceotia. 
This mountain was at the south of the 
river Asopus. It was sacred to Jupiter 
and the Muses. Actaeon was torn to 
pieces by his own dogs on this moun- 
tain. Hercules killed there an immense 
lion. Virg. 

Citium, a town of Cyprus, 
where Cimon died in his expedition 
against Egypt. Plut. 

CiyIlis J. a native of Batavia, 
who raised a formidable sedition against 
the emperor Galba. 



CLA 

Cizycum, a city of Asia, in 

the Propontis, the same as Cvzicus. 

Clarus, a town of Ionia, fa- 
mous for an oracle of Apollo, built bv 
Manto, daughter of Tiresias, who fled 
from Thebes, after it had been destroyed 
by the Epigoni. She was so afflicted 
with her misfortunes, that a lake was 
formed with her tears, where she first 
founded the oracle. Apollo was from 
thence surnamed Clarius. Strab. Ovid, 
&c. — An island of the .Egean sea, be- 
tween Tenedos and §cios. 

Claudia, a patrician family 
at Rome, descended from Clausus a 
king of the Sabines. It gave birth to 
many illustrious patriots in the re- 
public, and it is particularly recorded, 
that there were not less than 2S of that 
family who were invested with the con- 
sulship, five with the office of dictator, 
and seven with fhat of censor, besides 
the honor of si* triumphs and two 
ovations. The name is sometimes spelt 
Clodia. 

Claudia, a name common to 

several Roman ladies, the most cele- 
brated of whom are the following : — A 
vestal virgin accused of incontinence. 
To show her innocence, she Oifered to 
remove a ship which had brought the 
image of Vesta to Rome, -and had stuck 
in one of the shallow places of the river. 
This had already baffled the efforts of 
a number of men ; and Claudia, after 
addressing her prayers to the goddess, 
untied her girdle," and with it easily 
dragged after her the ship to shore, and 
by this action was honorably acquitted. 
— A step-daughter of M. Antony, whom 
Augustus married, but dismissed un- 
dented, on account of a sudden quarrel 
with Fulvia. Suet, in Aug. — Pulcra, a 
cousin of Agrippina, accused of adultery 
and criminal designs against Tiberius. 
She was condemned. Tacit. — Antonia, 
a daughter of the emperor Claudius, 
married Cn. Pompey, whom Messalina 
caused to be put ta death. — Also the 
name of a Roman road leading from 
the Milvian bridge to the Flarainian 
way. 

Claudia Aau^E, two foun- 
tains at Rome. 

Claudia lex, a law, enacted 

to prevent senators from having any 
vessel containing more than 300 am- 
phorae, lest they should engage in com- 
mercial transactions. 

CLAUDiANUS,a celebrated 
poet in the age of Honorius and Area- 
dius, who seems to possess all the ma- 
jesty of Virgil. Scaliger observes, that 
he has supplied the poverty of his 
matter by the purity of his language, 
the happiness of his expressions, and 
the melody of his numbers. As he was 
the favorite of Stilicho [quern vide], he 
retired when his patron was disgraced, 
and passed the rest of his life in retire- 



CLE 



CLE 



ment, auil learned ease. His poems on 
Rufhius and Eutropius seem to be the 
best of his compositions. 

Claudius. This name is com- 
mon to many illustrious Romans, em- 
perors, consuls, generals, censors, pree- 
tors, &c. &c. the most conspicuous of 
whom are the following : — Claudius 1st, 
(Tiber, Drusus Nero) son of Drusus, 
Livia's second son , succeeded as emperor 
of Rome, after the murder of Caligula. 
He made himself popular for a while, 
by taking particular care of the city, 
and by adorning and beautifying it with 
buildings. Repassed over into Britain, 
and obtained a triumph for victories 
which his generals had obtained, and 
suffered himself to be governed by fa- 
vorites, whose licentiousness and avarice 
plundered the state, and distracted the 
provinces. He married four wives, one 
of whom, called Messalina, he put to 
death, on account of her lust and de- 
bauchery. He was at last poisoned by 
another, called Agrippina, who wished 
to raise her son Nero to the throne. He 
died in the 63d year of his age, Octo- 
ber 13, A. D. 54, after a reign of 13 
years. He was succeeded by Nero. Tacit. 
— The second emperor of that name was 
a Dalmatian, who succeeded Gallienus. 
He conquered the Goths, Scythians, and 
Heruli, and killed no less than 300,000 
in a battle ; and, after a reign of about 
two years, died of the plague in Pan- 
nonja. The excellence of his character 
is well known by these words of the 
senate, addressed to him; — Claudi Au- 
guste, tu frater, tu pater, tu amicus, 
tu bonus senator, tu vere priticeps. — 
Nero, a consul, with Liv. Salinator, 
who defeated and killed Asdrubal, near 
the river Metaurum, as he was passing 
from Spain into Italy, to go to the assist- 
ance of his brother Annibal. Liv. — App. 
Cascus. [Vid. Appius.]— Tiberius Nero. 
[ Vid. Tiberius.] 

ClavIger, a surname of Ja- 
nus, from his being represented with a 
key. Hercules also received that sur- 
name, from his being armed with a 
club. Ovid. 

Clausus, or Claudius, a 

king of the Sabines, who assisted Tur- 
nup against /Eneas. He was the progeni- 
tor of that Ap. Claudius who migrated 
to Rome, and became the founder of 
the Claudian family. Virg. 

Clazoaiex^ and Clazome- 
NA, a city of Ionia, on the coast of the 
.'Egean sea, between Smyrna and Chios. 
It was founded A. U. C. 98, by the Io- 
nians, and gave birth to Anaxagoras, 
and other illustrious men. Mela, Strab. 

Cleadas, a native of Plataea, 
celebrated for having erected tombs over 
all the Greeks, who had been slain in 
the battle against Mardonius. 

Cleander. The most con- 
spicuous of this name is one of Alex- 



ander's officers, who killed Parmemo by 
the king's command. He was punished 
with death for offering violence to a 
noble virgin, and giving her as a pro- 
stitute to his servants. Curt.— The first 
tyrant of Gela. 

Cleanthes, a stoic philoso- 
pher, successor of Zeno. He was so 
poor, that, to maintain himself, he used 
to draw out water for a gardener in the 
night, and study in the daytime. Cicero 
calls him the father of the stoics. It is 
said that he starved himself in his 90th 
year, B. C. 240. Strab. Cic. 

Clearchtts, a tyrant of Hera- 
clea, in Pontus, who was killed by Chion 
and Leonidas, Plato's pupils, during the 
celebration of the festivals of Bacchus, 
after the enjoyment of the sovereign 
power during twelve years, 353 B\ C. 
Justin, &c. — The second tyrant of He- 
raclea, died B. C. 288. — A Lacedaemo- 
nian, sent to quiet the Byzantines, who 
being recalled refused to obey, and fled 
to Cyrus the younger, who made him 
captain of 13.000 Greek soldiers. He 
obtained a victory over Ar tax erxes, who 
was so enraged at the defeat, that when 
Clearchus fell into his hands, after the 
battle of Cunaxa, in Assyria, by the 
treachery of Tissaphernes, he put him 
immediately to death. Diod. Xenoph. 

Clemens Romanus, one cf 

the fathers of the church, said to be con- 
temporary with St. Paul. The only 
work of his extant is his epistle to the 
Corinthians, written to quiet the dis- 
turbances that had arisen there, which 
has been much admired. — Another of 
Alexandria, called from thence, Alexan- 
drinus, who flourished 206 A. D. His 
works are various, elegant, and full of 
erudition. 

Clementia, one of the virtues, 
which the Romans worshipped as a di- 
vinity. Her temple was raised to com- 
memorate the heroic conduct of Caesar 
in forgiving those who had taken up 
arms against him. Pint. 

Cleo, one of Alexander's 
flatterers. 

Cleobis and BiTOtf, two 

youths, sons of Cydippe, the priestess of 
Juno, at Argos. When oxen could not 
be procured to draw their mother's cha- 
riot to the temple of Juno, they put 
themselves under the yoke, and drew it 
45 stadia to the temple, amidst the ac- 
clamations of the multitude, who con- 
gratulated the mother on account of the 
piety of her sons. Cydippe entreated 
the goddess to reward the piety of her 
sons with the best gift that could be 
granted to a mortal. They went to rest, 
and awoke no more : and by this the 
goddess shewed, that death is the only 
true happy event that can hapuen to a 
good man. The Argives raised them 
statues at Delphi. Cic, &c. 



CLE 

Cleobula, the mother of 
Phoenix. 

CleobDlixa, a daughter of 
Cleobulus, remarkable for her genius, 
learning, judgment, and courage. She 
composed enigmas, some of which have 
been preserved. 

Cleobulus, one of the seven 

wise men of Greece, son of Evagoras of 
Lindos, famous for the beautiful shape 
of his body. He wrote some few verses, 
and died in the 70th year of his age, 
B. C. 564. Diod. 

Cleochak.es, a herald sent 
by Alexander to desire Porus to sur- 
render. 

Cleocharia, the mother of 
Eurotas. 

Cleodamus, a general under 
Galiienus. 

Cleodora, a nymph, mother 
of Parnassus.— One of the Dan-aides. 

Cleodoxa, a daughter of 
Niobe and Amphion, changed into a 
stone, as a punishment for her mother's 
pride. Apollod. 

Cleolaus, a son of Hercules, 
who retired to Rhodes with his family 
on the ill success of the Heraclida?. 

C leo mantes, a soothsayer at 
Sparta. 

Cleombrotus, son of Pausa- 
nias, a king of Sparta after his brother. 
Agesipolis 1st. He made war against 
the Boeotians, and lest he should be sus- 
pected of treacherous communications 
with Epaminondas, gave that general 
battle at Leuctra, in a very disadvan- 
tageous place. He was killed in the en- 
gagement, and his army destroyed, B. C. 
•371. Diod. Xenoph. — A son-in-law of 
Leonidas king of Sparta, who, for a 
while, usurped the kingdom, after the 
expulsion of his father-in-law. When 
Leonidas was recalled, Cleombrotus was 
banished. Pans. 

Cleomedes, a famous athlete 
of Astypalsea, above Crete. In a com- 
bat at Olympia, he killed one of his an- 
tagonists by a blow with his fist. On 
account of this accidental murder, he 
was deprived of the victory, and he be- 
came delirious. Having afterwards 
pulled down the pillars of a school . 
whereby 60 boys were killed, he took 
refuge in a tomb, where he could not 
be found. The oracle was consulted, 
and gave this answer, Ultimus heroum 
Cleomedes Astijpalceus. Upon this they 
offered sacrifices to him as a god. Pans. 

Cleomenes, a name common 
to three Spart n kings, the most famous 
of whom was the 3d, who succeeded his 
father Leonidas. He was of an enter- 
prising spirit, and resolved to restore 
the ancient discipline of Lycurgus in its 
full force, by banishing luxury and in- 
temperance. He killed the Ephori, and 



CLE 

removed by poison his royal colleague 
Eurydamides, and made his own bro- 
ther, Euclidas, king, against the laws of 
the state, which forbade more than one 
of the same family to sit on the throne. 
He made war against the Aehseans, and 
attempted to destroy their league. Ara- 
tus, the general of the Achaeans, who 
supposed himself inferior to his enemy, 
called Antigonus to his assistance; and 
Cleomenes, when he had fought the un- 
fortunate battle of Sellasia, B. C. 222, 
retired into Egypt, to the court of 
Ptolemy Evergetes, where his wife and 
children had gone before him. Ptolemy 
received him with great cordiality ; but 
his successor, weak and suspicious, soon 
expressed his jealousy of this noble 
stranger, and imprisoned him. Cleo- 
menes killed himself, and his body was 
flayed, and exposed on a cross, B.C.219. 
Polj/b. &c. — There were others also of 
this name, but of inferior note. 

Cleon, a name common to 
many eminent Greeks, the most famous 
of whom is an Athenian, who, though 
originally a tanner, became general of 
the armies of the state, by his intrigues 
and eloquence. He took Thoron, in 
Thrace, and was killed at Amphipolis, 
in a battle with Brasidas, the Spartan 
general , 422 B. C. Th iteyd. 

Cleon^e and Cleoxa, a vil- 
lage of Peloponnesus, between Corinth 
and Argos. Hercules killed the lion of 
Nemaea in its neighbourhood. Ovid. 

Cleoxica, a young virgin of 

Byzantium, whom Pausanias, king of 
Sparta, invited to his bed. She was 
introduced into his room when he was 
asleep, and unluckily overturned a 
burning lamp which was by the side of 
the bed. Pausanias was awakened at 
the sudden noise, and thinking it to be 
some assassin, he seized his sword, and 
kilied Cleonica, before he knew who it 
was. Cleonica often appeared to him, 
and he was anxious to make a proper 
expiation to her manes. Plut. Paus. 

Cleoxicus, Seneca's freed- 
man. 

Cleoxxis, a native of Messe- 

nia, who disputed the sovereign autho- 
rity with Aristodemus. Paus. 

ClEOXYMUS, a son of Cle- 
omenes 2d, who called Pyrrhus to his 
assistance, because Areus, his brother's 
son, had been preferred to him in the 
succession ; but the measure was un- 
popular, and even the women united to 
repel the foreign prince. 

Cleopater, one of Aratus* 

officers. 

Cle cpatr a, the name of many 

illustrious ladies of antiquity, the most 
celebrated of whom is a queen of Egypt, 
daughter of Ptolemy Auietes, and sister 
and v/ife to Ptolemy Dionysius, cele- 
brated for her beauty and her cunning. 



CLE 



CLI 



She admitted Julius Cesar to her arms, 
to influence him to give her the king- 
dom, in preference to her brother, who 
had expelled her , and had a son by him , 
caPed Caesarion. As she had supported 
Brutus, Antony, in his expedition to 
Parthia, summoned her to appear be- 
fore him. She dressed herself in the 
most magnificent apparel, and appeared 
before her judge in the most captivating 
attire. Her ariifiee succeeded; Antony 
became enamoured of her, and publicly 
married her, forgetful of Octavia, the 
sister of Augustus. He gave her the 
greatest part of the eastern provinces of 
the Roman empire. This behaviour was 
the causeof a rupture between Augustus 
and Antony ; and these two celebrated 
Romans met at Actium,' where Cleo- 
patra, by flying with sixty sail, ruined 
the interest of Antony, and he was de- 
feated. Cleopatra had retired to Egypt, 
where soon after Antony followed her. 
Antony killed himself upon the false in- 
formation that Cleopatra was dead ; and 
Cleopatra, after she had received press- 
ing invi tations from Augustus, destroyed 
herself by the bite of an asp, not to fall 
into the conqueror's hands. Cleopatra 
was a voluptuous woman, and, in one 
of the feasts she gave to Antony at Alex- 
andria, she melted pearls in her drink. 
She was fond of appearing dressed as the 
goddess Isis. Her beauty has been greatly 
commended, and it is said that she 
could give audience to the ambassadors 
of seven different nations, and speak 
their various languages as fluently as 
her own. She died 30 years before 
Christ, after a reign of 24 years. Egypt 
became a Roman province at her death. 
Flot. Appian. &c. 

Cleopa.tr is and ARsiNOE,a 
fortified town of Egypt, on the Arabian 
gulf. 

Cleophantus, a son of The- 

mistocles, skilled in horsemanship. 

Cleophes, a queen of India, 
who submitted to Alexander, by whom, 
as some suppose, she had a son. Curt. 

Cleopholus, a native of Sa- 
mos, authoj of a history of Hercules. 

Cleophon, an Athenian 
tragic poet. 

Cleophyltjs, a man whose 
posterity, it is said, saved the poems of 
Homer. Plut. 

Cleopompus, a man who 
married the nymph Ckodora, by whom 
he had Parnassus. As C lender a was be- 
loved by Neptune, some have supposed 
that, she had two husbands. Pans. 

Cleoptolemus, a native of 
Cbalcis, the father-in-law of Antiochus. 

Cleostratus, an ancient phi- 
losopher and astronomer of Tenedos, 
about 536 years before Christ. He first 
found the constellations of the zodiac, 
md reformed the Greek calendar. 



Cle sides, a Greek painter, 

about 27 6 years before Christ, who re- 
venged theinjuries he had received from 
queen Stratonice, by representing her in 
the arms of a fisherman. However in- 
decent the painter might represent the 
queen, she was drawn with such per- 
sonal beauty, that she preserved the 
piece, and liberally rewarded the artist. 

Cleta and Phaenna, two of 
the graces, according to some. Paus. 

Clinias, the name of some 
eminent Greeks, among whom was the 
father of Alcibiades, killed at the battle 
of Coronea. 

Clin us of Cos, was general of 
7000 Greeks, in the pay of king Nee- 
tanebus. He was killed, with some of 
his troops, by Nicostratus and the Ar- 
gives, as he passed the Nile. Diod. 

Clio, the first of the Muses, 

daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. 
She presided over history. She is re- 
presented crowned with laurels, holding 
in one hand a trumpet, and a book in 
the other. Sometimes she holds a plec- 
trum or quill with a lute. Her name 
signifies honor and reputation, (xXso;, 
gloria,)axid it was her office faithfully to 
record the actions of brave and illus- 
trious heroes. She had Hyacintha, by 
Pierus, son of Magnes. Hesiod. Theol. — 
One of Cyrene's nymphs. Virg. 

Cl is it hera, a daughter of 
Idomeneus, promised m marriage to 
Leucus, by whom she was murdered. 

Clisthenes, an Athenian of 
the family of Alcmseon. It is said, that 
he first established ostracism, and that 
he was the first who was banished by 
that institution. He banished Isagoras, 
and was himself soon after restored. 
Plat. — A person censured as effeminate. 

CLiTAECHUS,a man who made 
himself absolute at Eretria, by means 
of Philip of. Macedonia. He was ejected 
by Phocion. — An historian who accom- 
panied Alexander the Great, of whose 
life he wrote the history. Curt. 

Clite, the wife of Cyzicus, 
who hung herself on the death of her 
husband. 

ClitOmachus, a Carthagi- 
nian philosopher of the third academy, 
who was pupil and successor to Car- 
neades at Athens, B. C. 128. Diog. 

Clitophon, a man of Rhodes, 
who wrote a hisio: y of India, &c. 

Clitor, a city of Arcadia, in 
which Ceres, /Esculapius, and other 
deities had temples. 

Clitoria, the wife of Cimon 

the Athenian. 

Clitumnus, a river of Cam- 
pania, whose waters, when drunk, made 
oxen white. Propert. Virg. 



CLO 



CLY 



Clitus. The most conspicuous 
of this name is the familiar friend and 
foster brother of Alexander. Ke had 
saved the king's life in a bloody battle. 
Alexander killed him with a javelin, in 
a fit of anger, when he v/as intoxicated, 
because, at a feast, he preferred the ac- 
tions of Philip to those of his son. Alex- 
ander was inconsolable for the loss of 
a friend, whom he had sacrificed in the 
hour of drunkenness and dissipation. 
Justin. Pint. Curt. &c— There were 
others, but of less note, of this name. 

Cloaci^a, a goddess at Rome, 
who presided over the Cloacse,or recep- 
tacles for the filth and dung of the 
whole city, begun by Tarquin the elder, 
and finished by Tarquin the proud. 
There were public officers chosen to 
take care of the Cloaca, called Curatores 
Cloacarum urbis. The Cioacse were 
built all under the city; so that Rome, 
according to an expression of Pliny, 
seemed to be suspended between heaven 
and earth. The building was so strong, 
and so firmly cemented, and the stones 
so large, that, though they were conti- 
nually washed by impetuous torrents, 
they remained uninjured during above 
TOO years. Liv. Plin. 

Cloanthus, one of the com- 
panions of iEneas, from whom the fa- 
mily of the Cluentii at Rome were de- 
scended. Virg. 

Clodia, the wife of Lucullus; 

— the mother of D. Brutus; — the daugh- 
ter of a Roman, who, when a tribune 
attempted to stop her father's procession 
in a .triumph, successfully repressed 
him. 

Pb. Clodius, a Roman, de- 
scended of an illustrious family. He 
made himself famous for his licentious- 
ness, avarice, and ambition. He com- 
mitted incest with his three sisters, and 
introduced himself, in women's clothes, 
into the house of J. Caesar, whilst Pom- 
peia, Caesar's wife, of whom he was en- 
amoured, was celebrating the mysteries 
of Ceres, or Bona Dea, where no man 
was permitted to appear. He was ac- 
cused for this violation of human and 
divine laws; but he corrupted his 
judges, and by that means screened 
himself from justice. He descended 
from a patrician into a plebeian family 
to become a tribune. He was an inve- 
terate enemy to Cato and to Cicero ; and, 
by his influence, he banished the latter 
from Rome, partly on pretence that he 
had punished with death, and without 
trial, the adherents of Catiline. He 
wreaked his vengeance upon Cicero's 
house, which he burnt, and set all his 
goods to sale; which, however, to his 
great mortification, no one offered to 
buy. In spite of Clodius, Cicero was 
recalled, and all his goods restored to 
him. Clodius was some time after mur- 



dered by Milo, whose defence Cicero 
took upon himself. Fftit. &c. 

C L (E L i A, a Roman virgin, 

given with other maidens, as hostages 
to Porsenna, king cf Etruria. She es- 
caped from her confinement, and swam 
across the Tiber to Rome. Her unpre- 
cedented virtue was rewarded by her 
countrymen with an equestrian statue 
in the Via Sacra. Liv. Vhg. &c. 

Clcelius Gracchus, a ge- 
neral of the Volsci and Sabines against 
Rome, conquered by Q. Cincianatus, 
the dictator. 

Clotho, the youngest of the 
Parcas, daughter of Jupiter and Themis, 
or, according to Hesiod, of Night, was 
supposed to preside over the moment 
that we are born. She held the distaff 
in her hand, and spun the thread of life ; 
whence her name ('^"h^av^io spin.) She 
was represented wearing a crown with 
seven stars, and covered with a varie- 
gated robe. [ Vid. Pare*.] Hesiod. Theog. 

Cluacina, a name of Venus, 
whose statue was erected in that place 
where peace was made between the 
Romans and Sabines, after the rape of 
the virgins. 

Cluextius, a Roman citizen, 
accused by his mother of having mur- 
dered his father, 54 years before Christ. 
He was ably defended by Cicero, in an 
oration still extant. 

Clufea, clypea, an African 
town, deriving its name from its resem- 
blance to a shield. 

Clusia, a daughter of an 
Etrurian king, of whom V. Torquatus, 
the Roman general, became enamoured. 
He asked her of her father, who slighted 
his addresses : upon which he besieged 
.and destroyed his town. Clusia threw 
herself down from a high tower, and 
came to the ground unhurt. Pint. 

Clusium, a town of Etruria, 
taken by the Gauls under Brennus. 

Cltjsius, a name given to Ja- 
nus, when his temple was shut. 

Cluvius Rufus, a person 
appointed by Caesar to divide the lands 
of Gaul. 

Clyjiene. Ancient writers 

make mention of many of this name, 
the most remarkable of whom are the 
following : — A daughter of Oceanus and 
Terhys, who married Japetus.by whom 
she had Atlas, Prometheus, Mencetius, 
and Epimetheus. Hesiod. — The mother 
of Phaeton, by Apollo. Ovid. 

Clymeneides, a patronymic 
given to Phaeton's sisters, who were 
daughters of Clymene. 

Clymenus. The most remark- 
able of this name is a son of Presbon. 
He received a wound from a stone 
thrown by a Theban, of which he died. 



CNI 



COD 



His son Erginus, who succeeded him, 
made war against the Thebans, to re- 
venge his death. 

Clytemnestra, a daughter 
of Tyndarus, king of Sparta, by Leda, 
was born, together with Castor, from 
one of the eggs which her mo ther brought 
forth after her amour with Jupiter, 
under the form of a swan. Clytemnestra 
married Agamemnon, king of Argos. 
When Agamemnon went to the Trojan 
war, he left his cousin iEgysthus to take 
care of his wife, and domestic affairs. 
In the absence of Agamemnon, /Egys- 
thus made his court to Clytemnestra, 
and publicly lived with her. Agamem- 
non heard of her infidelity, and he . re- 
solved to take full revenge upon the 
adulterers at his return. He was pre- 
vented from putting his schemes into 
execution : Clytemnestra, with her adul- 
terer, murdered him at his arrival. Cas- 
sandra, whom Agamemnon had brought 
from Troy, shared his fate ; and Orestes 
would also have been deprived of life, 
like his father, had not his sister Electra 
removed him from the reach of Clytem- 
nestra. After this murder, Clytemne- 
stra publicly married yEgysthus, who 
ascended the throne of Argos. Orestes, 
after an absence of seven years, return- 
ed to Mycenae, resolved to avenge his 
father's murder. He concealed himself 
in the house of his sister Electra. His 
death was publicly announced; and 
when JEgysthus and Clytemnestra re- 
paired to the temple of Apollo, to re- 
turn thanks to the god, for the death of 
the surviving son of Agamemnon, Ore- 
stes, with his faithful friend Pylades, 
hid himself in the temple, rushed upon 
the adulterers, and killed them with his 
own hand. [Vid. /Egysthus, Agamem- 
non, Orestes, Electra.] Diud. Homer, 

Clytia or Clytie, a daugh- 
ter of Oceanus and Tethys, beloved by 
Apollo. She was deserted by her lover, 
who paid his addresses to Leucothce; 
and this so irritated her, that she dis- 
covered the whole intrigue to her rival's 
father. Apollo despised her the more 
for this, and she pined away, and was 
changed into a flower, commonly called 
a sun-flower, which still turns itc head 
towards the sun in his course, as in 
pledge of her love. Quid. 

Clytius. The most remark- 
able of this name is the father of Pireus, 
who faithfully attended Telemachus. 
Homer. 

Ciytus, a Greek, slain by 
Hector. 

Cxacalis, a mountain of Ar- 
cadia, where festivals were celebrated in 
honor of Diana. 

Cnetjs or Ck/EUS, a prgeno- 
men common to many Romans. 

C.NiDUS and Gjtidus, a town 



and promontory of Doris in Caria. Ve- 
nus was the chief deity of the place, and 
had there a famous statue made bv 
Praxiteles, who had infused into it all 
the soft graces and attractions of the ac- 
complished Phryne, or his favorite Cra- 
tina. It represented the goddess in her 
naked graces, erect in posture., and with 
her right hand covering her waist. It 
became so deservedly celebrated, that 
travellers visited the spot with eagerness 
and admiration. Horat. Piin. &c. 

Cnossus, a town of Crete, 
about 25 stadia from the sea. It was 
built by Minos, and had a famous la- 
byrinth. 

Co, Coos, and Cos, one of the 

Cyclades, situate near the coastsof Asia, 
about 15 miles from Haiicarnassus. It 
gave birth to Hippocrates and Apelles, 
and was famous for its fertility, and the 
wine and silk-worms which it produced. 
Ovid. — The women of Cos were changed 
into cows by Venus or Juno ; whom they 
reproachedfor suffering Hercules to lead 
Geryon's flocks through their territories. 
Tibull. &c. 

Cobahes, a famous Median 
magician, in the time of Alexander. 
Co cal us, a king of Sicily, who 

hospitably received Daedalus, when he 
tied before Minos. When Minos arrived 
in Sicily, the daughters of Cocalus de- 
stroyed him. Ovid, 

Cocceius Nerva, a friend of 

Horace and Maecenas, and grandfather 
to the emperor Nerva. He was one of 
these who settled the dispute between 
Augustus and Antony. Horat. — An ar- 
chitect of Rome, one of whose buildings 
is still in being, the present cathedral of 
Naples. Tacit. 

Coccygius, a mountain in the 

Peloponnesus. 

Cocles, Pub. Horat. a cele- 
brated Roman, who, alone, opposed the 
whole army of Porsenna at the head of 
a bridge, while his companions behind 
him were cutting off the communication 
with the other shore. Vv "hen the bridge 
was destroyed, Codes, though wounded 
by the darts of the enemy, leapt into the 
Tiber, and swam across it with his arms. 
Lio. &c. 

Cocti^e and Cottle, certain 
parts of the Alps, called after Coctius, 
the conqueror of the Gauls, who was in 
alliance with Augustus. Tacit. Hist. 

Cocytus, a river of Epirus, 

derived from xoxveivyto tuesp and to la- 
ment. Its etymology, the unwhole- 
someness of its water, and above all, its 
vicinity to the Acheron, have made the 
poets call it one of the rivers of hell. 
Virp. 

Codaxus sinus, now called 

the Baltic Sea, 



COG 



COL 



Codo man us, a surname of Da- 
tins the third, king cf Persia. 

Codrus. The most celebrated 
of this name is the 17 th and last king of 
Athens, son of M elan thus. When the 
Heraclidae made war against Athens, the 
oracle said, that the victory would be 
granted to that nation whose king was 
killed in battle. The Heraclidae upon 
this gave strict orders to spare the life cf 
Codrus ; but thepatriotic king disguised 
himself, and attacked one of the enemy, 
by whcm he was killed. The Athenians 
obtained the vic?ory,and Codruswasde- 
servedly called the father of his country. 
He reigned 21 years, and was killed 1070 
years before the Christian aera. To pay 
more honor to his memory, the Athe- 
nians made a resolution, that no man 
after Codrus should reign in A.thens 
under the name of king, and therefore 
the government was put into the hands 
of perpetual archons. Paterc. Justin. 
&c/ 

CCELESYRIA andC(ELOSYRIA, 

a country of Syria, between mount Li- 
hanus and Antiiibanus, where the Oron- 
tcs takes its rise, 

Ccelia, the name of a family 
at Rome, descended from Geeks of 
Etruria, who settled at Rome in the 
time of Romulus. 

Ccelius. A name common to 
many of the Romans, of whom, how- 
ever, there is nothing very remarkable 
recorded. — Horace makes mention of a 
man, who, after spending his all in dis- 
sipation and luxury, became a public 
robber, with his friend Birrhus. 

Ccelus or Uranus, an ancient 
deity, supposed to be the father of Sa- 
turn, Oceanus, Hyperion, &c. He was 
son of Terra, whom he afterwards mar- 
ried. The number of his children, ac- 
cording to seme, amounted to forty-five. 
They were called Titans, and were so 
closely confined by their father, that 
they conspired against him, and were 
supported by their mother, who pro- 
vided them with a scythe. Saturn armed 
himself with this scythe, and deprived 
his father of the organs of generation, as 
he was going to urate himself to Terra. 
From the blood which issued from the 
wound sprang the giants, furies, and 
nymphs. The mutilated parts were 
thrown into the sea, and from them, 
and the foam which they occasioned, 
arose Venus, the goddess of beauty. 
Hesiod, &c. 

Co es, a man of Mitylene, made 
sovereign master of his country by Da- 
rius. His countrymen stoned him to 
death. Herodot. ifec. 

Cceus, a son of Coelus and 
Terra. He was father of Latona, Aste- 
ria, &c. by Phcebe. Virg. 

Cogidunes, a British king, 
faithful to Rome. Tacit, in vit. Agric. 



Cohors, a division in the Ro- 
man armies, consisting of aboureoo men. 
It was the sixth part of a legion, and 
consequently its number was under the 
same fluctuation as that of the legions, 
being sometimes more and sometimes 
less. 

ColjEnus, a king of Attica, 
previous to the time of Cecrops. 

Colaxis, son of Jupiter and 
Orra. 

Colchis and Colchos, a 

country of Asia, at the south of Asiatic 
Sarinaiia, east of the Euxine sea, north 
of Armenia, and west of Iberia, now 
called Mingrelia. It is famous for the 
expedition of the Argonauts, and was 
the birth-place of Medea. Jt was fruit- 
ful in poisonous herbs, and produced ex- 
cellent flax. St/ab. &c. 

Collatia, a town on the Anio, 
built by the people of Alba. It was tlure 
that Sextus Tarquin offered violence to 
Lueretia. Liv. &c. 

L. Tarquinius CollatT- 

NUS, a nephew of Tarquin the Proud, 
who married Lueretia, to whom Sext. 
Tarquin offered violence. He, with 
Brutus, drove the Tarquins from Rome, 
and were made first consuls. He after- 
wards laid down his office, and retired 
to Alba in voluntary banishment. Liv. 
— One of the seven hills of Rome. 

Collika, a goddess at Rome, 
who presided over hills. — One of the 
gates of Rome on mount Quirinalis. 

Colophon, a town of Ionia, 

at a small distance from the sea, first 
built by Mopsus, son of Manto, and 
colonized by the sons of Codrus. It was 
the native country of Mimnermus, Ni- 
cander, and Xenophane, and one of the 
cities which disputed for the honor of 
having given birth to Homer. Apollo • 
had a temple there. Strab. &c. 

Colosse andCoLOSsis,alarge 

town of Phrygia, near Laodicea : one of 
the first christian churches was esta- 
blished there, and one of St. Paul's 
epistles was addressed to the inhabit- 
ants. 

Colossus, a celebrated brazen 

image at Rhodes , one of the seven won- 
ders of the world. Its feet were upon 
the two moles which formed the en- 
trance of the harbour, and ships passed 
in full sail between its legs. It was 70 
cubits, or 105 feet high. It was the work 
of Chares, the disciple of Lysippus, and 
the artist was 12 years in making it. It 
was partly demolished by an earth- 
quake, 224 B. C. A winding staircase 
ran to the top, from which could easily 
be discerned the shores of Syria, and 
ships on the coast of Egypt, by the help 
of glasses. It remained in ruins for the 
space of 894 years ; and in the year GT2 
cf the Christian sera, it was sold by the 



COM 



CON 



Saracens, who were masters of the island, 
to a Jewish merchant, who loaded 900 
camels with the brass, whose value has 
been estimated at 36.000 pounds English 
money. 

Colotes, a sculptor ; — a 
painter; — an Epicurean ; — a Stoic, dis- 
ciple of Epictetus. 

Columba, a dove, the symbol 
of Venus among the poets. This bird 
was sacred to Venus, and received divine 
honors in Syria. Doves were supposed 
to gice oracles in the oaks of the forest 
of Dodona. Tubul. 

Columella, (L. Jun. Mode- 
rates), a native of Gades, who wrote 12 
books on agriculture, of which, the 
tenth, on gardening, is in verse. The 
style is elegant, and the work displays 
the genius of a naturalist, and the labors 
of an accurate observer. 

Columns Hercxjlis. [Vid. 

Calpe and Abyla.] 

Coluthus, author of a poem 
on the rape of Helen ; unknown to 
modern scholars, till it was discovered 
at Lycopolis by Cardinal Bessarion, in 
the 15th century. 

Co man A, (orum), a city of 
Cappadocia, famous for a temple of Bel- 
lona, where there were above 6000 mini- 
sters of both sexes. The chief priest 
among them was very powerful, and 
knew no superior but the king of the 
country. This high office was generally 
conferred upon one of the royal family. 
Flacc. Strab. 

Go mare A) now Cape Coiro- 
rin. 

Combe, a daughter of the 

Ophius, who firs" invented a brazen suit 
of armour. She was changed into a 
bird, and escaped from her children, 
who had conspired to murder her. It is 
' said that she had an hundred children ; 
whence the proverb of as many children 
as Combe, to denote a proline mother. 
Ovid. Met. 

Cometes. There are many of 
this name mentioned in ancient writers, 
the most remarkable of whom is one of 
the Centaurs, killed at the nuptials of 
Firithous. Ovid. 

Cometho, a daughter of Pte- 
rilaus, who deprived her father of a 
golden hair on his head, upon which 
depended his fate. She was put to dea h 
by Amphitryon for her perfidy. Apullod. 

Comitia, ( orum J, an assembly 
of the Roman people, whose object was 
the election of magistiates, and all the 
public officers of state. The word is de- 
rived from Comitium, the place where 
they were convened, quasi a cum eundo. 
The Comitia were called, some consula- 
ria, for the election of the consuls : 
others pratoria, for the election of prae- 
tors, &e. These assemblies were more 



generally known by the name of Comi- 
tia Curiata, Centuriata, and Tribute. 
For a more particular description of the 
Comitia, we refer the young student to 
Rennet's Roman Antiquities. 

Comius, a man appointed king 
over the Attrebates, by J. Caesar, for his 
services. Cces. 

COMMODUS, (L. AurelillS An- 
toninus), son of M. Antoninus, suc- 
ceeded his father in the Roman empire. 
He was naturally cruel, and fond of in- 
dulging his licentious propensities ; and, 
regardless of the instructions of philo- 
sophers, and of the decencies of nature, 
he corrupted his own sisters, and kept 
300 women, and as many boys, for his 
illicit pleasures. He showed himself 
naked in public, and fought with the 
gladiators, and boasted of his dexteritv 
in killing the wild beasts in the amphi- 
theatre. He required divinehonors from 
the senate, and thev were granted. Mar- 
tia, one of his concubines, whose death 
he had prepared, poisoned him : but as 
the poison did net quickly operate, he 
was strangled by a wrestler. He died in 
the 31st year of his age, and the 13th of 
his reign, A. D. 192.' He never trusted 
himself to a barber, but alwavs burnt 
his beard, in imitation of the tyrant 
Dkwiysius. Herodian. 

Comon, a general of Messenia. 
Pauxan. 

Comi Italia, festivals first in- 
stituted by Tarquin the Proud, and 
celebrated by the Romans the 12th of 
January and the 6th of March, in the 
cross w'ays, in honor of the household 
gods called Lares. The slaves were ge- 
nerally the ministers, and, during the 
celebration, they enjoyed their freedom, 
Varro, Ovid. 

Comtjm, now Como, a town in 
the modem duchy of Milan. It was the 
birth-place of the younger Pliny. 

Comus, the god of revelry, 
feasting, and nocturnal entertainments. 
Durmg his festivals, men and women 
exchanged each other's dress. He was 
represented as a young and drunken 
man, with a garland of flowers on his 
head, and a torch in his hand, which 
seemed falling. 

Cox cant, a- people of Spain, 
who lived chiefly on milk mixed with 
horses' blood. Horat. 

Concordia, the goddess of 

peace and concord at Rome, to whom 
Camillus first raised a temple in the 
capitol, where the magistrates often 
assembled for the transaction of public 
business. She had, besides this, other 
temples and statues, and was addressed 
t:> promote the peace and union of fa- 
milies and citizens. The goddess of con- 
cord was generally represented as young, 
crowned with garlands, holding a cup in 
one hand, and in the other a cornucopia. 



CON 



CON 



or a sceptre, from which appeared to 
issue all sorts of fruits. The most ordi- 
nary symbol, however, of concord, is 
two hands joined together, holding a 
caduceus, or pomegranate. Pint. Piin. 
&c. 

Conetodunus, a Gaul, who 
excited his countrymen against the Ro- 
mans. 

Confucius, a Chinese philo- 
sopher, as much honored among his 
countrymen as a monarch. He died 
about 479 years B.C. 

Conimbrica, a town in Por- 
tugal now called Coimbra. 

Conisaltus, a god worship- 
ped at Athens, with the same ceremo- 
nies as Friapus at Lampsacus. Strab. 

C oni sci, a people of Spain. 

ConnIdas, the preceptor of 
Theseus , in whose honor the Athenians 
instituted a festival called Connideia. 
It was then usual to sacrifice to him a 
ram. Pint. 

Coxon, a famous general of 
Athens, son of Timothens, was made 
governor of all the islands of the Athe- 
nians, and was defeated in a naval battle 
by Lysander, near the yEgospotamos. 
He retired in voluntary banishment to 
Evagoras king of Cyprus, and after- 
wards to Artaxerxes king of Persia, by 
whose assistance he freed his country 
from slavery. He defeated the Spartans 
near Cnidos, in an engagement where 
Pisander, the enemy's admiral, was 
killed. By his means the Athenians 
fortified their city with a strong wall, 
and attempted to recover Ionia and 
./Eolia. He was perfidiously betrayed 
by a Persian, and died in prison, B. C. 
393. C. Nep. Szc. — A Greek astronomer 
of Samos, who was intimate with Ar- 
chimedes, and flourished 247 years B. C. 
Catull. Virg. — A Grecian mythologist, 
in the age of Julius Ca?sar, who wrote 
a book which contained 40 fables, still 
extant. 

Consentes, the name which 

the Romans gave to the Dii ma j mum 
gentium. The word signifies consen- 
iientes, that is, consenting to the deli- 
berations of Jupiter's council. They 
were twelve in number, whose names 
Ennius has briefly expressed in these 
lines : 

Juno, Vesta, llinerva, Ceies, Diana, 

Venus, Mars, 
Mercurius , Jovi, Neptunus, Vulcanus, 

Apollo. 

Constans, a son of Constan- 
tine. [Vkl. Constantinus.] 

Const ant i a, a grand-daugh- 
ter of the great Constantine, who mar- 
ried the emperor Gratian. 

Constantina, aprincess,wife 
of the emperor Gallus. 

CoNSTANTiNOPOLis,formerly 



Byzantium, the capnal of Thrace* a 
noble and magnificent city, built by 
Constantine the Great, and solemnly 
dedicated A. D. 330. It was the capita"! 
of the eastern Roman empire. Con- 
stantinople fell into the hands of Ma- 
homet the second, the 28th of May, 
1453. 

Constantinus, a name very 

common to the emperors of the East, 
the most celebrated of whom was sur- 
named the Great, from the greatness of 
his exploits, and son of Constantius. 
He conquered Licinius, his brother-in- 
law and colleague on the throne, and 
obliged him to lay aside the imperial 
power. It is said, that as he was going 
to fight against Maxentius, one of his 
rivals, he saw a cross in the sky, with 
this inscription, £V TOt/rw vty.a, inhoc 
vince. From this circumstance he be- 
came a convert to Christianity, and ob- 
tained an easy victory, ever after adopt- 
ing a cross or labarum as his standard. 
Constantine became sole emperor, and 
began to reform the state. He founded 
a city where Byzantium formerly stood, 
and called it from his own name, Con- 
stantinopolis. Thither he transported 
part of the Roman senate ; and by keep- 
ing his court there, made it the rival of 
Rome, in population and magnificence. 
From that time the two imperial cities 
began to look upon each other with an 
eye of envy ; and soon after the age of 
Constantine, a separation was made of 
the two empires, and Rome was called 
the capital of the western, and Constan- 
tinopolis was called the capital of the 
eastern, dominions of Rome. The em- 
peror has been distinguished for per- 
sonal courage, and praised for the pro- 
tection he extended to the Christians; 
but the murder of his son Crispus has 
been deservedly censured. Constantine 
was learned, and preached, as well as 
composed, many sermons, one of which 
remains. He; died A. D. 337, after a 
reign of 31 years of the greatest glory 
and success. He left three sons, Con- 
stantinus, Constans, and Constantius, 
among whom he divided his empire. — 
A private soldier in Britain, raised, on 
account of his name, to the imperial 
dignity. 

Constantius Chlorus, son 

of Eutropius, and father of the great 
Constantine, merited the title of Caesar, 
which he obtained by his victories in 
Britain and Germany. He became the 
colleague of Galerius, on the abdication 
of Diocletian ; and after bearing the 
character of a humane and benevolent 
prince, he died at York, and made his 
son his successor, A. D. 306. — The se- 
cond son of Constantine the Great. — A 
Roman general of Nyssa, who married 
Placidia, the sister of Honorius, and 
was proclaimed emperor, an honor he 
enjoyed only seven months. He died, 
universally regretted, 421. A D. and was 



CON 



COR 



succeeded bv his son Valentinian in the 
west. 

Consuales Ltjdi, or Cox- 

SUALIA, festivals first instituted at 
Rome in honor of Census, the god of 
counsel,whose altar Romulus discovered 
under ground. It was during these fes- 
tivals that Romulus carried away the 
Sabine women who had assembled to 
be spectators of the games. 

Consul, a magistrate at Rome, 
with regal authority for the space of one 
year. — There were two consuls, a consu- 
Zendo, annually chosen in the Campus 
Martius. The two first consuls were L. 
Jun. Brutus, and L. Tarquinius Colla- 
tinus, chosen A. U. C. 244, after the 
expulsion of the Tarquins. In the first 
ages of the republic, the two consuls 
were always chosen from patrician fa- 
milies, or noblemen ; but the people ob- 
tained the privilege, A. U. C. 88, of 
electing one of the consuls from their 
own body ; and sometimes both were 
plebeians. The first consul among the 
plebeians was L. Sextius. It was re- 
quired that every candidate for the con- 
sulship should be 43 years of age, called 
legitimnm tempus, and should have dis- 
charged the functions of questor, edile, 
and praetor. Sometimes these qualifi- 
cations were, however, dispensed with. 
The power of the consuls was un- 
bounded, and they knew no superior 
but the gods and the laws. The badge 
of their office was the prcetexta, after- 
wards exchanged for the toga picta or 
palmata. They were preceded by 12 
lictors, carrying the fasces or bundle of 
sticks, in the middle of which appeared 
an axe. Their authority was equal ; yet 
the Valerian lav.' gave the right of pri- 
ority to the older, and the Julian law to 
him who had the most children, and he 
was generally called consul major or 
prior. As their power was absolute, 
they presided over the senate, and could 
convene and dismiss it at pleasure. The 
senators were their counsellors; and 
among the Romans, the manner of 
reckoning their years was by the name 
of the consuls ; and by Af. Tulh Cicerone 
<y L. Antonio Coiisidibus, for instance, 
the year of Rome G91 was always un- 
derstood. This custom lasted from the 
year of Rome 244 till the year 1294, or 
54lst year of the Christian a?ra, when 
the consular office w as totally suppressed 
by Justinian. When appointed to their 
respective provinces by lot, or by the 
will of the senate, they were not per- 
mitted to return to Rome without the 
special command of the senate, and they 
always remained in their provinces till 
the arrival of their successor. The office 
of consul, so dignified during the times 
of the commonwealth, became a mere 
title under the emperors, and retained 
nothing of its authority but the useless 
ensigns of original dignity. The dura- 
tion of the consulship was abridged by 



Tiberius and Claudius, and the em- 
peror Commodus made no less than 25 
consuls in one year. Constantine the 
Great renewed the original institution, 
and permitted them to be a whole year 
in office. 

Consus, a deity worshipped at 

Rome, who presided over counsels. 
His temple was covered intheMaximus 
Circus, to show that counsels ought to 
be secret and inviolable. Romulus in- 
stituted festivals to his honor, called 
Consualia, during the celebration of 
which the Romans carried away the 
Sabine women. 

Coxsygxa, the wife of Nico- 

medes, king of Bithynia who was torn 
to pieces by dogs. 

Coon, son of Anterior, slain by 
Agamemnon. 

Coos, Cos, an island in the 

vEgean sea. 

Copais Lacus, a Boeotian 

lake, celebrated for its eels. Into this 
lake the Cephisus and other rivers flow. 

Cophontis, a burning moun- 
tain in Bactriana. 

Copia, the goddess of plerity 
among the Romans, represented as bear- 
ing in one hand a horn, filled with 
grapes, fruits, raisins, flowers, pearls, 
pieces of gold and silver, and in the 
other she held a bundle of different ears 
of corn. Her figure was that of a young 
blooming virgin, of a tail stature, and 
her head was crowned with flowers. She 
was not worshipped in temples or altars, 
but her representation is to be found on 
ancient monuments. 

Coptos and Coptus, now 
Kl'pt, a town of Egypt, about one hun- 
dred leagues from Alexandria, on a ca- 
nal which communicates with the Nile. 
Strab. 

Cora, a town of Latium, built 

by the Dardanians. 

Corax, a Sicilian rhetorician, 
who first demanded remuneration from 
his pupils. 

Corbis and Orstja, two bro- 
thers who fought for the dominion of a 
city, in the presence of Sciuio, in Spain. 
Li j. 

Corbulo, a governor of Syria, 

who destroyed Artaxata, and made Ti- 
granes king of Armenia. He slew him- 
self on being ordered to be murdered by 
Nero. 

Corcyra or PhjEACIa, an 

island in the Ionian sea, on the coast 
of Epirus, famous for the shipwreck of 
Ulysses, and the gardens of Alcinous. 
It "now bears the name of Corfu. The 
war which was carried on by Themisto- 
cles against the Corcyreans, and was 
called Corcyrean, became but a prepara- 
tion for the Peloponnesian war. 

G 



COR 



COR 



Corduba, a famous city of 
Hispania Bsetica, the native place of 
both the Senecas, and of Lucan. 

Cord y la, a seaport in Pontus, 
remarkable for fishes called Cordylae. 

Core, a daughter of Ceres, the 
same as Proserpine. Festivals, called 
Coreia, were instituted to her honor in 
Greece. 

Co res us, a priest of Bacchus, 

at Calydon, in Bceotia, was deeply ena- 
moured of the nymph Callirhoe, who 
treated him with disdain. He com- 
plained to Bacchus, who visited the 
country with a pestilence. The Caly- 
donian's were directed by the oracle, to 
appease the god by sacrificing Callirhoe 
on his altar. The nymph was led to 
the altar, and Coresus, who was to sa- 
crifice her, forgot his resentment, and 
stabbed himself. Callirhoe, conscious 
of her ingratitude to the love of Core- 
sus, killed herself on the brink of a foun- 
tain, which afterwards bore her name. 
Pans. 

Coria, a surname of Minerva 

among the Arcadians. Cic. 

Corinna. The most cele- 
brated of this name is a woman of 
Thebes, disciple to Myrtis. Her father's 
name was Archelodorus. It is said that 
she obtained five times a poetical prize, 
in which Pindar was her competitor. 
Some few of her verses remain. Propert. 
— Ovid's -mistress was also called Co- 
rinna. Amor. 

Corinnus, an ancient poet in 
the time of the Trojan war, on which 
he wrote a poem. Homer, as some sup- 
pose, took his subject from the poem of 
Corinnus. 

Corinthiacus sinus, is now 

called the gulf of Lepanto. 

Corixthus, an ancient city of 
Greece, now called Corito, situated on 
the middle of the isthmus of Corinth, 
at the distance of about sixty stadia on 
either side from the sea. It was first 
founded by Sisyphus, son of .Solus, 
A. M. 2816, and received its name from 
Corinthus, the son of Peiops. Its ori- 
ginal name was Ephyre ; and it is called 
Bimaris, because situate between the 
Saronicus Sinus, and Crisseus Sinus. 
Corinth was totally destroyed by L. 
Mummius, the Roman consul, and 
burned to the ground, 146 B. C. The 
richer which the Romans found there 
were immense. During the conflagra- 
tion all the metals which were in the 
city melted and mixed together, and 
formed that valuable composition of 
metals which has since been known by 
the name of Corinthium Ms. The go- 
vernrnent of Corinth was monarchical 
till 77& years B. C. when officers called 
Prytanes were instituted. 

Coriolanus, the surname of 



C. Martius, from his victory over Co- 
rioli, where, from a private soldier, he 
gained the amplest honors. After many 
services rendered his country, he was 
refused the consulship by the people, 
when his scars had for a while influenced 
them in his favor. This raised his re- 
sentment ; and when the Romans had 
received corn from Gelo, king of Sicily, 
C oriolanus insisted that it should be sold 
for money, and not be given gratis. 
Upon this the tribunes raised the people 
against him, and even wished him to be 
put to death. This sentence was stopped 
by the senators, and Coriolanus sub- 
mitted to a trial. He was banished by 
a majority of three tribes, and imme- 
diately retired among the Volsci, to At- 
tius Tullus, from whom he met a most 
tender reception. He advised him to 
make war against Rome,and he marched 
at the head of the Volsci as general. The 
Romans sent him several embassies to 
reconcile him to his country, but he was 
deaf to all proposals, and bade them pre- 
pare for war. He pitched his camp only 
five miles from Rome ; and his enmity 
against his country would have been 
fatal, had not his mothei Veturia, and 
his wife Volumnia, been prevailed upon 
by the Roman matrons to go and ap- 
pease his resentment. The meeting of 
Coriolanus with his family was tender 
and affecting. He remained long inex- 
orable ; but at last the tears and en- 
treaties of a mother and a wife prevailed 
over the stern and obstinate resolutions 
of an enemy, and Coriolanus marched 
the Volsci from the neighbourhood of 
Rome. To show their sense of Volum- 
nia's merit and patriotism, the Romans 
dedicated a temple to Female Fortune. 
The behaviour of Coriolanus displeased 
the Volsci. He was summoned to appear 
before the people of Antium, and was 
murdered on the place appointed for his 
trial, B. C. 488. His body was honored 
with a magnificent funeral by the Volsci, 
and the Roman matrons put on mourn- 
ing for his loss. Some historians say 
that he died in exile, in an advanced old 
age. Plut. Flor. 

Cornelia, a daughter of Chi- 
na, who was the first wife of J. Caesar. 
She became mother of Julia, Poropey's 
wife, and was so aifectionately loved by 
her husband, that, at her death, he pro- 
nounced a funeral oration over her body. 
Plut.— A. daughter of Metellus Seipio, 
who married Pompey after the death of 
her husband P. Crassus. She has been 
praised for her great virtues. When her 
husband left her in the bay of Alexandria 
to go on shore in a small boat, she saw 
him stabbed by Achillas, and heard his 
dying groans, without the possibility of 
aiding him. She attributed all his mis- 
fortunes to his connexion with her. 
plut.— A daughter of Scipio Africanus, 
who was the' mother of Tiberius and 
Caius Gracchus. She was courted by a 
king ; but she preferred being the wife 



COR 



COR 



of a Roman citizen to that of a mon- 
arch. Her virtues have been deservedly 
commended, as well as the wholesome 
principles she inculcated in her two sons. 
When a Campanian lady once made a 
show of her jewels at Cornelia's house, 
and entreated her to favor her with a 
sight of her own, Cornelia produced her 
two sons, saying, tf These are the only 
jewels of which I can boast." In her 
lifetime a statue was raised to her, with 
this inscription, Cornelia mater Crrac- 
' chorum. Some of her epistles are pre- 
served. Plut. 

Cornelii, a family at Rome, 
to which many illustrious persons be- 
longed ; amongst whom were Dolabella ; 
— Cethegus ; — Balbus ; — Cossus ; — Sci- 
pio;— Gallus;— Merula;— Marcellus ; — 
Nepos ; — Severus ; — Lentulus Cethegus; 
Aur. Celsus, &c. 

Cornifictus, a poet and ge- 
neral in the age of Augustus, employed 
to accuse Brutus, &c. His sister, Cor- 
nificia, was also blessed with a poetical 
genius. Plut. 

Corniger, a surname of Bac- 
chus. 

Corn ut us, a stoic philosopher 

of Africa, preceptor to Persius, the sa- 
tirist. He wrote some treatises on phi- 
losophy and rhetoric. Pets. — A Roman, 
saved from the proscription of Marius 
by his servants, who hung up a dead 
man in his room, and said it was their 
master. Plut. 

Cornu-copia, was the horn of 
the goat Amalthaea, and it was presented 
to the nymphs who had nursed Jupiter, 
when the favorite animal was placed 
among the constellations of heaven by 
the gratitude of the god. The statues of 
some of the gods, as Bacchus, Hercules, 
Apollo, Ceres, &c. and some of the 
greatest heroes of antiquity, are often 
represented with this celebrated horn, 
in allusion to the services they may have 
rendered mankind. 

CoR(ERUS, a Phrygian, son of 
Mygdon and Anaximena. He assisted 
Priam in the Trojan war, with the hopes 
of being rewarded with the hand of Cas- 
sandra for his services. Cassandra ad- 
vised him in vain to retire from the 
war. He was killed by Peneleus. Paus. 
&c. — A hero of Argolis, who killed the 
serpent sent by Apollo to avenge Argos. 
His country was afflicted with a plague, 
and he consulted the oracle of Delphi, 
which commanded him to build a tem- 
ple, where a tripod which was given him 
should fall from his hand. Pans. 

CoronEa, a town of Bceotia, 
where, in the first year of the Corinthian 
war, Agesilaus defeated the allied forces 
of Athens, Thebes, Corinth, and Argos, 
B. C. 394. C. Nep.— There were also 
five other towns of this name. 

Coronides, a surname of the 



god ^Esculapius, as son of Coronis. 
Ovid. 

Coronis, a daughter of Phle- 

gias, loved by Apollo. She became 
pregnant by her lover, who killed her 
on account of her criminal partiality to 
Ischys, the Thessalian. The child was 
preserved, and called JEseulapius ; and 
the mother, after death, received divine 
honors. Paus.— The daughter of Co- 
ronaeus, king of Phocis, changed into 
a crow by Minerva, when flying before 
Neptune. Qvid. — One of the daughters 
of Atlas and Pleione. 

Coronus, a son of Phoroneus 

king of the Lapithae. Diod. 

Co rsi, a people of Sardinia, 
descended from the Corsicans. 

Corsia, a town in Bceotia. 

Pausan. 

Corsica, a mountainous island 

in the Mediterranean, on the coast of 
Italy. Its inhabitants were savage, ac- 
cording to Seneca, who was exiled among 
them. They lived to a great age, and 
fed on honey. Corsica was in the pos- 
session of the Carthaginians, and was 
conquered by the Romans, B. C. 231. 
The Greeks called it Cyrnos. Strab. 
&c. In the time of Pliny it had 33 
towns ; and was much more populous 
than it now is. 

Cortona, an ancient town of 

Etruria, called Cori/tum, by Virgil. It 
was at the mouth of the Thrasymene 
lake. 

Corvinus, a name given to M. 

Valerius, from a crow, who assisted him 
when he was fighting against a Gaul. — 
Messala, an eloquent orator, in the Au- 
gustan age, distinguished for integrity 
and patriotism. Juv. 

T.Cortjncanius, thefirst ple- 
beian who was made high priest at Rome. 
The family of the Coruncani was famous 
for the number of great men which it 
supplied for the service and honor of the 
Roman republic. Cic. 

Corus, an Arabian river, dis- 
charging itself into the Red Sea. 

Co rye antes, the priests of 
Cybele, called also Galli. In the cele- 
bration of their festivals, they beat their 
cymbals, and behaved as if delirious. 
They first inhabited Mount Ida, thence 
passed into Crete, and secretly brought 
up Jupiter. Some suppose they receive 
their name from Corybas, son of Jasus 
and Cybele, who first introduced the 
rites of his mother into Phrygia. Paus. 
Diod. &c. 

Corybas, a son of Jasus and 

Cybele. [Vid. Corybantes.] 

Cory c ides, the nymphs who 

inhabited the foot of Parnassus. This 
name is often applied to the Muses. Ovid. 
Corycius, an old man of Ta- 

G2 



COT 



CRA 



le-ntum, whose time was happily em- 
ployed in taking care of his bees*. He 
is represented by Virgil as a contented 
old man, whose assiduity and diligence 
are exemplary. Some suppose that the 
word Corj/cius implies not a person of 
that name, but a native of Corycus, 
who had settled in Italy. 

Corycus, now Curco, a lofty 
mountain of Cilicia, with a town of the 
same name, and also a cave with a grove 
which produced excellent saffron, su- 
perior to that of Sicily, Lycia, or Cy- 
rene. This plant was in high estimation 
among the ancients, who not only per- 
fumed their theatres, but likewise" their 
persons, with a juice extracted from it. 
Horat. Lucan, &c. — x\nother of Ionia, 
long the famous retreat of robbers. 
Strab. —Another at the foot of Parnas- 
sus, sacred to the Muses. Stat. Strab. 

Cor yd on, a fictitious name of 
a shepherd, often occurring in the pas- 
torals of Theocritus and Virgil. 

Corymbifer, a surname of 
Bacchus, from his wearing a crown of 
corymbi, certain berries that grow on 
the ivy. Ovid. 

Corynetta, the son of Vul- 
can, and a great robber, who was slain 
by Theseus. 

CoRYNTHUS,akingof Corinth. 

Corytus, a king of Etruria, 
father to Jasius, whom Dardanus is said 
to have put to death to obtain the king- 
dom. — Also a town and mountain of 
Etruria, near which Dardanus was born. 
Virg. 

Cos, an island in the JEgean sea. 

Cossus, a surname given to the 
famiiy of the Cornelii. — A Roman, who 
killed Volumnius, knag of Veii, and 
obtained theSpolia Oplma, A.U.C. 317. 
Virg. 

Cossutii, a family at Rome, 

of which Cossutia, Caesar's wife, was de- 
scended. Suet. 

Cothox an island near the 
citadel, at Carthage; near which was 
the dock-yard. 

Cothonea, the mother of 
Triptolemus. Hygin. 

Cotiso, a king of the Daci, 
whose army invaded Pannonia, and was 
defeated by Corn. Lentulus, the lieute- 
nant of Angustus. It is said that Au- 
gustus solicited his daughter in mar- 
riage. Suet. Horat. 

Cotta, M. Aurelius. The 

most celebrated of this name was a Ro- 
man, who opposed Marius. He was 
consul with Lucullus ; and when in 
Asia he was defeated by sea and land, 
by Mithridates. He was surnamed Pon- 
tUus> because he took Heraclea, of Pon- 
tus, by treachery. Pint.— Also an ora- 
tor, greatly commended by Cicero. 



Cotti^e Alpes, a certain part 

of the Alps, by which Italy is separated 
from Gaul. 

Cottus, a giant, son of Creius 
and Terra, who had 100 hands and 50 
heads. Hes. 

Cotyl^eus, a surname of JEs- 
culapius, worshipped on the borders of 
the Eurotas. His temple was raised bv 
Hercules. Paus. 

CoTYORA,acityof Asia Minor. 

Cotys. Ancient writers men- 
tion many of this name, in whose lives 
there is nothing very remarkable. 

Cotytto, the goddess of all 
debauchery, whose festivals called Co- 
tyttia, were celebrated by the Athenians, 
Corinthians, Thracians," <fcc. during the 
night. Her priests were called Bapt-ce, 
and nothing but debauchery and wan- 
tonness prevailed at the celebration. A 
festival of the same name was observed 
in Sicily. It was a capital punishmtnt 
to reveal whatever was seen or done at 
these sacred festivals. The goddess Co- 
tytto is supposed to be the same as Pro- 
serpine. Horat. Juv. 

Cragus, a mountain of Cilicia. 

part of Mount Taurus. Ovid. 

Craxai, a surname of the 
Athenians, from their king Cranaus. 
Herodot. 

Cranaus, the second king of 
Athens, who succeeded Cecrops, and 
reigned nine years, B. C. 1497. — A city 
of Caria. Plin. 

Cranon and Crannon, a 
town of Thessaly, on the borders of 
Macedonia, where Antipater and Cra- 
terus defeated the Athenians after Alex- 
anders death. Liv. 

Crantor, a philosopher of 
Soli, among the pupils of Plato, B. C. 
310. He wrote a treatise on grief, called 
Consolatio, so valuable, that Cicei'o re- 
commends every word of it to be learned 
by heart. Horat. 

Craratesiclea, mother of 

Cleomenes. 

Crassipes, surname of the 
Furii family at Rome. 

Crassus. A name common to 

some eminent Romans, the most con- 
spicuous of whom is M. Licinius, sur- 
named Rich, on account of his wealth 
acquired by educating slaves, and selling 
them at a high price. The cruejties of 
China obliged him to retire to Spain, 
where he remained concealed for eight 
months. After China's death he served 
Sylla, and ingratiated himself in his fa- 
vor. When the gladiators, with Spai- 
tacus at their head, had defeated some 
of the Roman generals, Crassus was sent 
against them, who slaughtered 12,000 
of the slaves, and, by this decisive blow, 
soon put an end to the war. He was 



CRA 



CRE 



honored with an ovatio at his return. 
He was soon after made consul with 
Pompey, then censor, and formed the 
first triumvirate with Pompey and Cae- 
sar. As his love of riches was more pre- 
dominant than that of glory, he was 
satisfied with the province of Syria, 
which seemed to promise an inexhaust- 
ible source of wealth. He set off from 
Rome for Asia, and, on his arrival, 
crossed the Euphrates, and hastened to 
make himself mast§e of Parthia. He 
was betrayed in his march by the delay 
of Artavasdes, king of Armenia, and the 
perfidy of Ariamnes. He was met, in a 
large plain, by Surena, the general of 
the forces of Orodes, king of Parthia; 
and a battle was fought, in which 20,000 
Romans were killed, and 10,000 taken 
prisoners. Crassus, forced by the mu- 
tiny and turbulence of his soldiers, and 
the treachery of his guides, trusted him- 
self to the general of the enemy, on pre- 
tence of proposing terms of accommo- 
dation, and was put to death, B. C. 53. 
His head was cut off, and sent to Orodes, 
xvho poured melted lead down his throat, 
and insulted his misfortunes. Though 
he has been called avaricious, yet he 
showed himself always ready to lend 
money to his friends without interest. 
He was fond of philosophy, and his 
knowledge of history was great and ex- 
tensive. Plutarch has written his life. 
— Publius, the son of the rich Crassus, 
went into Parthia with his father. 
When he saw himself surrounded by 
the enemy, and without any hope of 
escape, he ordered one of his men to 
run him through. His head was cut off, 
and shown with insolence to his father, 
by the Parthians. Plut.—L. Licinius, a 
celebrated Roman orator, commended 
by Cicero. 

Grastinus, killed at the bat- 
tle of Pharsalia. 

Cratais, the same as Hecuba. 

Crater, a bay of Campania. 

Craterus. The most cele- 
brated of this name is one of Alexan- 
der's generals. He rendered himself 
conspicuous by his literary fame, as well 
as by his valor, and wrote the history of 
Alexander's life. He was greatly re- 
spected by the Macedonian soldiers, and 
Alexander always trusted him with con- 
fidence. After Alexander's death, he 
subdued Greece with Anti pater, and 
passed with his colleague into Asia, 
where he was killed in a battie against 
Eumenes, B. C. 321. He had received 
for his share of Alexander's kingdoms, 
Greece and Epirus. Nep. <&c. 

Grates, a philosopher of Bceo- 
tia, son of Ascondus, and disciple of 
Diogenes the Cynic, B. C. 324, was re- 
markable for the austerity of his life, 
and the singularity of his manners. He 
sold his estates, and gave the money to 
bis fe)iov/-ei£iz:?ns. He was naturally 



deformed ,and he rendered himself more 
hideous by sewing sheep skins to his 
mantle. He clothed himself as warm 
as possible in the summer : but in the 
winter his garments were uncommonly 
thin, and incapable of resisting the cold- 
ness of the season. — A native of Perga- 
mus, who wrote an account of the most 
striking events of every age.— A philo- 
sopher of Athens. 

Cratesipolis, queen of Si- 

cyon, who punished her subjects for 
revolting at the decease of her husband, 
Alexander. 

Crathis, a river in Magna 
Graseia, whose waters were remarkable 
for giving a yellow colour to the hair 
and beard of those that drank them. 
Ovid. Paus. 

Cratixus, a native of Athens, 
celebrated for his comic writings, and 
his fondness for drinking. He died at 
the age of 97, B. C. 431 years. Quinti- 
lian greatly commends his comedies. 

Cratippus, a philosopher of 
Mitylene, who taught Cicero's son at 
Athens, among others. After the battle 
of Pharsalia, Pompey visited the house 
of Cratippus, where their discourse 
chiefly turned upon Providence, which 
the warrior blamed, and the philosopher 
defended. PluU Cie. 

Cratylus, a philosopher, pre- 
ceptor to Plato after Socrates. 

Cremera, a small river of Tus- 
cany, falling into the Tiber, famous for 
the "death of the 300 Fabii, who were 
killed there in a battle against the Vei- 
entes, A. U. C. 277. 

Cremona, a town of Cisalpine 
Gaul, on the Po, near Mantua. It was 
a Roman colony, and suffered much 
when Annibal first passed into Italy. 
The inhabitants were robbed of their 
lands and possessions during the second 
triumvirate, and with the spoil Augus- 
tus rewarded those veterans who had as- 
sisted him in enslaving his country, and 
in making himself absolute. Virg'il has 
alluded to these events, and lamented 
the violence and robbery which extended 
from Cremona to Mantua andthe neigh- 
bouring towns. Virg. Liv. &c. 

Cremonis Jugum, a part of 

the Alps, over which, as some suppose, 
Annibal passed to enter Italy. Liv. 

Cremtjtius Cordus, an his- 
torian who wrote an account of Augus- 
tus, and of the civil wars ; he starved 
himself for fear of the resentment of 
Tiberius, whom he had offended, by 
calling Cassius the last of the Romans. 

Creon, king of Corinth, was 
son of Sisyphus. He promised his 
daughter Glauce to Jason, who repudi- 
ated Medea. Medea, in revenge, sent 
her for a present, a gown covered with 
poison. Glauce put it on, and was seized 
with sudden pains. Her body took fire, 



CRE 



CRI 



and she expired in the greatest torments. 
Creon and his family shared Glauee's 
fate. Apollod. — A son of Mencetius, fa- 
ther to Jocasta, the wife and mother of 
CEdipus. At the death of Lai us, who 
had married Jocasta, Creon ascended 
the vacant throne of Thebes, but re- 
signed it in favor of CEdipus, who had 
explained the enigmas proposed by the 
Sphinx. He resumed it again, as guar- 
dian of Leodamas, the son of Eteocles, 
who had been slain in single combat by 
his brother Polymces,untilhe should be 
of age to assume the crown. Creon was 
afterwards killed by Theseus, who had 
made war with him. [Vid. Sphinx, 
Eteocles, Polynices, Adrastus,(Edipus.] 
Apollod. Sophocl. &c. — The first annual 
archon at Athens, 684 B. C. 

Creontiades, a son of Her- 
cules, by Megara, daughter of Creon, 
killed by his father, because he had 
slain Lycus. 

C re o phil us, a Saurian, who 

hospitably entertained Homer, from 
whom he received a poem in return. 
Some say that he was the poet's master, 
&e. Strab. 

Creperius Pollio, a Ro- 
man of such extravagant propensities, 
that he soon spent all that he had. 

Cresphontes, a son of Aris- 
tomachus, who, with his brothers Te- 
menus and Aristodemus, attempted to 
recover the Peloponnesus. Paus. 

Creston, a Thracian town, 
in which wives sacrificed themselves on 
the graves of their husbands. 

Cresus and Ephesus, two 
men who built the temple of Diana at 
Ephesus. Paus. 

Creta, one of the largest 
islands of the Mediterranean sea, at the 
south of all the Cyclades, was once fa- 
mous for its hundred cities. Jupiter, as 
some authors report, was educated in 
that island by the Corybantes, and the 
Cretans boasted that they could shew his 
tomb. The island was made a Roman 
province B. C. 66, after a war of three 
years. It extends, from east to west, 270 
miles, and is about 50 miles in breadth. 

Crete, the wife of Minos, 
daughter of Deucalion. 

Creteus, a Trojan, distin- 
guished as a poet and musician. He 
followed iEneas, and was killed by Tur- 
nus. Virg. 

Cretheis, the wife of Acas- 
tus, king of Iolchos, who fell in love 
with Peleus, son of J5acus, and accused 
him of attempts upon her virtue, be- 
cause he refused to comply with her 
wishes, &c. Pindar. 

Cretheus, a son of iEolus and 

Enaretta, daughter of Deimachus. He 
was the founder and sovereign of Iolchos, 
and he married Tyro,his brother's daugh- 



ter, after her amour with Neptune, and 
was father of three sons, Amythacn, 
Pheres, and iEson. Propert. Apollod. 

Crethon, son of Diocles, 

slain by ^Eneas. Homer. 

C re USA. The most celebrated 
of this name are the following : — A 
daughter of Creon, king of Corinth. As 
she was going to marry Jason, who had 
divorced Medea, she put on a poisoned 
garment, which immediately set her 
body on fire, and she expired in the 
most excruciating torments. She had re- 
ceived this gown as a gift from Medea, 
who wished to take that revenge upon 
the infidelity of Jason. Some call her 
Glauce. Ovid. — A daughter of Priam , 
king of Troy, by Hecuba. She married 
yEneas, by whom she had some children , 
among whom was Ascanius. When Troy 
was taken, she fled in the night with her 
husband ; but they were separated in the 
midst of the tumult, and iEneas could 
not recover her, nor hear where she was. 
Cybele saved her, and carried her to her 
temple, of which she became priestess ; 
according to the relation of Virgil, who 
makes Creusa appear to her husband in 
a vision, while he was seeking her in the 
tumult of war. She predicted to .Eneas 
the calamities that attended him, the 
fame he should acquire when he came to 
Italy, and his consequent marriage with 
a princess of the country. Paus. Virg. 

CrinIsus and Crimisus, a 

river on the western parts of Sicily, near 
Segesta, where Timoleoii defeated the 
Carthaginian forces. 

Crinisus, a Trojan prince, 
who exposed his daughter on the sea, 
rather than suffer her to be devoured by 
the sea monster which Neptune sent to 
punish the infidelity of Laomedon. {Vid. 
Laomedon.J The daughter came safe 
to the shores of Sicily. Crinisus went 
in quest of her, and was so disconsolate 
for her loss, that the gods changed him 
into a river in Sicily, and granted him 
the power of metamorphosing himself 
into whatever shape he pleased. 

Crispin us, though originally 
a slave in Egypt, was raised to the ho- 
nors of knighthood by the emperor Do- 
mirian. Juv. — A stoic philosopher, as 
remarkable for his loquacity as for the 
foolish and tedious poem he wrote, to 
explain the tenets of his own sect, to 
which Horace alludes in the last verses 
of l Sat. i. 

Crispus Sallustius. [Vid- 
Sallustius.] — Virio, a famous orator. 
Quin til.— The second husband of Agrip- 
pina.— Flav. Jul. a son of the great Con- 
stantine, was distinguished for valor and 
extensive knowledge. Fausta, his step- 
mother, wished to seduce him, and when 
he refused, she accused him before Con- 
stat tine, who believed the crime, and 
caused his son to be poisoned, A. D. 236. 

Criss mvs Sinus, a bay on the 



CRO 



CKO 



coasts of Peloponnesus, near Corinth, 
called also Corinthiacus Sinus, now Sa- 
lena. It received its name from Crissa, 
a town of Phoeis, situate on the bay, 
and near Delphi. 

Critala, a Cappadocian 

town. 

Critheis, a daughter of Me- 
lanippus, and mother of the poet Ho- 
mer, according to. Herndot. 

CritiasJ one of the 30 tyrants 
set over Athens by the Spartans. He 
cruelly persecuted his enemies, and put 
them to death. He was killed in a battle 
against those citizens whom his oppres- 
sion had banished. 

Crito, one of the disciples of 
Socrates, who attended his learned pre- 
ceptor in his last moments, and com- 
posed some dialogues now lost. Diog. 
—This name is common also to two his- 
torians and ajihysician. 

Critobulus, a Phocian gene- 
ral, at the battle fought between the 
Romans and Antiochus at Thermopylae. 

Critogxatus, a celebrated 
warrior of Alesia, when Caesar was in 
Gaul. Cces. Bell. Gall. 

Gritolaus, a citizen of Tegea 
in Arcadia, who, with two brothers 
fought against the three sons of Demos- 
tratus of Pheneus, to put an end to a 
long war between their respective na- 
tions. The brothers of Critolaus were 
both killed, and he alone remained to 
withstand his three bold antagonists. 
He conquered them ; and when, at his 
return, his sister deplored the death of 
one of his antagonists, to whom she was 
betrothed, he killed her in a fit of re- 
sentment. The offence deserved capital 
punishment, but he was pardoned on 
account of the services he had rendered 
his country. He was afterwards general 
of the Achaeans, and it is said that he 
poisoned himself, because he had been 
conquered at Thermopylae by the Ro- 
mans. Cic. 

Grius, a river of Achaia, called 
after a giant of the same name. Paws. — 
A son of Ccelus and Terra, who married 
Eurybia, daughter of Tellus, by whom 
he had three sons, Astneus, the husband 
of Aurora, Pallas, the husband of Styx, 
and Perses, the father of Hecate by 
Asteria. Hesiod. Theol. Apollod. 

Croc ale, one of the attendants 
on Diana. 

Grocer, a town of Laconia. 

Crocodilopolis, a town of 
Egypt, near the Nile, above Memphis. 
The crocodiles were held there in the 
greatest veneration ; and they were so 
tame, that they came to take food from 
the hands of their feeders. It was after- 
wards called Arsinoe. Herodot. &c. 

Crocus, a beautiful youth, 
enamoured of the nymph Smilax. He 



was changed into a flower of the same 
name, on account of the impatience of 
his lo ve,and Similax was metamorphosed 
into a yew-tree. Ovid. 

Croesus, the fifth and last of 
the Mermnadas, who reigned in Lydia, 
was son of Alyattes, and passed for the 
richest of mankind. His court was the 
asylum of learning ; and ^Esop, the fa- 
mous fable writer, among others, lived 
under his patronage. In a conversation 
with Solon, he wished to be thought the 
happiest of mankind ; but the philoso- 
pher apprised him of his mistake, and 
gave the preference to poverty and do- 
mestic virtue. . Croesus undertook a war 
against Cyrus, the king of Persia, and 
marched to meet him with an army of 
420,000 men, and 60,000 horse. After 
a reign of 14 years, he was defeated, 
B. C." MS, and he fell into the conquer- 
or's hands, who ordered him to be burnt 
alive. The pile was already on fire, 
when Cyrus heard the conquered mon- 
arch three times exclaim, 'Solon! with 
uncommon energy. He asked him the 
reason of his exclamation, and Croesus, 
repeated the conversation he had once 
with Solon on human happiness. Cyrus 
was moved at the recital, and at the re- 
collection of the inconstancy of human 
affairs, he ordered Croesus to be taken 
from the burning pile, and became one 
of his most intimate friends. The king- 
dom of Lydia was extinguished in him, 
and the power was transferred to Persia. 
Croesus survived Cyrus. The manner 
of his death is unknown. He is cele- 
brated for the immensely rich presents 
which he made to the temple of Delphi, 
from which he received an obscure and 
ambiguous oracle, which he interpreted 
in his favor, and which was fulfilled in 
the destruction of his empire by Cyrus 
the Great. Herodot. Plat. 

Cromi, Cromitis, a people 

and country of Arcadia. 

Crommyox, in Attica, where 
Perseus killed the wild sow, which had 
done so much damage throughout the 
surrounding country. 

Croxia, a festival at Athens, 
in honor of Saturn. The Rhodians ob- 
served the same festival, and generally 
sacrificed to the god a condemned ma- 
lefactor. 

Crophi, a mountain of Egypt, 

near which were the sources of the Nile, 
accord ing to some traditions, in the city 
of Sais. Herodot. 

Cross^a, a country, part of 
which was situated in Macedon, and a 
part in Thrace. Herod. 

Cro talus, a river in Italy. 

Crotox, killed by Hercules, 
whom after his death Hercules highly 
honoured. l)iod. Sic. 

Ce,6t6xa, a town of Italy, in 
the bay of Tarentum, founded 759 years 



CTE 



CUP 



before the Augustan age, by a colony 
from Achaia. " The inhabitants were 
excellent warriors, and great wrestlers, 
Dernocedes, Alcmaeon, Milo, &c. were 
natives of this place. It was surrounded 
with a wall 12 miles in circumference, 
before the arrival of Pyrrhus in Italy. 
This town received ample glory in being 
the place where the celebrated" philoso- 
pher Pythagoras opened his school. He- 
rodot. Strab. 

Crotoptjs, a king of Argos, 
son of Agenor, and father to Psamathe, 
the mother of Linus by Apollo. Ovid. 

. Crotus, a son of Eumene, the 
nurse of the Muses. His infancy was 
protected by these goddesses ; and after 
a life spent in the labors of the chase, 
and in paying due honors to his patron- 
esses, he was placed by Jupiter among 
the stars, under the name of Sagittarius. 
Paus. 

Crustuminum, a town of 

Etruria, near Veii, famous for pears ; 
whence the adjective Crustumia. Virg. 

Cteattjs, a Grecian chief at 
the siege of Troy. 

C ten os, a haven of Cherso- 

nesus Taurica. 

Ctesias, a Greek historian 
and physician of Cnidos, taken prisoner 
by Artaxerxes Mnemon at the battle of 
Cunaxa. He cured the king's wounds, 
and was his physician 17 years. He 
wrote an history of the Assyrians and 
Persians, which Justin and" D-odorus 
have preferred to that of Herodotus. 

Ctesibius. The most cele- 
brated of this name is a mathematician 
of Alexandria, who flourished 135 years 
B.C. He was the inventor of the pump, 
and other hydraulic instruments. He 
also invented a clepsydra, or water clock. 
The modern manner of measuring time 
with an hour glass is an imitation of the 
eiepsydra of Ctesibius. Vitruv. ^ 

Ctsidemus, the master of An- 
tiphilus, the celebrated painter. 

Ctesil?: chtjs, a noble painter, 
who represented Jupiter as bringing 
forth Bacchus. Plin. 

Ctesiphon. The most re- 
markable of this name is an Athenian, 
who advised his fellow-citizens publicly 
to present Demosthenes with a golden 
crown for his probity and virtue. This 
was opposed by the orator ^Esehines, 
the rival of Demosthenes, who accused 
Ctesiphon of seditious views. Demo- 
sthenes undertook the defence of his 
friend, in a celebrated oration still ex- 
tant, and JEschines was banished. — A 
Greek architect, who made the plan of 
Diana's temple of Ephesus.— A large 
village of Assyria, on the banks of the 
Tigris, where the kings of Parthia ge- 
nerally resided in winter, on account of 
the mildness of the climate. Strab. 

CtesippuSj son of Chabrias, 



wnom Phocion took into his house, and 
attempted to reclaim ; but without effect. 

Cu ma and Cumje, a town of 
iEolia, hi Asia Minor. — A city of Cam- 
pania, near Puteoli, founded by a co- 
lony from Chalcis and Cumse, of JEolia, 
before the Trojan war. The inhabitants 
were called Cumcei. There was one of 
the Sibyls that fixed her residence in a 
cave in the neighbourhood, and was 
called the Cumcean Sibyl. [Yid. Sibyl- 
las.] It was hare, also, that Daedalus, 
after he had escaped from the prisons of 
Crete, and the resentment of Minos, 
erected a magnificent temple to Apollo, 
Cumas,on account of its delightful situa- 
tion, became the favorite resort of many 
of the Roraans. Mela. Liv. Plin. &c 

Cunaxa, a place of Assyria, 

500 stadia from Babylon, famous for a 
battle fought there between Artaxerxes 
and his brother Cyrus the younger, 
B. C. 401, in which" the latter" was de- 
feated. Cyrus entered the field of battle 
with 113,000 men, and the forces of Ar- 
taxerxes amounted to 900,000 men. 
The valor and the retreat of the 10,000 
Greeks, who were among the troops of 
Cyrus, are well known, and have been 
celebrated by the pen of Xenophon, who 
was present "at the battle, and who had 
the principal care of the retreat. 

CUXIXA Or CUXARIA, a di- 
vinity, who, according to the Romans* 
presided over children when in the 
cradle ; whence her name. Varro. 

Cupido, a celebrated deity 

among the ancients, god of love, and 
love itself. There are different tradi- 
tions concerning his parents. Cicero 
mentions three Cupids; one, son of 
Mercury and Diana; another, son of 
Mercury and Venus ; and the third, of 
Mars and Venus. Plato mentions two. 
Hesiod, the most ancient theogonist, 
speaks only of one, who, as he says, was 
produced at the same time as Chaos and 
the Earth. There are, according to the 
more received opinions, two Cupids,one 
of whom is a lively ingenious youth, son 
of Jupiter and Venus ; whilst the other, 
son of Nox and Erebus, is distinguished 
by his debauchery and riotous disposi- 
tion. Cupid is generally represented as 
a winged infant, naked, armed with a 
bow and a quiver full of arrows. He is 
however variously represented on gems 
and all other pieces of antiquity. Among 
the ancients he was worshipped with the 
same solemnity as his mother Venus, 
and as his influence was extended over 
the heavens, the sea, the earth, and 
even the empire of the dead, Cupid, 
like the other gods, assumed different 
shapes ; and we find him in th e .rEneid 
putting on, at the request of his mother, 
the form of Ascanius, and going to 
Dido's court, where he inspired the 
queen with love. Virg. Hesiod. Ovid. 
&c. 



CUR 



CYA 



Cures, a town of the Sabines, 
of which Tatius was king. The inha- 
bitants, called Quirites, were carried to 
Rome, of which they became citizens. 
Vug. Lip. 

Curetes, a people or Crete, 
called also Corybantes, who, according 
to Ovid, were" produced from rain. 
Their knowledge of all the arts was ex- 
tensive, and they communicated it to 
many parts of ancient Greece. They 
were" entrusted with the education of 
Jupiter, and to prevent his being dis- 
covered by his father, they invented a 
kind of dance, and drowned his cries 
in the harsh sounds of their shields and 
cymbals. Vhg. &c. , 

C u re t i s, a name given to 
Crete, as being the residence of the Cu- 
retes. Ovid, 

Curia, a division of the Ro- 
man tribes. Romulus originally divided 
the people into three tribes, and each 
tribe into 10 Curia?. The word Curia 
was also applied to public edifices among 
the P.omans. These were generally of 
two sorts, divine and civil. In the former 
■were held the assemblies of the priests 
for the regulation of religious cere- 
monies. The other was appointed for 
the senate, where they assembled for 
the dispatch of public business. 

Curia lex, a law, which for- 
bade the convening of a meeting for the 
election of magistrates, without an 
order from the senate. 

Curiatii, a family of Alba, 
which was carried to Rome by Tullus 
Hostilius, and entered among the Patri- 
cians. The three Curiatii, who engaged 
the Horatii, and Lost the victory, were 
of this family. 

Q. Curio, an excellent orator, 
who called Caesar in full senate, Omnium 
mulierum virum, et omnium virorum 
muaerum. Tacit. — His son, C. Scribo- 
nius, was tribune of the people, and 
saved Caesars life as he returned from 
the senate-house, after the debates con- 
cerning the punishments which ought 
to be inflicted on the adherents of Ca- 
tiline. He killed himself in Africa. 

Curiosolit^e, a Celtic people 
occupying the country, since called 
Lower Britany. 

Curium, a town of Cyprus. 

Curids Dentatus, Mar- 
cus ANNIUS, a Roman, celebrated 
for his fortitude and frugality. He was 
three times consul, and was twice ho- 
nored with a triumph. He obtained de- 
cisive victories over the Samnites, the 
Sabines, and the Lucanians, and de- 
feated Pyrrhus near Tarentum. The 
ambassadors of the Samnites visited his 
cottage, while he was boiling some ve- 
getables in an earthen pot, and attempt- 
ed to bribe him by the offer of large 



presents. He refused them with con- 
tempt, and said, 1 prefer my earthen 
pots to all your vessels of gold and 
silver, and it is my wish to command 
those who are in possession of money, 
while I am deprived of it, and live in 
poverty. Plut. &c. 

Curtia, a patrician family, 
which came with Tatius to Rome. 

Curtiluus, a famous epi- 
cure, mentioned by Horace. 

M. Curtius. The most cele- 
brated of this name is a Roman youth 
who devoted himself to the gods Manes 
for the fafety of his country, about 360 
years B.C. A wide gap had suddenly 
opened in the forum, and the oracle had 
said that it never would close before 
Rome threw into it whatever it had 
most precious. Curtius immediately 
perceived that no less than a human 
sacrifice was required. He armed him- 
self, mounted his horse, and solemnly 
threw himself into the gulf, which in- 
stantly closed over his head. Liv. Val. 
Max. 

Curuxis Magistrates, a 

state officer in Rome, who had the pri- 
vilege of sitting in an ivory chair* in 
public assemblies. The dictator, the 
consuls, the censors, the praetors, and 
ediles, claimed that privilege, and there- 
fore were called curules magistratus. 
The descendants of curule magistrates 
were called nobiles, and those that had 
never been m offices were called igno- 
biles. 

Cuss^ei, an Asiatic people, 
whom Alexander destroyed with a view 
of appeasing the manes "of Hephaestion. 

Cutilium, a town of the Sa- 
bines, near a lake which contained a 
floating island, and of which the water 
was of an unusually cold quality. Plin* 

Cyane, a nymph of Syracuse, 
to whom her father offered violence in 
a fit of drunkenness. \\_Vid. Cyanip- 
pus.] She dragged her ravisher to the 
altar, where she sacrificed him. Plut. 
— A nymph of Sicily, who endeavoured 
to assist Proserpine when she was car- 
ried away by Pluto. The god changed 
her into a fountain. Ovid. — A town of 
Lycia. 

CrANEiE, two rugged islands 
at the entrance of the Euxine sea. One 
of them is on the side of Asia, and the 
other on the European coast. They 
were sometimes called Symplegades and 
Planetae. Their true situation and form 
was first explored and ascertained by 
the Argonauts. The ancients supposed 
that these islands floated, and even 
sometimes united to crush vessels into 
pieces when they passed through the 
straits. Strab. Mela. 

Cyanippus, a Syracusan, who 
derided the orgies of Bacchus, for which 
G5 



CYB 



CYD 



impiety the god so inebriated him , that 
he offered violence to his daughter, who 
sacrificed him on the altar. Plut. 

Cyaraxes, or Cyaxares, 

son of Phraortes, was king of Media 
and Persia. He bravelv defended his 
kingdom, which the Scythians had in- 
vaded, and made war against Alyattes, 
king of Lydia, and subjected to his 
power all Asia beyond the river Halys. 
He died after a reign of 40 years, B.C. 
585. Diod. — Another prince, supposed 
by some to be the same as Darius the 
Mede. He was son of Astyages, king 
of Media. He added seven provinces 
to his father's dominions, and made war 
against the Assyrians, whom Cyprus 
favored. Xen. 

Cybebe, a name of Cybele 

from xvfir,$eiv 9 because inthe celebra- 
tion of her festivals men were driven to 
madness. 

Cybele, a goddess, daughtei 

of Ccelus and Terra, and wife of Saturn, 
is supposed to be the same as Ceres, 
Rhea, Ops, Vesta, Bona Mater, Magna 
Mater, Bereeynthia, Dindymene, &c. 
According to Diodorus, she was the 
daughter of a Lydian prince; and as 
soon as born she was exposed on a 
mountain, called Cybele, where she was 
preserved and suckled by some beasts. 
When she returned to her father, she 
had a memorable intrigue with Atys. 
The partiality of the goddess for Atys 
seems to arise from his having first in- 
troduced her worship in Phrygia, where 
festivals in honor of her were observed 
with the greatest solemnity. Her priests, 
called Corybantes, Galli, &c. were not 
admitted in the service of the goddess 
without a previous mutilation. In the 
celebration of the festivals, they imi- 
tated madmen, and filled the air with 
dreadful howlings, mixed with the con- 
fused noise of drums, tabrets, bucklers, 
and spears. Cybele was generally repre- 
sented as a robust woman, far advanced 
in her pregnancy, to imitate the fe- 
cundity of the earth. She sometimes 
appears riding in a chariot drawn by 
two tame lions ; Atys follows by her 
side, carrying a ball in his hand, and 
supporting himself upon a fir-tree, 
which is sacred to the goddess. She is 
also seen with many breasts, to show 
that the earth gives aliments to all liv- 
ing creatures. From Phrygia the wor- 
ship of Cybele passed into Greece, and 
was solemnly established at Eleusis, 
under the name of the Eleusinian my- 
steries of Ceres. It is supposed that the 
mysteries of Cybele were first known 
about 1580 years B. C. The Romans 
were particularly superstitious in wash- 
ing every year, on the 6th of the calends 
of April, the shrine of this goddess, in 
the waters of the river Almon. Diod. 
Virg. &c. 



Cybelus, a mountain of Phry- 
gia, where Cybele was worshipped. 

CrCESIUM, a town in the Pe- 
loponnesus. 

Cychreus, honoured as a 
god in Attica. Telamon having freed 
the country from an immense serpent, 
Cychreus left him his successor. 

Cyclades, a name given to 

certain islands of the JEgean sea, those 
particularly that surround Delos as with 
a circle; whence the name xi/y.Xcjy 
circulus. They were about 53 in num- 
ber, the principal of which were Ceos, 
Naxos, Andros, Paros, Melos, Seriphos, 
Gyaros, Tenedos, &c. The Cyclades 
were reduced under the power of Athens 
by Miltiades ; but during the invasion 
of Greece by the Persians, they revolted 
frorn their ancient and natural allies. 
C. Nep. Plin. &c. 

Cyclopes, a certain race of 

men of gigantic stature, supposed to be 
the sons of Ccelus and Terra. They 
had but one eye in the middle of the 
forehead; whence their name XL»x\op. 
circulus, w^? oculus. Mythologists dif- 
fer as to their number; Hesiod men- 
tions three, Arges, Brontes, and Ste- 
ropes. Virgil adds a fourth, Pyracmon. 
In the age of Ulysses, Polyphemus was 
their king. [Fid. Polyphemus.] They 
inhabited the western parts of Sicily"; 
and, because they were uncivilized in 
their manners, the poets speak of them 
as men-eaters. The tradition of their 
having only one eye, originated from 
their wearing small bucklers which had 
a small aperture in the middle, which 
corresponded exactly to the eye. From 
their vicinity to mount iEtna, they have 
been supposed to be the workmen of 
Vulcan, and to have fabricated the 
thunderbolts of Jupiter. The shield of 
Pluto, and the trident of Neptune, were 
the produce of their labor. The Cyclops 
were reckoned among the gods, and sa- 
crifices were solemnly offered to them 
at Corinth. Apollo destroyed them all, 
because they had made the thunderbolts 
of Jupiter, with which his son iEscula- 
pius had been killed. Apollod. Homer, 
&c. &c. 

CYCNUS. Ovid in his Meta- 
morphoses mentions three of this name, 
all of whom were changed into swans.— 
Also a son of Mars, killed by Hercules. 
The manner of his death provoked 
Mars to such a degree that he resolved 
to punish his murderer severely, but he 
was prevented by the thunderbolts of 
Jupiter. Hygin.— One of the sons of 
Neptune. He w r as invulnerable. Achil- 
les finding his darts were of no effect 
smothered him ; when having stripped 
him of his armour, he saw him change 
into a swan. 

Cydias, a painter who made a 



CYN 



CYP 



painting of the Argonauts. This cele- 
brated piece was bought by the orator 
Hortensius, for 164 talents. Plin. 

Cydippe, the mother of Cleo- 
bis and Biton. \Vid. Cleobis.]— One of 
Gyrene's attendants. Virg. 

Cydnus, a river of Cilicia, near 
Tarsus, where Alexander bathed when 
violently heated. He almost died of the 
consequences. Curt. 

Cydon and Cydonia, a town 
of Crete, built by a colony from Samos. 
It was supposed that Minos generally 
resided there. Hence Cydoneus. Ovid. 
&c. 

Cydonia, a small island op- 
posite to Lesbos. 

Cydrolaus, a leader of a co- 
lony to Samos. 

Cygnus. [Vid. Cycnus.] 

Cylices, a people among the 
Illyrians. There was in their country a 
monument in honor of Cadmus. Athen. 

Cyllabaris, a gymnasium at 
Athens, ornamented with a statue of 
Minerva. 

Cylliani, mountains of 
Phrygia, in which the river Cayster 
rises. 

Cylindus, a son of Phryxus 
and Calliope. 

Cyllarus. The most beauti- 
ful of all the Centaurs, passionately 
fond of Hylonome. He was killed at the 
marriage of Pirithous ; and Hylonome, 
inconsolable for his loss, stabbed herself 
with the darts which had caused his 
death. Ovid. Met. 

Cyllarus, a celebrated horse 

of Castor. Virg. 

Cyllene, the mother of Ly- 
caon, by Pelasgus. Apollod. — A moun- 
tain of Arcadia, which received its name 
from Cyllen. Mercury was born there ; 
hence his surname of Cylleneius. Virg. 
Ovid. 

Cylleneius, a surname of 

Mercury, from his being born on the 
mountain Cyllene. 

Cyma, a beautiful town of 
JEotta. 

Cymodoce, one of the Nerei- 
des. 

Cymolus, an island in the 
Cretan sea. 

Cyn^girus, an Athenian, ce- 
lebrated for his extraordinary courage. 
He was brother to the poet iEschylus. 
After the battle of Marathon, he pur- 
sued the flying Persians to their ships, 
and seized one of their vessels with his 
right hand, which was immediately 
severed by the enemy. Upon this he 
seized the vessel with his left hand, 
and when he had lost that also, he still 



kept his hold with his teeth. Herodot. 
Justin. 

Cyn ane, a daughter of Philip, 

king of Macedonia, who married Amyn- 
tas, son of Perdiecas, by whom she had 
Eurydice. Polycen. 

Cynic i, a sect of philosophers 

founded by Antisthenes the Athenian. 
They received this name a canina mor- 
daciiate, from their canine propensity 
to criticise the lives and actions of men, 
or because, like dogs, they were not 
ashamed to gratify their criminal de- 
sires publicly. They were famous for 
their contempt of riches, for the negli- 
gence of their dress, and the length 
of their beards. Diogenes was one of 
their sect. They generally slept on the 
ground. 

CYNiscA,a daughter of Archi- 

damus, king of Sparta, who obtained 
the first prize in the chariot races at the 
Olympicgames. Paus. 

Cyno, a woman who preserved 
the life of Cyrus. Herodot. 

Cynocephale, a town of 

Thessaly, where the proconsul Quintius 
conquered Philip of Macedon, and put 
an end to the first Macedonian war, 
B. C. 197. Liv.—A nation in India, 
the inhabitants of which have the head 
of a dog, according to some traditions. 
Plin. 

Cynophontis, a festival at 

Argos, observed during the dog days. 
It received its name oltio rov xvyo>.g. 
fyovsiv, killing dogs, because they used 
to kill all the dogs they met. 

Cyno sura, a nymph of Ida, 
in Crete. She nursed Jupiter, who 
changed her into a star which bears the 
same name. It is the same as the Ursa 
Minor. Ovid. 

Cynthia, a beautiful woman, 

who was mistress to Propertius. — A sur- 
name of Diana, from mount Cynthus, 
where she was born. 

Cynthius, a surname of 

Apollo. 

Cynthus, a mountain of De- 

los, so high that it is said to overshadow 
the whole island. Apollo was surnamed 
Cynthius, and Diana Cynthia, as the 
mountain was sacred to them. Virg. 

Cyparissus, a youth, son of 
Telenhus, of Cea, beloved by Apollo. 
He killed a favorite stag of Apollo, for 
which he was so sorry, that he pined 
away, and was changed by the god into 
a cypress tree. Ovid. 

Cyprianus, a native of Car- 
thage, who became a convert to Chris- 
tianity, and the bishop of his country. 
To be more devoted to purity and study, 
he abandoned his wife ; and as a proof 
of his charity he distributed his goods to 
the poor. He rendered his cornposi- 



CYR 

tions valuable by the information he 
conveyed of the discipline of the an- 
cient church, and by the soundness and 
nurity of his theology. He died a mar- 
tyr, A. D. 258. 

CYPRUS, a daughter of An- 
tony and Cleopatra, who married Agrip- 

pa A large island in the Mediterranean 

sea, at the south of Cilicia, and the west 
of Syria. It has been celebrated for 
giving birth to Venus, who was the chief 
deity of the place, and to whose service 
many places and temples were conse- 
crated. Its length, according to Strabo, 
is 1400 stadia. There were three cele- 
brated temples there, two sacred to Ve- 
nus, and the other to Jupiter. The in- 
habitants were given much to pleasure 
and dissipation. The island is about 
150 miles long and 50 broad, and ac- 
cording to Pliny, was said to have been 
formerlv joined to the continent near 
Syria, "strab. Ptol. &c. 

Cypselides, descendants of 
Gypselus, king of Corinth. 

Cypsexus, a king of Arcadia. 
— Also a man of Corinth, son of Eetion, 
and father of Periander, who destroyed 
the Bacchidae, and seized upon the so- 
vereign power, about 659 years before 
Christ. He reigned 30 years, and was 
succeeded bv his son Periander. Pans. 
—The father of Miltiades. 

Cyren aiCA, a country of 
Africa, of which Cyrene is the capital. 

Cyrenaici, a sect of philo 
sophers who followed the doctrine of 
Aristippus. They placed their summwn 
bonum in pleasure, and said that virtue 
ought to be commended because it gave 
pleasure. 

Cyrei*e, the daughter of the 
river Peneus, of whom Apollo became 
enamoured. He carried her to that part 
of Africa which is called Cyrenaica, 
where she brought forth Aristseus. Virg. 
&c— A celebrated city of Libya, built 
by a Grecian colony, and situate in a 
beautiful and fertile plain, about eleven 
miles from the Mediterranean sea; 
Aristseus, who was the chief of the co- 
lonists, gave it his mother's name. It 
became the capital of the country. It 
gave birth to many great men, among 
whom were Callimachus, Eratosthenes, 
Carneades, Aristippus, &c. The king- 
dom was bequeathed to the Romans, 
B. C. 97, by king Ptolemy Appion. 
Herodot. Strab. &c 

Cyriades, one of the thirty 

tyrants in the reign of Gallienus. 

Cyrillus, a bishop of Jerusa- 
lem, who died A. D. 386. — A bishop of 
Alexandria, who died A. D. 444. 

Cyrnus, an island on the coast 
of Liguria. It is the same as Corsica : 
it is called after Cyrnus, the son of Her- 
cules. Virg, 



CYR 

Cyrr^et, a people of Ethio- 
pia. 

Cyrrhad.e, a people of In- 
dia. 

Cyrrhestica, in Syria, hav- 
ing Cyrrhum for its capital. 

C ye s'ilus, an Athenian, 

stoned to death for having advised the 
submission of the state to the power of 
Persia. 

Cyrus, a king of Persia, son 

of Cambyses and Mandane. daughter of 
Astyages, king of Media. His father was 
of an ignoble family. [ Fid, Astyages.] 
Cyrus was exposed as soon as born, but 
was preserved by a shepherdess, who 
educated him as her own son. As he was 
playing with his equals in years, he was 
elected king in a certain diversion, and 
he exercised his power with so indepen- 
dent a spirit, that he ordered one of his 
companions to be severely whipped for 
disobedience. The father of the youth, 
who was a nobleman, complained to the 
king of the ill-treatment which his son 
had^received from a shepherd's son. As- 
tyages ordered Cyrus before him, and 
discovered that he was Mandane's son. 
He treated him with great coldness ; 
and Cyrus, unable to bear his tyranny, 
escaped from his confinement, and be- 
gan to levy troops to dethrone his 
grandfather. He marched against Asty- 
ages, who was defeated and taken pri- 
soner, B. C. 559. From this victory the 
empire of Media became tributary to the 
Persians. Cyrus subdued the eastern 
parts of Asia, and made war against 
Croesus, king of Lydia, whom he con- 
quered, B. C. 548. He invaded the 
kingdom of Assyria, and took the city 
of Babylon, by "drying the channels o'f 
the Euphrates. He afterwards marched 
against Tomyris, the queen of the Mas- 
sagetae, a Scvthian nation, and was de- 
feated in a bloody battle, B. C. 530. The 
victorious queen, incensed at the loss of 
her son slain in a previous battle, cut off 
his head, and threw it into a vessel filled 
with human blood, exclaiming, Satia te 
sanguine quern sitisti. Xenophon has 
written the life of Cyrus : but hisTiistory 
is not perfectly authentic. The Cyro- 
pcedia, therefore, is not to be looked 
upon as an authentic history of Cyrus 
the Great, but as showing what every 
virtuous prince ought to be. Diod. He- 
rodot. Justin. — The younger Cyrus was 
the 3 r ounger son of Darius Nothus, and 
the brother of Artaxerxes. "When Ar- 
taxerxes succeeded to the throne, Cyrus, 
who was of an aspiring soul, attempted 
to assassinate him, and was to have been 
punished with death, had not his mo- 
ther, Parysatis, saved him by her tears 
and entreaties. This circumstance did 
not check the ambition of Cyrus. Being 
appointed over Lydia and the sea-coasts, 
he secretly fomented rebellion, and le- 
vied troops under various pretences. At 



CYT 



CYZ 



last he took the field with an army of 
100,000 barbarians, and 13,000 Greeks 
under the command of Clearchus. Ar- 
taxerxes met him with 900,000 men 
near Cunaxa in Assyria. The battle was 
long and bloody. It is said that the two 
royal brothers met in prison, and en- 
gaged with the most inveterate fury, 
and their engagement ended in the death 
of Cyrus, 401 years B. C. Artaxerxes 
was sb anxious of its being universally 
reported that his brother had fallen by 
his hand, that he put to death two of 
his subjects, for boasting that they had 
killed Cyrus. The Greeks engaged in 
the expedition remained victorious in 
the field without a commander, and 
nothing is more truly celebrated in an- 
cient history than the bold retreat of 
the ten thousand under Xenophon. 
[Vid. Xenophon.J Pint. Diod. Justin. 
— A rival of Horace, in the affections of 
one of his mistresses. 

Cyrus andCYROPOLis, a city 
of Syria, built by the Jews in honor of 
Cyrus the Great, whose humanity in 
relieving them from their captivity they 
wished thus to commemorate. — A town 
of Media, on the southern borders of 
the Caspian sea. 

Ci'TA, a town of Colchis, fa- 
mous for the poisonous herbs which it 
produces. Flacc. 

Cyt^eis, a surname of Medea, 
from her being an inhabitant of Cyta. 
Propert 

CythIra, an island on the 

coast of Laconia,in Peloponnesus, sub- 
ject to the Argives. It was particularly 
sacred to the goddess Venus, who was 
from thence surnamed Ci/thercea, and 
who arose, as some suppose, from the 
sea, near its coasts. Virg. &c. 

Cy ther^a, a surname of 
Venus. 

Cytheris, a certain courtezan, 
in great favor with Antony. According 



to Servius, she is the same as Lyeoris, 
the person beloved by Gallus and cele- 
brated by Virgil ; but this supposition is 
apparently false. As freedwoman of 
Volumnius Entrapalus, Cytheris was 
called Volumnia. Virg. Ecd. Cic. ad 
Att. 

Cythnos, an island in Attica, 
famous for its cheese. 

Cytineum, one of the four 

cities called Tetrapolis in Doris. Strab. 

Cytorus, a mountain and 
town of Galatia, built by Cytorus, son 
of Phryxus. Strab. Virg. 

Cyzicum, an island of the 

Propontis, about 530 stadia in circum- 
ference, with a town called Cyzicus. 
Alexander joined it to the continent by 
two bridges, and from that time it was 
called a peninsula. It had two harbours, 
called Panormus and Chytus, the one 
natural, the other artificial. It became 
one of the most considerable eities of 
Asia. 

Cyzicus, a son of CEneus and 

Stilba, who reigned in Cyzicus. He re- 
ceived the Argonauts hospitably, in 
their expedition against Colchis. But 
being driven back on the coast, by a 
storm, soon after their departure, the 
inhabitants furiously attacked them, 
supposing them to be the Pelasgi their 
euemies. In this nocturnal engagement, 
many were killed on both sides, and Cy- 
zicus perished by the hand of Jason 
himself, who raised a stately monu- 
ment over his grave. Apollod. &c. 

Cyzicus, the chief town of the 
island of Cyzicum [Fid. Cyzicum], built 
where the island is joined by bridges to 
the continent. It derives its name from 
Cyzicus, who was killed there by Jason. 
The Athenians defeated, near this place, 
their enemies of Lacedaemon, assisted 
by Pharnabazus, B. C.410. Flor. Stiab. 



DAC 

Da.e, Dah^e, or Dai, a peo- 
ple of Scythia, who dwelt on the borders 
of the Caspian sea. Virg. 

Daci and Dac^e, a warlike na- 
tion of Germany, beyond the Danube, 
whose country, called Dacia, now Mol- 
davia, was conquered by the Romans 
under Trajan, after a war of 15 years, 
A. D. 103. The emperor joined the 
country to Moesia, by erecting a mag- 
nificent bridge across the Danube. Da- 
cia, extending between therivers Tibis- 
cus and Hierasus, and bounded on the 
north by the Carpathian mountains, 



MED 

now forms the modern countries of 
Walachia, Transylvania, yfoldavia. Lu- 
can. Dio. 

Dacicus, a name assumed by 

Domitian when he pretended to have 
gained a victory over the Dacians. 

Dactyl i, a name given to the 
priests of Cybele, which some derive 
from 5axrt/Xof a finger t because they 
were ten in number. 

DadicjE, a people of Scythia. 

DjedSla, a name given to 



I) JEM 



DAM 



Circe, from her being cunning'ty*^*- 
7\o ;) and, like Daedalus, addicted to 
deceit and artifice. Virg. 

D.edaliox, a son of Lucifer, 
brother to Ceyx, and father of Philonis. 
He was so afflicted at the death of Phi- 
lonis, whom Diana had put to death, 
that he threw himself down from the 
top of Mount Parnassus, and was 
-Changed into a falcon by Apollo. Ovid. 

DiEDALUS, an Athenian, son of 
Eupalamus, descended from Evectheus, 
king of Athens, was the most ingenious 
artist of his age, and to him we are in- 
debted for the invention of the wedge, 
and many other mathematical instru- 
ments, and the sails of ships. From 
envy he threw his nephew Dalus down 
from a window, and killed him, on ac- 
count of his ingenuity in the arts. After 
the murder, Daedalus, with his son Ica- 
rus, fled from Athens to Crete, where 
Minos gave him a cordial reception. 
Daedalus made a famous labyrinth for 
Minos, and assistedPasiphae, the queen, 
to gratify her unnatural passion for a 
bull. For this action, Daedalus incurred 
the displeasure of Minos, who ordered 
him to be confined in the labyrinth 
which he had constructed. Here he 
made himself wings with feathers and 
wax, and carefully fitted them to his 
body, and that of his son, who was the 
companion of his confinement. They 
took their flight from Crete ; but the 
heat of the sun melted the wax on the 
wings of Icarus, who flew too high, and 
he fell into that part of the ocean, 
which, from him, has been called the 
Icarian sea. The father alighted at Cu- 
mae, in Italy, where he built a temple to 
Apollo, and thence directed his course 
to Sicily, where he was kindly received 
by Cocalus, who reigned over part of 
the country. Many monuments of his 
ingenuity in Sicily still existed in the 
age of Diodorus Siculus. He was dis- 
patched by Cocalus, who was afraid of 
Minos, who had declared war against 
him, because he had given an asylum to 
Daedalus. The flight of Daedalus from 
Crete, with wings, is explained by ob- 
serving that he was theinventorof sails, 
which, in his age, might pass, at a di- 
stance, for wings. Pans. Diod. Ovid, 
&c. — There were two statuaries of the 
same name, one of Sicyon, son of Pa- 
troclus, the other a native of Bithynia. 

Daemon, or Genius, a kind of 
spirit, which, as the ancients supposed, 
presided over the actions of mankind, 
gave them their private counsels, and 
carefully watched over their most secret 
intentions. Some of the ancient philo- 
sophers maintained that every man had 
two of these Daemons ; the one bad and 
the other good. The Daemon or Genius 
of Socrates is very remarkable. It in- 
formed him of many particulars, and 
stopped him from the commission of all 



crimes and impiety. These Daemons 
received divine honor in length of time, 
and we find altars and statues erected to 
a Gsnio loci, Genio Augmti, &e. Cic. 

Dai, a nation of shepherds be- 
longing to the king of Persia. 

Da id is, a solemnity observed 

by the Greeks. It lasted three days. 
The first was in commemoration of La- 
tona's labor : the second in memory of 
Apollo's birth : and the third in honor 
of the marriage of Podalirius and the 
mother of Alexander. Torches were al- 
ways carried at the celebration ; whence 
the name. 

Daimexes, an officer whom 

Dicnyskts exposed on a cross. 

Daira, one of the Oceanides, 

mother of Eleusis by Mercury. Pans. 
Dal 3i at i a, a part of Illyri- 

cura, near Liburnia, on the west, whose 
inhabitants, called Dalmatae, were con- 
quered by Metellus, B. C. 118. They 
chiefly lived upon plunder, and from 
their warlike aud rebellious spirit were 
troublesome to the Roman empire. 
Their chief town was called Salona, fa- 
mous as the residence of the emperor 
Diocletian, after his resignation of the 
purple. Horat. Strab. &c. 

Dalmatius. a Caesar, in the 
time of Constantine. 

Damage tits, a man of Rhodes, 
who inquired of the oracle what wife he 
ought to marry ? and received for an- 
swer, the daughter of the bravest of the 
Greeks. He applied to Aristomenes, 
and obtained his daughter in marriage, 
B. C 670. Pans. 

Damascexa, a part of Syria, 

Damascitjs, a citizen of Da- 
mascus, author of the Life of Isidorus, 
a Philosophical History, and four books 
on extraordinary events. 

Damascus, a rich and ancient 

cit\ T of Syria, where Demetrius Xicanor 
was defeated by Alexander Zebina. It 
is the modern Damas or Sham, inha- 
bited by about 80,000 souls, and cele- 
brated as the rendezvous of thousands 
of pilgrims, who collect from all the 
parts of Asia, to visit the temple of the 
prophet of Mecca. 

Damasia, a town in Germany, 
now Ausburg. 

Damas ip pus, a senator who 
accompanied Juba when he entered 
TJtica in triumph. Ges. — A merchant 
of old seals and vessels, who, after losing 
his all in unfortunate schemes in com- 
merce, assumed the name and habit of 
a stoic philosopher. Herat. 

Damasithynus, son of Can- 

daules, and one of the generals in the 
army of Xerxes against Greece. 

Damia, a surname of Cybele. 



DAN 



DAN 



Damxorix, a celebrated Gaul, 
in the interest of Julius Caesar, &c. 

Damo, a daughter of Pytha- 
goras, who, by order of her father, de- 
voted herlife to perpetual celibacy, and 
induced others to follow her example. 
Pythagoras at his death entrusted her 
with all the secrets of his philosophy, 
and gave her the unlimited care of his 
compositions. 

Da3IOCLES, one of the flatter- 
ers of Dionysius the eider, of Sicily. He 
admired the tyrant's wealth, and pro- 
nounced him the happiest man on earth. 
Dionysius prevailed on him for a while 
to undertake the charge of royalty, and 
be convinced of the happiness which a 
sovereign enjoyed. Damocles ascended 
the throne, and, while he gazed upon 
the wealth and splendor that surrounded 
him, he perceived a sword hanging over 
his head by a horse-hair. This so terri- 
fied him, that all his imaginary felicity 
vanished at once, and he begged Diony- 
sius to remove hirn from a situation 
which exposed his life to such fears and 
dangers. Cic. 

Dam ox. The most celebrated 
of this name is a Pythagorean philoso- 
pher, very intimate with Pythias. When 
he had been condemned to death by 
Dionysius, he obcained from the tyrant 
leave to go and settle his domestic affairs, 
on promise of returning at a stated hour 
to the place of execution. Pythias 
pledged himself to undergo the punish- 
ment which was to be inflicted on Da- 
mon, should he not return in time, aud 
he consequently delivered himself into 
the hands of the tyrant. Damon return- 
ed at the appointed moment, and Dio- 
nysius was so struck with the fidelity of 
these two friends, that he remitted the 
punishment, and entreated them to per- 
mit him to share their friendship, and 
enjoy their confidence. Vol. Max. 

Damophila, a poetess of 
Lesbos, wifecf Pamphilus. She was in- 
timate with Sappho, and not only wrote 
hymns in honor of Diana and of the 
gods, but opened a school, where the 
younger persons of her sex were taught 
the various powers of music and of 
poetry. 

D am os that us, author of a 

treatise on fishes, mentioned by JElian. 

Damoxexes, a Syracusan 
boxer, who was banished for killing one 
of his opponents. 

Daxa. a town in Cappadocia. 

D ax ace, a name given to the 
money, which was paid to Charon by 
every" one, who was ferried over the 
Styx. 

Danae, the daughter of Acri- 
sius, king of Argos, by Eurydice. She 
was confined in a brazen tower by her 
father , who had been told by an oracle 
that his daughter's son would put him 



to death. His endeavours to prevent 
Danae from becoming a mother proved 
fruitless ; as Jupiter, who was enamour- 
ed of her, introduced himself to her 
bed, by changing himself into a golden 
shower. From his embraces Danae had 
a son, with whom she was exposed on 
the sea by her father. The wind drove 
the bark which carried her to the coasts 
of the island of Seriphus, where she 
was saved by some fishermen, and car- 
ried to Polydectes, king of the place, 
whose brother, called Dictys, educated 
the child, called Perseus, and tenderly 
treated the mother. Polvdectes fell in 
love with her ; but, as he was afraid of 
her son, he sent him to conquer the 
Gorgons. When Perseus had victo- 
riously finished his expedition, he re- 
turned to Argos with Danae, to the 
house of Acrisius, whom he inadver- 
tently killed. Some suppose that it was 
Proeius, the brother of Acrisius, who in- 
troduced himself to Danae in the brazen 
tower ; and, instead of a golden shower, 
it was maintained that the keepers of 
Danae were bribed by the gold of her 
seducer. — A daughter of -Dana us, to 
whom Neptune offered violence. 

Danai, a name given to the 
people of Argos, and promiscuously ta 
all the Greeks, from Danaus their king, 

D Ax aides, the fifty daughters 
of Danaus, king of Argos. When their 
uncle, ^gyptus, came from Egypt with 
his fifty sons, they were promised in 
marriage to their cousins ; and^ before 
the celebration of their nuptials, Da- 
naus, who had been informed by an 
oracle that he was to be killed by one of 
his sons-in-law, made his daughters so- 
lemnly promise that they would destroy 
their husbands. They" were provided 
with daggers by their father, and all, ex- 
cept Hypermnestra, the wife of Lyn- 
ceus, murdered their cousins the first 
night of their nuptials, and presented 
him with the heads of their husbands. 
Hypermnestra was summoned to appear 
before her father, but the unanimous 
voice of the people declared her inno- 
cent. The sisters, according to the more 
received opinion, were condemned in 
hell to fill with water a vessel full of 
holes, so that the water ran out as soon 
as poured into it, and therefore their 
labour was infinite, and their punish- 
ment eternal. Apollodoi us has given a 
catalogue of the names of the Danaides> 
aud their respective husbands. 

Daxaptjs, a river in Scythia, 

now the Borysthenes. 

Danaus, a son of Belus and 

Anchinoe, reigned conjointly with his 
brother ^Egyptus, on the throne of 
Egypt. A difference having arisen be- 
tween the brothers, Danaus set sail with 
his fifty daughters in quest of a settle- 
ment. He visited Rhodes, and at length 
arrived safe on the coast of Peloponne- 



DAP 



DAR 



sus, where he was hospitably received 
by Gelanor, king of Argos, the first 
years of whose reign were marked with 
dissensions with his subjects. Danaus 
took advantage of Gelanor's unpopular- 
ity, and obliged him to leave the crown. 
In Gelanor the race of the Inachidae was 
extinguished, and the Belides began to 
reign at Argos, in Danaus. The success 
of Danaus invited the fifty sons of 
jEgyptus to embark for Greece. They 
were kindly received by their uncle, 
who, either apprehensive of their num- 
ber, or terrified by an oracle, caused his 
daughters, to whom they were promised 
in marriage, to murder them the first 
night of their nuptials. His orders were 
executed. Hypermnestra alone spared 
the life of Lynceus, who, after some 
persecution, succeeded his father-in -la w T 
after he had reigned 50 years. \_Vld. 
Banaides.] He died about 1425 years 
before the Christian aera. The ship in 
which Danaus eame to Greece was call- 
ed Armais, and was the first that had 
ever appeared there. Apollod. Herodot. 
&c. 

Dandari, Dandarim:, a 

people near mount Caucasus. 

D and on, a man of Illyricum, 
who, as Pliny reports, lived 500 years. 

Daxubius, a celebrated river, 
the greatest in Europe, which rises, ac- 
cording to Herodotus, near the town of 
Pyrone, in the country of the Celtag, 
and, after flowing through the greatest 
part of Europe, falls into the Euxine 
sea, through seven mouths, or, accord- 
ing to some, six. The Greeks called it 
Ister ; but the Romans distinguished it 
by the appellation of the Danube, from 
its source till the middle of its course, 
and from thence to i-ts mouths they 
called it Ister, like the Greeks. Hero- 
dotus mentions its having five mouths, 
and modern travellers discover only 
two. The Danube was generally sup- 
posed to be the northern boundary of 
the Roman empire in Europe, and, 
therefore, several castles were erected 
on its banks, to check the incursions of 
the Barbarians. It was worshipped as a 
deity by the Scythians. 

Daph^eus, a Syracusan gene- 
ral, hostile to Carthage. Polycen. 

Daphne, a town of Egypt, on 
one of the mouths of the Nile, 16 miles 
from Pelusium. Herodot. 

Daphne, a daughter of the 
river Peneus, or of the Ladon, by the 
goddess Terra, of whom Apollo became 
enamoured. This passion had been 
raised by Cupid, with whom Apollo, 
proud of his late conquest over the ser- 
pent Python, had disputed the power 
of his darts. Daphne heard with horror 
the addresses of the god, and endea- 
voured to remove herself from his im- 
portunities by flight. Apollo pursued 
her; and Daphne, fearful of being 



caught, intreated the assistance of the 
gods, who changed her into a laureh 
Apollo crowned his head with the leaves 
of the laurel, and for ever ordered that 
that tree should be sacred to his divi- 
nity. Ovid. — A daughter of Tiresias, 
priestess in the temple of Delphi, conse- 
crated to the service of Apollo by the 
Epigoni, or by the goddess Tellus." She 
was called Sybil, on account of the wild- 
ness of her looks and expressions, when 
she delivered oracles, which were gene- 
rally in verse ; and Homer, according to 
some accounts, has introduced much of 
her poetry in his compositions. Diod. 

Daphnephoria, from A<%^w- 
£ ooo;, laurel -bearer, a festival in honor 
of Apollo, celebrated every ninth year 
by the Bceotians. The manner of cele- 
brating this festival is fully described in 
Pans. Boeotic. 

Daphnis, a shepherd of Sicily, 

son of Mercury, by a Sicilian nymph. 
He was educated by the nymphs. Pan 
taught him to sing and play upon the 
pipe, and the Muses inspired him with 
a love of poetry. It is supposed he was 
the first who wrote pastoral poetry, in 
which his successor Theocritus so hap- 
pily excelled. Milan. Diod. — There was 
another shepherd on mount Ida of the 
same name, changed into a rock, ac- 
cording to Ovid. 

Daphnus, a Greek physician, 
who chose to sup rather than dine, be- 
cause he thought the moon favoured 
digestion. 

Darantasia, a town in Bel- 

gic Gaul, now Motier. 

Dardani, natives of Darda- 
nia. 

Dardani a, a town or country 

of Troas, from which the Trojans were 
called Dardayii and Dardanidae. 

Dardanides, a name given 

to ^Eneas, as descended from Darda- 
nus. The word, in the plural number, 
is applied to the Trojan women. Virg. 

Dardanium, a promontory of 
Troas, so called from the small town of 
Dardanus, about seven miles from Aby- 
dos. The castles built on each side of 
the strait, by the emperor Mahomet IV. 
A. D. 1659, gave the modern name of 
Dardanelles to the place. Strat. 

Dardanus, a son of Jupiter 

and Electra, who killed his brother Ja- 
sius to obtain the kingdom of Etruria, 
after the death of his reputed father 
Corytus, and fled to Samothrace, and 
thence to Asia Minor, where he married 
Batia, the daughter of Teucer, king of 
Teucria. After the death of his father- 
in-law he ascended the throne, and 
reigned 62 years. He built the city of 
Dardania, and was reckoned the foun- 
der of the kingdom of Troy. He was 
succeeded by Erichthonius. Virg. dec 



DAR 



DAT 



JDardarii, a people near the 
Palus Maeotis. 

Dares, a Phrygian, who lived 
during the Trojan war, in which he was 
engaged , and of which he wrote the his- 
tory in Greek. This history was extant 
in the age of iElian.— One of the com- 
panions of iEneas, celebrated as a pugi- 
list, and descended from Amycus. He 
was killed by Turnus in Italy. Virg. 

DarIus, a noble satrap of Per- 
sia, son of Hystaspes, who conspired 
with six other noblemen to destroy 
Smerdis, who usurped the crown of 
Persia, after the death of Cambyses. 
On the murder of the usurper, the con- 
spirators agreed, that he whose horse 
neighed first should be appointed king. 
The groom of Darius previously led his 
master's horse to a mare, at a place near 
which the seven noblemen were to pass. 
On the morrow, before sun-rise, when 
they proceeded all together, the horse, 
recollecting the mare, suddenly neigh- 
ed. The noblemen dismounted from 
their horses, and saluted Darius king. 
Darius was 29 years old when he ascend- 
ed the throne, and he soon distinguished 
himself by his military accomplish- 
ments. He besieged Babylon, which he 
took, after a siege of 20 months. From 
thence he marched against theScythians, 
and in his way conquered Thrace, but 
after several disasters, in the wilds of 
Scythia, retired with shame, and turned 
his arms against the Indians, whom he 
^subdued. The burning of Sardis, a 
Grecian colony, incensed the Athenians, 
and a war was kindled between Greece 
and Persia; and Mardonius, the king's 
son-in-law, was intrusted with %e care 
of the war, but his army was destroyed 
by the Thracians ; and* Darius, more 
animated by his loss, sent a more con- 
siderable force, under the command of 
Datisand Artaphernes. They were con- 
quered at the celebrated battle of Mara- 
thon, by 10,000 Athenians ; and the Per- 
sians lost in that expedition no less than 
206,000 men. Darius then resolved to 
carry on the war in person, and imme- 
diately ordered a still larger army to be 
levied": he died in the midst of his pre- 
parations, B. C. 4S5, after a reign of 36 
years, in the 65th year of his age. He- 
rodot. Justin. &c. The second king of 
Persia of that name was called Ochns, 
or Nothus, because he was the illegiti- 
mate son of Artaxevxes by a concubine. 
He carried on many wars with success, 
under the conduct of his generals, and 
of his son Cyrus. He died B. C. 404, 
after a reign of 19 years, and was suc- 
ceeded by his son Artaxerxes. Justin. 
&c. — The third of that name was the 
last king of Persia, surnamed Codoma- 
nus. He was son of Arsanes and Sysi- 
gambis, and descended from Darius 
Nothus. The eunuch Bagoas raised 
him to the throne, but afterwards pre- 
pared to poison him. Darius discovered 



his perfidy, and made him drink the 
poison which he had prepared against 
his life. The peace of Darius was early 
disturbed by Alexander, who invaded 
Persia to avenge the injuries which the 
Greeks had suffered from the predeces- 
sors of Darius. The king of Persia met 
his adversary in person, at the head of 
600,000 men. This army was remark- 
able, more for its opulence and luxury, 
than for military courage. With these 
forces Darius met Alexander. A battle 
was fought near the Granicus, in which 
the Persians were easily defeated. An- 
other was soon after fought near Issus ; 
and Alexander left 110,000 of the enemy 
dead in the £eld oT battle, and took 
among the prisoners of war, the mother, 
wife, and children of Darius. The dark- 
ness of the night favored the retreat of 
Darius, who saved himself by flying in 
disguise. These losses weakened, "but 
discouraged not Darius ; he assembled 
another and more powerful army, and 
the last decisive battle was fought at 
Arbela. The victory was long doubt- 
ful ; but the intrepidity of Alexander, 
and the superior valour of the Macedo- 
nians, prevailed over the effeminate 
Persians; and Darius, sensible of his 
ruin, fled towards Media. His misfor- 
tunes were now increased. Bessus, the 
governor of Bactriana, took away his 
life, in hopes of succeeding him on the 
throne; and Darius was found by the 
Macedonians in his chariot, covered 
with wounds, and almost expiring, 

B. C. 331. In him the empire of Persia 
was extinguished, 228 years after it had 
been first founded by Cyrus the Great. 
Diod. Pint. Curtius. 

Dascylus, father of Gyges. 

Herodot. 

Dasitjs of Salapia, a friend to 
Hannibal. 

DASSARET.E, a people of Ma- 
cedonia. 

Datames, a son of Camissa- 

res, governor of Caria, and general of 
the armies of Artaxerxes. He took up 
arms in his own defence, and the king 
made war against him. He was trea- 
cherously killed by Mithridates, who 
had invited him to a parley, under pre- 
tence of entering into the most inviola- 
ble connexion and friendship, 3G2 B. C. 

C. Nep. 

Dataphernes, a traitor to 

Bessus, and afterwards to Alexander; 
from whom he revolted and was de- 
livered up by the Daae, a people of Scy- 
thia on the borders of the Caspian sea. 

Datis, a general of Darius 1st, 

sent with an army of 200,000 foot, and 
10,000 horse, against the Greeks, in con- 
junction with Artaphernes. He was de- 
feated at the celebrated battle of Mara- 
thon, by Miltiades, and some time after 
put to death by the Spartans. C. Nep, 



DEC 



DEJ 



Datos, or Daton, a town of 
Thrace, on a small eminence, near the 
Strymon. That city was so rich, that 
the ancients generally made use of the 
word Datos, to express abundance. 

Daulis, a nymph, daughter of 
Cephisus, from whom the city of Dau- 
lis, in Phocis, anciently called Anacris, 
received its name. It was at Daulis that 
Philomela and Procne made Tereus eat 
the flesh of his son, and hence the 
nightingale, into which Philomela was 
changed, is often called Daulia avis. 
Oitid. Strab. &c. 

Daunia, a country of Apulia, 
on the coast of the Adriatic. It receives 
its name from Daunus, who settled 
there. Virg. 

Daunus, a son of Pilumnus 

and Danae. He came from Illyricum 
into Apulia, where he reigned over part 
of the country, which from him was 
called Daunia. Mela, &c. 

Davus, a comic character, in 
the Andria of Terence. 

Decebalus, a warlike king 
of the Daci, who made a successful war 
against Domitian. He was conquered 
by Trajan, Domitian's successor, and he 
obtained peace. His active spirit again 
kindled rebellion, and the Roman em- 
peror marched against him, and defeat- 
ed him. He destroyed himself, and his 
head was brought to Rome, and Dacia 
became a Roman province, A. D. 103. 
mod. 

Decemviri, ten magistrates 

of absolute authority among the Ro- 
mans, created A. U. C. 303. The unde- 
fined privileges of the patricians raised 
dissatisfaction among the plebeians; 
who, though freed from the power of 
the Tarquins, wished to be governed by 
written laws. Three ambassadors were 
therefore sent to Athens, and all the 
other Grecian states, to collect the laws 
of Solon, and of all the other celebrated 
legislators of Greece. Upon their return 
it was universally agreed, that ten be 
elected from the senate, to put the pro- 
ject into execution. The laws digested 
by the Decemvirs were called the laws 
of the twelve tables, or leges deeemvi- 
rales. The decemviral power, which 
was beheld by all ranks of people with 
the greatest satisfaction, was continued : 
but in the third year after their creation 
the decemvirs became odious, on ac- 
count of their tyranny : and the attempt 
of Ap. Claudius to ravish Virginia, to- 
tally abolished the office. The people 
were so exasperated against them, that 
they demanded them from the senate, 
to burn them alive. Consuls were again 
appointed, and tranquillity re-establish- 
ed in the state. There were also other 
officers in Rome, called decemvirs, ori- 
ginally appointed in the absence of the 
praetor, to administer justice. The 



officers whom Tarquin appointed to 
guard the Sibylline books' were also 
called decemviri : they were originally 
two in number, called duumviri, till the 
year of Rome 338, when their number 
was increased to ten, five of which were 
chosen from the plebeians, and five from 
the patricians. Sylla increased then- 
number to 15, called quindecimviri. 

De cia Lex, a law enacted by 

M. Decius to empower the appointing 
two persons to superintend the fleets. 

Decineus, a famous sooth- 
sayer. 

Decius Mus, a celebrated Ro- 
man consul, who, after many glorious 
'exploits, devoted himself to the gods 
manes for the safety of his country, in 
a battle against the Latins, 338 years 
B. C. His son Decius imitated his ex- 
ample, and devoted himself in like 
manner in his fourth consulship, when 
fighting against the Gauls and Samnites, 
B. C. 296. His grandson also did the 
same in the was against Pyrrhus and 
the Tarentines, B. C. 280. IAv. Polyb. 
(fee— (Cn. Metius, Q. Trajanus) anative 
of Pannonia, sent by the emperor Phi- 
lip, to appease a sedition in Mcesia. In- 
stead of obeying his master's command, 
he assumed the imperial purple, and 
soon after marched againct him, and at 
his death became the only emperor. He 
waged war against the Goths, and pe- 
rished with all his army, A. D. 251, 
after a reign of two years". 

Decumates agbi, certain 
lands in Germany which paid to the 
Roman people a tenth of their value. 
Tacitus de Germ. 

De curio, the title of a sub- 
altern officer in the Roman armies. He 
commanded a decuria, which consisted 
of ten men, and was the third part of a 
turma, or the 30th part of a legio of 
horse, which was composed of 300" men. 
There were certain magistrates in the 
provinces, called decurion.es municipa- 
les, who formed a body to represent the 
Roman senate in free and corporate 
towns. Their duty extended to watch 
over the interests "of their fellow-citi- 
zens, and to increase the revenues of the 
commonwealth. 

Dejanira, a daughter of 

ffineus, king of JEtolia. Her father 
promised to give her in marriage to him 
only, who proved to be the strongest of 
all his competitors. Hercules obtained 
the prize, and married Dejanira, by 
whom he had three children. As De- 
janira was once travelling with her hus- 
band, they were stopped by the Evenus, 
and the centaur Nessus offered Hercules 
to convey her safe to the opposite bank. 
The hero consented ; but no sooner had 
Nessus gained the bank, than he at- 
tempted to offer violence to Dejanira, 
and carry her away in the sight of her 



DEI 



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husband, who, upon this, aimed from 
the other shore, a poisoned arrow at the 
seducer, and mortally wounded him. 
Nessus, as he expired, wished to avenge 
his death upon his murderer, and he 
gave Dejanira his tunic, covered with 
blood, and infected by the arrow, ob- 
serving, that it had the power of re- 
claiming a hu sband from unlawful lo ves. 
Dejanira accepted the present; and 
when Hercules proved faithless to her 
bed, she-sent him the centaur's tunic, 
which instantly caused his death. [Vid. 
Hercules.l Dejanira was so disconso- 
late at the" death of her husband, which 
she had ignorantly occasioned, that she 
destroyed herself. Ovid, &c. 

Deicoon, a Trojan prince, 
son of Pergasus, intimate with iEneas. 
He was killed by Agamemnon. Home)-. 
—A son of Hercules and Megara. Apol- 
lod. 

DeidamIa. The most cele- 
brated of this name is a daughter of 
Lycomedes, king of Scyros. She bore a 
son called Pyrrhus, or Neoptolemus, to 
Achilles, who had been disguised at her 
father's court in women's clothes, under 
the name of Pyrrha. Propert. 

Deileon, one of the compa- 
nions of Hercules against the Amazons. 
Vol. Flac. 

Dejoces, a son of Phraortes, 
by whose means the Medes delivered 
themselves from the yoke of the Assy- 
rians. His popularity and love of equity 
raised him to the throne, B. C. 700. He 
was succeeded by his son Phraortes, 
after a reign of 53" years. Herodot. 

Deiochus, a Greek, killed by 
Paris at the siege of Troy. 

Deioneus, a king of Phocis, 

who gave his daughter Dia to Ixion in 
marriage.— lxion promised a present to 
the king in return ; and when called 
upon to fulfil his engagement threw his 
father-in-law into a pit filled with burn- 
ing coals. 

Deiopeia, a nymph, the faires* 
of all the fourteen nymphs that attended 
upon Juno. The goddess promised her 
in marriage to JEolus, the god of the 
winds, if he would destroy the fleet of 
/Eneas, which was sailing for Italy. 
Virg. — One of the attendant nymphs of 
Cyrene. 

Deiotarus, a governor of Ga- 
latia, was made king of that province 
by the Roman people. In the civil wars 
between Pompey and Caesar, he fol- 
lowed the interest of the former. After 
the battle of Pharsalia, Csesar severely 
reprimanded Deiotarus for his attach- 
ment to Pompey, deprived him of part 
of his kingdom, and left him only the 
bare title of royalty. He joined Brutus 
with a large army, and faithfully sup- 
ported the republican cause. Deiotarus 
died in an advanced old age. Strab. 



Deiphobe, a sybil of Cumse, 
daughter of Glaucus. [ Vid. Sibyllas.] 

Deiphobtjs. The most cele- 
brated of this name is a son of Priam 
and Hecuba, who, after the death of his 
brother Paris, married Helen. His wife 
unworthily betrayed him, and intro- 
duced into his chamber her old hus- 
band Menelaus, to whom she wished to 
reconcile herself. He was shamefully 
mutilated and killed by Menelaus. Virg. 
Homer. 

Deiphon, a brother of Trip- 

tolemus, son of Celeus and Metanira. 
Ceres, in order to reward the hospitality 
of Celeus, began to make his son im- 
'mortal; but in her mysterious opera- 
tions, Deiphon perished by fire. 

DeipYle, a daughter of Adra- 
stus, who married Tydeus, by whom 
she had Diomedes. Apollod. 

Delia, the name of two fes- 
tivals in the island of Delos, one cele- 
brated every fifth year in honor of 
Apollo ; the other annually. They were 
both instituted by Theseus. During 
the latter festival, it was unlawful to 
put to death any malefactor, and on 
that account the life of Socrates was 
prolonged for thirty days after his con- 
demnation. Xenoph. Memor. 

Delia, a surname of Diana, 
because she was born in Delos. Virg. 

Delitjm, a temple of Apollo. 
— A town of Bceotia, opposite ChalcLs, 
famous for a battle fought there B. C. 
424. 

Delius, a surname of Apollo, 

because he was born in Delos.— Quint, 
an officer of Antony, who, when he was 
sent to cite Cleopatra before his master, 
advised her to make her appearance in 
the most captivating attire : the plan 
succeeded. He afterwards abandoned 
his friend, and fled to Augustus, who 
received him with great kindness. Pint. 

Delmatius, Fl. Jul. a nephew 
of Constantine the Great, honored with 
the title of Caesar, and put in possession 
of Thrace, Macedonia, and Achaia. His 
great virtues were unable to save him 
from a violent death ; he was assassinated 
by his own soldiers, &c. 

Del milium, a town in Dal- 

matia. 

Delos or Ortygia, one of 

the Cyclades at the north of Naxos, now 
Sailles. It was called Delos from Anhog^ 
because it suddenly made its appearance, 
on the surface of the sea, by the power 
of Neptune. \Vid. Apollo.] The island 
is celebrated for the nativity of Apollo, 
and Diana. One of the altars of Apollo, 
in the island, was reckoned among the 
seven wonders of the world. It had been 
erected, according to mythologists, by 
Apollo, when only four years old, and 
made with the horns of goats, killed by 
Diana on mount Cynthus. It was un- 



DEL 



DEM 



lawful for a man to die, or for a child to 
be born there ; and an edict was issued, 
which commanded all persons laboring 
under any mortal or dangerous disease 
to be instantly removed to an adjacent 
island called Rhane. Some mycolo- 
gists suppose that Asteria, who changed 
herself into a quail, to avoid the impor- 
tuning addresses of Jupiter, was meta- 
morphosed into this island, originally 
called Ortygia ab opTt^, a quail. Strab. 
Quid. 

Delphi, a town of Phocis, also 
called Pytho, situate in a valley at the 
south-west side of mount Parnassus. 
It received the name of Delphi, from 
Delphus, the son of Apollo, and was fa- 
mous for a temple of Apollo, and an 
oracle celebrated in every age and coun- 
try. The origin of the oracle, though 
f&hulouSjis described as something won- 
derful. The steam of a certain per- 
foration on mount Parnassus is said to 
have inspired some goats and a goatherd. 
This circumstancewas soon known about 
the country, and many experienced the 
same enthusiastic inspiration. The place 
was revered, and a temple was soon after 
erected in honor of Apollo, and a city 
built. The oracles were generally given 
in verse by a priestess called Pythia, 
iVid. Pythia] but when it had been sar- 
castically observed that the god and pa- 
tron of poetry was the most imperfect 
poet in the world, the priestess delivered 
her answers in prose. The temple was 
built and destroyed several times, and 
this sacred repository of opulence was 
often the object of plunder. It was uni- 
versally believed, and supported, by the 
ancients, that Delphi was in the middle 
of the earth ; and on that account it was 
called terra umbilicus. This, according 
to mythology, was first found out by 
two doves, which Jupiter had let loose 
at the two extremities of the earth, and 
which met at the place where the tem- 
ple of Delphi was built. Cic. Strab. Ptol. 

Delphic us, a surname of 
Apollo, from the worship paid to his di- 
vinity at Delphi. {Vid. Delphi.] 

Delphinia, festivals at yEgi- 
na. in honor of Apollo of Delphi. 

Delphis, a name given to the 
priestess at Delphi. 

Delphus, a son of Apollo and 
Ceiseno, who built Delphi, and conse- 
crated it to his father. Hygin. 

Delphyne, a serpent supposed 
to have watched over Jupiter. 

Delta, a part of Egypt, which 
received that name from its resemblance 
to the form of the fourth letter of the 
Greek alphabet. It lies between the Ca- 
" nopian and Pelusian mouths of the Nile, 
and begins to be formed where the river 
divides itself into seven streams. It has 
been formed totally by the mud and 
ssnd which are washed down from the 



upper parts of Egypt by the Nile, ac- 
cording to ancient" tradition. Strab. &c. 

Demades, an Athenian, who, 
from a sailor, became an eloquent ora- 
tor. He w r as taken prisoner at the battle 
of Cherona, by Philip, by whom he 
was afterwards greatly esteemed. He 
was put to death, with his son, on sus- 
picion of treason, B. C. 322. One of his 
orations is extant. Diod. 

D e 3i ag 6 has , one of Alexander's 
flatterers. 

Demaratus, the son and suc- 
cessor of Ariston on the throne of Sparta, 
B. C. 52G, was banished by the intrigues 
of Cleomenes, his royal colleague, as 
being illegitimate. He retired into Asia, 
and was kindly received by Darius, king 
of Persia. When the Persian monarch 
made preparations to invade Greece, 
Demeratus, though persecuted by the 
Lacedaemonians, informed them, by ta- 
blets of wax, of the hostilities which 
hung overtheir head. Herodot. — A rich 
citizen of Corinth, who, when Cypselus 
had usurped the sovereign power of Co- 
rinth, with all his family, migrated to 
Italy, and settled at Tarquini, 658 years 
before Christ. His son, Lucumon, was 
afterwards king of Rome, under the 
name of Tarquinius Priscus. Dionys. 
Hal. 

De march us, a person of Sy- 
racuse put to_death by Dionysius. 
Demareta, wife to Gelon, 
Demariste, mother of Ti- 
moleon. 

Dem atria, a woman of Lace- 
den t on, who killed her son, for return- 
ing without glory from a battle. 

Demetrta, a festival in honor 

of Ceres, called by the Greeks Demeter. 
It was then customary for the votaries 
of the goddess to lash themselves with 
whips made of the bark of trees. 

Demetrius. There are many 

of this name recorded in ancient history, 
the most celebrated of whom are the fol- 
lowing : A son of Antigonus Stratonice, 
surnamed Poliorcetes, i. e. destroyer of 
towns. He commenced his military 
career at the age of 22, and signalized 
himself by freeing the Athenians from 
the power of Cassander and Ptolemy. 
After this he besieged and took Muny- 
chia, and defeated Cassander at Ther- 
mopylae. This uncommon success raised 
the jealousy of the successors of Alexan- 
der: and Seleucus, Cassander, and Ly- 
simachus, united to destroy Antigonus 
and his son. Their hostile armies met 
at Ipsus, B. C. 301. Antigonus was 
"killed in the battle, and Demetrius, after 
a severe loss, retired to Ephesus, after 
having given his daughter Stratonice in 

I marriage to Seleucus, in order to effect a 
reconciliation with him, and also having 
established himself on the throne of Ma- 



DEM 



DEM 



cedonia, where he sat for seven years. 
Forced by the superior power of his ad- 
versaries/ he passed into Asia, and at- 
tacked some of the provinces of Lysi- 
maehus with various success; but famine 
and . pestilence destroyed the greatest 
part of his army, and he retired to the 
court of Seleucus for assistance. He met 
with a kind reception, but hostilities 
were soon begun ; and, after he had 
gained some advantages over his son-in- 
law, Demetrius was totally forsaken by 
his troops in the field of battle, and taken 
prisoner. Demetrius died in the 54th 
year of his age, after a confinement of 
three years, 286 B. O. His posterity re- 
mained in possession of the Macedonian 
throne till the age of Perseus, who was 
conquered by the Romans. Plat, in vita, 
&c. — A prince, surnamed Soter, was son 
of Seleucus Philopater, the son of An- 
tiochus the Great, king of Syria. — The 
2d, surnamed Nicanor, or Conqueror, 
was son of Soter, to whom he succeeded 
by the assistance of Ptolemy Philome- 
ter, after he had driven out the usurper 
Alexander Bala, B. C. 146. He married 
Cleopatra, the daughter of Ptolemy; 
who was, before, the wife of the expelled 
monarch. Demetrius gave himself up 
to luxury and voluptuousness, and suf- 
fered his kingdom to be governed by his 
favorites. At length having rendered 
himself odious to his subjects, he fled to 
Tyre, where he was put to death by 
order of the governor. He was suc- 
ceeded by Alexander Zebina, whom 
Ptoiemy had raised to the throne, B. C. 
127. Justin. — The 3d, surnamed Euce- 
rus, was son of Antiochus Gryphus. He 
was taken in a battle against the Par- 
thians, and died in captivity.— Phale- 
reus, a disciple of Theophrastus, who 
gained such influence over the Atheni- 
ans, by his eloquence and the purity of 
his manners, that he was elected de- 
cennial archon, B. C. 317. He rendered 
himself so popular by his munificence, 
that the Athenians raised 360 brazen 
statues to his honor. Yet his enemies 
raised a sedition against him, and he 
was condemned to death, and all his 
statues thrown down, after obtaining 
the sovereign power for 10 years. He 
fled without concern to the court of 
Ptolemy Lagus, where he met with 
kindness and cordiality. The Egyptian 
monarch consulted him concerning the 
succession of his children : and Deme- 
trius advised him to raise to the throne 
the children of Eurydice, in preference 
to the offspring of Berenice. This coun- 
sel so irritated "Philadelphus, the son of 
Berenice, that, after his father's death, 
he sent the philosopher into Upper 
Egvpt and there detained him in strict 
confinement. Demetrius, tired with his 
situation, put an end to his life by the 
bite of an asp, 284 B. C. According to 
some, Demetrius enjoyed the confidence 
of Philadelphus, and enriched his library 
at Alexandria with 200,000 volumes. 



Diog. in vita, &c. — A Cynic philosopher* 
in the age of Caligula. The emperor 
wished to gain the philosopher to his in- 
terest by a large present ; but Demetrius 
refused it with indignation, and said, 
" If Caligula wishes to bribe me, let him 
send me his crown." Vespasian was dis- 
pleased with his insolence, and banished, 
him to an island. The Cynic-derided 
the punishment, and bitterly inveighed 
against the emperor. He died in a great 
old age ; and Seneca observes, that " na- 
ture had brought him forth to show 
mankind that an exalted genius can live 
securely without being corrupted by the 
vices of the surrounding world." 

Demo, the name of a sybil at 
Cumse. 

Demo an ass a, the mother of 

JEgialeus. 

Demo cedes, a celebrated phy- 
sician. He was carried as a prisoner 
from Samos to Darius king of Persia, 
where he acquired much reputation by 
curing the king's foot, and the breast of 
Atossa. He was sent to Greece as a spy 
by the king, and fled away to Crotoria, 
where he married the daughter of the 
wrestler Milo. 

Dem6chab.es. The most re- 
markable of this name is an Athenian, 
sent with some of his countrymen, with 
an embassy to Philip, king of Macedo- 
nia. The monarch gave them audience ; 
and w r hen he asked them what he couki 
do to please the people of Athens, De- 
mochares replied, tf Hang yourself." 
This impudence raised the indignation 
of all the hearers : but Philip mildly dis- 
missed them, and bade them ask their 
countrymen which deserved most the 
appellation of wise and moderate, either 
they who gave such ill language, or he 
who received it without any signs of re- 
sentment. Senec. de Ira. 

Democles, a beautiful youth, 
passionately loved by Demetrius Poli- 
orcetes. He threw himself into a caul- 
dron of boiling water, rather than sub- 
mit to the unnatural lusts of the tyrant. 
Plut. 

Democoon, a natural son of 

Priam, who came from his residence at 
Abydos, to protect his country against 
the Greeks. He was, after a glorious 
defence, killed by Ulysses. Homer. 

Democrat es, a famous wrest- 
ler. — An architect of Alexandria. 

DEM6cRiTus,a celebrated phi- 
losopher of Abdera, disciple of Leucip- 
pus. He travelled over the greatest part 
of Europe, Asia, and Africa, in quest of 
knowledge, and returned home in the 
greatest poverty. Being presented with 
500 talents for his Diacosmus by his 
countrymen, he retired to a garden near 
the city, where he dedicated his time to 
study; and put out his eyes, to apply 
himself more closely to philosophical in- 



DEM 



DEM 



quiries. He was for that act accused of 
insanity, and Hippocrates being ordered 
to inquire into the nature of his disorder, 
declared that not Democritus, but his 
enemies were insane. He continually 
laughed at the follies^and vanity of man- 
kind, who distract themselves with care, 
and are at once a prey to hope and to 
anxiety. He taught his disciples that 
the soul died with the body. He died 
in the 109th year of his age, B. C. 361. 
All the works of Democritus are lost. 
Diosr. Val. Max. 

Demodochus. The most re- 
markable of this name is a musician at 
the court of Alcinous, who sang, in the 
presence of Ulysses, the secret amours 
of Mars and Venus, &c. Homer. 

Demoleon, a centaur, killed 
by Theseus at the nuptials of Pirithous. 
Ovid. — A son of Antenor, killed by 
Achilles. Homer. 

Demoleus, a Grecian, killed 
by ^Eneas. 

Demon, an Athenian, nephew 
to Demosthenes. He was at the head of 
the government during the absence of 
his uncle, and obtained a decree that De- 
mosthenes should be recalled, and that 
a ship should be sent to bring him back. 

Demon ass a, daughter of Am- 
phiareus, and wife of Thersander. 

Demon ax, a celebrated philo- 
sopher of Crete, in the reign of Adrian. 
He showed no concern about the neces- 
saries of life; but, when hungry, he 
entered the first house he met, and "there 
satisfied his appetite. He died in his 
100th_year. 

Demonic a, a woman of Ephe- 

sus, who betrayed that city to Brennus. 
Flut. 

Demophile, the sibyl, who 
soid the sibylline books to Tarquinius 
Superbus. 

Demophilus, an Athenian 
archou. 

Demophoon, son of Theseus 

and Phaedra, was king of Athens, B. C. 
1182, and reigned 33 years. At his re- 
turn from the Trojan war, he visited 
Thrace, where he was tenderly received 
and treated by Phyllis. He retired to 
Athens, and forgot the kindness and love 
of Phyllis, who hanged herself in despair. 
Ovid. 

Demopolis, a son of Themis- 

"tocles^ 

Demos, a place of Ithaca. 

Demosthenes, a celebrated 
Athenian, ?on of a rich blacksmith, 
called Demosthenes, and of Cleobule. 
He was but seven years old when his 
father died, and his guardians having 
embezzled the greatest part of his pos- 
sessions, his education was totally neg- 
lected ; and for whatever advances he 



made in learning he was indebted to his 
own industry and application. He be- 
came the pupil of Isseus and Plato, and 
applied himself to study the orations of 
Isocrates. At the age of seventeen, he 
gave an early proof of his eloquence 
and abilities against his guardians, from 
whom he obtained the retribution of the 
greatest part of his estate. His rising 
talents were, however, impeded by weak 
lungs, and a difficulty of pronunciation, 
especially of the letter but these ob- 
stacles were soon conquered by un- 
wearied application. To correct the 
stammering of his voice, he spoke with 
pebbles in his mouth ; and removed the 
distortion of his features, which accom- 
panied his utterance, by watching the 
motions of his countenance in a looking- 
glass. That his pronunciation might be 
loud, and full of emphasis, he frequently 
ran up the steepest and most uneven 
walks,where his voice acquired force and 
energy ; and on the sea-shore, when the 
waves were uncommonly agitated, he 
declaimed aloud, to accustom himself 
to the noise and tumults of a public as- 
sembly. He also confined himself in a 
subterraneous cave, to devote himself 
more closely to studious pursuits ; and 
to eradicate "all curiosity of appearing in 
public, he shaved one half of his head. 
His abilities, as an orator, raised him to 
consequence at Athens, and he was soon 
placed at the head of the government. 
In this public capacity he roused his 
countrymen from their indolence, and 
animated them against the encroach- 
ments of Philip of Macedonia. In the 
battle of Cheronea, however, Demo- 
sthenes betrayed his pusillanimity, and 
saved himself by flight. After the'death 
of Philip, he declared himself warmly 
against his son and successor, Alexan- 
der. Though he had boasted that all 
the gold of Macedonia could not tempt 
him, yet he suffered himself to be bribed 
by a small golden cup from Harpalus. 
This forced him to retire to yEgina, 
whence, when Autipater made war 
against Greece, he was recalled, and re- 
ceived with much splendor at Athens. 
His triumph and popularity were but of 
short duration. Antipater and Craterus 
were near Athens, and demanded all the 
orators to be given up. Demosthenes, 
with all his adherents, fled to the temple 
of Neptune, in Calauria ; and when he 
saw that all hopes of safety were va- 
nished, he took a dose of poison, which 
he always carried in a quill, and ex- 
pired, in the 60th year of his age, B.C. 
322. Demosthenes has been deservedly 
called the prince of orators ; and Cicero, 
his successful rival among the Romans, 
calls him a perfect model, and such as 
he wished to be. In order not only to 
imitate, but to acquire the force and 
energy of the great historian Thucydides, 
he transcribed his history ten "times. 
Plut. &c— An Athenian general, sent 
to succeed Alcibiades in Sicily. He at- 



DEU 



DIA 



tacked Syracuse with Nicias, but his 
efforts were ineffectual. After many ca- 
lamities he fell into the enemy's hands, 
and stabbed himself. Some say that he 
was put to death by the Sviacusans, 
B. C.413. Plut. 

Demylus, a tyrant, who tor- 
tured the philosopher Zeno. Plut. 

Dexseletje, a people of 

Thrace. 

DEODATus,a person of Athens, 
who opposed Cleon, when he moved 
some cruel resolutions against the cap- 
tive Mitylenians. 

Deois, a name given to Pro- 
serpine from her mother Ceies, who was 
called Deo. This name Ceres received, 
because, when she sought her daughter 
all over the world, all wished her success 
in her pursuits, with the word ^nsig, in. 
venies ; a invenio. Ovid. 

Derceto and Dercetis, a 

goddess of Syria, called Atregatis, whom 
some suppose to be the same as Astarte. 
She was represented as a beautiful wo- 
man above the waist, and the lower part 
terminated in a fish's tail. According 
to Diodorus, Venus, whom she had of- 
fended, made her passionately fond of 
a young priest, remarkable for his 
beauty. She had a daughter by him, 
and became so ashamed of her inconti- 
nence, that she removed her lover, ex- 
posed the fruit of her amour, and threw 
herself into a lake. Her body was trans- 
formed into a fish, and her child was 
preserved and called Semiramis. As 
she was chiefly worshipped in Syria, 
and represented like a fish, the Syrians 
ancientlv abstained from eating' fish. 
Omd. Diod. 

Dercyllidas, a general of 
Sparta, celebrated for his military ex- 
ploits. He took nine different cities in 
eight days, and freed Chersonesus from 
the inroads of the Thracians, by build- 
ing a wall across the countrv. He lived 
B.C. 399. XenopJi. 

Deucalion, a son of Prome- 
theus, who married Pyrrha, the daugh- 
ter of Epimetheus. He reigned over 
part of Thessaly, and in his age, the 
whole earth was covered with a deluge. 
The impiety of mankind had irritated 
Jupiter, who resolved to destroy them, 
and immediately the earth exhibited a 
boundless scene of waters. Prometheus 
advised his son to make himself a ship, 
and by this means he saved himself and 
his wife Pyrrha. The vessel was tossed 
about during nine successive davs, and 
at last stopped on the top of mount Par- 
nassus, where Deucalion remained till 
the waters had subsided. Pindar and 
Ovid make no mention of a vessel built 
by the advice of Prometheus ; but, ac- 
cording to their relation, Deucalion 
saved his life by taking refuge on the 
top of mount Parnassus, or, according 



to Hyginus, of iEtna in Sicily. As soon 
as the waters had retired from the sur- 
face of the earth, Deucalion and his wife 
went to consult the oracle of Themrs, 
and were directed to repair the loss of 
mankind, by throwing behind them the 
bones of the'ir grandmother. This was 
no other than the stones of the earth ; 
and, after some hesitation about the 
meaning of the oracle, they obeyed. 
The stones thrown by Deucalion be- 
came men, and those of Pyrrha women, 
According to Xenophon, there were no 
less than five deluges. The deluge of 
Deucalion, so much celebrated in an- 
cient history, is supposed to have hap- 
pened j 503 B. C. Ovid. Hygin. &c. &c. 

Deudorix, a Cherusean, who 
was in the procession at the triumph of 
Germanicus. 

DEXAMENE, one of the Ne- 
reides. 

Dexipptjs, a Lacedaemonian, 
who went to the assistance of the Agri- 
gen tines. 

Dia, a daughter of Dekm, 

mother of Pirithous by Ixion. An 

island in the ^Egean sea, 17 miles from 
Delos. It is the same as Naxos. Ovid. 
— A name common to many cities in 
Asia and Europe. 

Dl/£us, of Megalopolis, who 
when his affairs fell into a desperate 
condition slew himself. 

Diagoras, an Athenian philo- 
sopher. His father's name was Telecly- 
tus. From the greatest superstition he 
became a most unconquerable atheist; 
because he saw a man, who laid a false 
claim to one of his poems, and who per- 
jured himself, go unpunished. His great 
impiety and blasphemies provoked his 
countrymen ; and the Areopagites pro- 
mised one talent to him who brought his 
head before their tribunal, and two if 
they brought him alive. He lived about 
416 years before Christ. Cic. &c. — An 
athlete of Rhodes, 460 years before the 
Christian a?ra. Pindar celebrated his 
merit in a beautiful ode still extant, 
which was written in golden letters in a 
temple of Minerva. He saw his three 
sons crowned on the same day at Olym- 
pia, and died through excess of joy. Cic. 
Plut. 

Dialis, a priest of Jupiter at 

Rome, first instituted by Numa. He- 
was never permitted to swear, even upon 
public trials. Varro. Liv. 

Diallus, an Athenian, who 
wrote the history of his own times. 

Diamastigosis, a festival at 
Sparta, in honor of Diana Orthia, which 
received that name «wo f^c/^-iyojVy 
from wJiipping, because boys were whip- 
ped before the altar of the godciess. 
These flagellations were so severe, that 
the blood gushed in profuse torrents, 



DIA 



DIC 



and many expired under the lash of the 
whip, without uttering a groan, cr be- 
traying any marks of fear. S uch a death 
was reckoned very honorable, and the 
corpse was buried with much solemnity, 
with a garland of flowers on its head. 
The origin of this festival is unknown. 
Some ascribe it to Lycurgus ; others 
maintain that it was a mitigation of an 
oracle, which ordered that human blood 
should be shed on Diana's altar. 

Diaxa, the goddess of hunting. 
According to Cicero, there were three of 
this name: a daughter of Jupiter and 
Proserpine, who became mother of Cu- 
pid ; a daughter of Jupiter and Latona ; 
and a daughter of Upis and Glance. The 
second is the most celebrated, and to her 
all the ancients allude. She was born at 
the same birth as Apollo, in the island 
of Deios ; and the pains which she saw 
her mother suffer during her labor gave 
her such an aversion to marriage, that 
she obtained permission of her father to 
live in perpetual celibacy, and to preside 
over the travails of women. To shun 
the society of men, she devoted herself 
to hunting, and was always accompanied 
by a number of chosen virgin?, who, 
like herself, abjured the use of marriage. 
She is represented with a quiver, and 
attended with dogs, and sometirr.es 
drawn in a chariot by two white stags. 
She was called Lucina, Tlythia, or Juno 
Pronuba, when invoked by women in 
childbed, and Trivia when worshipped 
in the cross-ways, where her statues 
were generally erected. She was sup- 
posed to be the same as the moon, or 
Phoebe, and Proserpine, or Hecate, and 
from that circumstance she was called 
Triformis.; and some of her statues re- 
presented her with three heads, thac of a 
horse, a dog, and a boar. She was also 
called Agrotera, Orthia, Taurica, De- 
lia, Cynthia, Aricia, &c. She was sup- 
posed to be the same as the Isis of the 
Egyptians, whose worship was intro- 
duced into Greece, with that of Osiris, 
under the name of Apollo. The most 
famous of her temples was that of Ephe- 
sus, which was one of the seven wonders 
of the world. [Vid. Ephesus.] Though 
she was the patroness of chastity, yet 
she forgot her dignity to enjoy the com- 
pany of Endymion,and the very familiar 
favors which she granted to Pan and 
Orion are well known. [Vid. Endymion, 
Pan, Orion.] The Athenians generally 
offered her goats, and others a white 
kid, and sometimes a boar pig, or an 
ox. Among plants, the poppy and the 
ditamy were sacred to her. Ovid. Cic. 
Homer. &c. 

Dian asa, the mother of Ly- 
curgus. 

Dianium, a town and promon- 
tory of Spain, opposite to Ophiusa, in 
the Mediterranean, now Cape Martin, 
where Diana was worshipped. 

D ias I a, festivals in honor of 



Jupiter at Athens. They received their 
name «tto TCf AiOf xai rn; am;, from, 
Jupiter and misfottune, because, by 
making applications to Jupiter, men ob- 
tained relief from their misfortunes,aBd 
were delivered from dangers. During 
the festivals, things of all kinds were 
exposed for sale. 

Dicers, a native of Athens, 
who is said to have been supernaturally 
apprised of the defeat of the Persians. 

Dice, one of the Horas, daugh- 
ters of Jupiter. 

Diceahcus, a Messenian fa- 
mous for his knowledge of philosophy, 
history, and mathematics. He was one 
of Aristotle's disciples. Nothing remains 
of his numerous compositions. He had 
composed an history of the Spartan re- 
public, which was publicly read every 
year, by order of the magistrates, for 
die improvement and instruction of 
youth. 

Dice xe us, an Egyptian philo- 
sopher in the age of Augustus, who tra- 
velled into Scythia, where he ingratiated 
himself with the king of the country, 
and by his instructions softened the 
wildne'ss and rusticity of his maimers. 
He also gained such an influence over 
the multitude, that they destroyed all 
the vines which grew in* their country, 
to prevent the riot and dissipation which 
the wine occasioned among them. 

Dict.e and Dictjetjs moxs, 
a mountain of Crete. The island is often 
known by the name of Dictcea arva, 
Virg. — Jupiter was called Dictaeus, be- 
cause worshipped there. 

Di c tamn u m and Di c t yxx a, 

a town of Crete, where the herb called 

dictamnus chiefly grows. Virg. 

Dictator, a magistrate at 

Rome, invested with regal authority. 
This officer was first chosen during the 
Roman wars against the Latins. The 
consuls being found unable to make 
levies from the plebeians, who had re- 
fused to enlist without a remission cf 
their debts by the patricians, the senate 
found it expedient to elect a new ma- 
gistrate, with unbounded authority. 
The dictator remained in office for six 
months, after which he was again elected, 
if the affairs of the state seemed to be 
desperate; but if tranquillity was re- 
established, he generally laid down his 
power before the time was expired. He 
knew no superior in the republic, and 
even the laws were subjected to him. 
He was called dictator, because dicttes, 
named by the consul, or quoniam dictis 
ejus pareba t populus, because the people 
implicitly obeyed his command. As his 
power was absolute, he could proclaim 
war, levy forces, conduct them against 
an enemy, and disband them at plea- 
sure. He punished as he pleased ; and 
from his decision there was no appeal, 
at least till later times. He was chosen 



DIC 



DIE 



only when the state was in imminent 
danger from foreign enemies or inward 
seditions. This office, so dignified in 
the first ages of the republic, became 
odious by the perpetual usurpations of 
Sylia and J. Ceesar ; and after the death 
oi the latter, the Roman senate, on the 
motion of the consul Antony, passed a 
decree, which for ever after forbade 
a dictator to exist in Rome. The dic- 
tatorship was originally confined to the 
patricians, but trie plebeians were after- 
wards admitted to share it. Titus Lar- 
tius Flavus was the first dictator,A.U.C. 
253. 

Dictidiexses, a people, in- 
habiting a certain part in mount Athos. 
Dictyjtxa, a nymph of Crete, 

and one of Diana's attendants, who first 
invented hunting nets. Some have sup- 
posed that Minos pursued her, and that 
to avoid his importunities, she threw 
herself into the sea, and was caught in 
fishermen's nets, 8*xri/a» -whence her 
name. Paus. — A city of Crete. 

Dictys. The most remarkable 
of this name is a Cretan, who went 
with Idomoneus to the Trojan war. It 
is supposed that he wrote a history of 
it, and that at his death he ordered it to 
be laid in his tomb, where it remained 
till a violent earthquake in the reign of 
Nero opened the monument where he 
had been buried, and threw out his hi- 
story, which was found by some shep- 
herds, and afterwards carried to Rome. 
This mysterious tradition is deservedly 
deemed "fabulous ; and the history attri- 
buted to the follower of Idomeneus is 
supposed to have been composed in 
latter times. — Husband to Clymene,and 
made king of Seriphus by Perseus. 

Didas, a Macedonian, whose 
intrigues were employed by Perseus to 
render Demetrius unpopular and sus- 
pected to his father Philip. He became 
afterwards one of Philip's favorite ge- 
nerals. IAv. 

Didia lex a law made to re- 
strain the expences and to limit the 
number of guests at funerals and enter- 
tainments. 

Didius. The most celebrated of 
this name is Julianus, a rich Roman, 
who, after the murder of Pertinax, 
bought the empire which the pretorians 
had exposed to sale, A. D. J 92. His 
great luxury and extravagance rendered 
him odious"; and when he refused to pay 
the money which he had promised, for 
the imperial purple,the soldiers revolted 
against him, and put him to death, after 
a short reign. Severus was made em- 
peror after him. 

Dido, called also Elissa, a 
daughter of Belus, king of Tyre, who 
married Sichaeus, or Sicharbas, her un- 
cle, who was priest of Hercules. Pyg- 
malion, who succeeded to the throne of 



Tyre after Belus, murdered Siehagus,to 
get possession of the immense riches 
which he had; and Dido, disconsolate 
for the loss of her husband, set sail in 
quest of a settlement, with a number of 
Tyrians, to whom the cruelty of the 
tyrant became odious. During her 
voyage, she visited the coast of Cyprus* 
Afterwards a storm drove her fleet on 
the African coast, and she bought of the 
inhabitants as much land as could be 
covered by a bull's hide, cut into thongs. 
Upon this piece of land she built a cita- 
del, called Byrsa [Vid. Byrsa], and the 
increase of population, and the rising 
commerce among her subjects, soon 
obliged her to enlarge her city, and the 
boundaries of her dominions. Her 
beauty, as well as the fame of her enter- 
prize, gained her many admirers ; and 
her subjects wished to compel her to 
marry Iarbas, king of Mauritania, who 
threatened them with a dreadful war. 
Dido begged three months to give her 
■ decisive answer ; and during that time, 
she erected a funeral pile, as if wishing, 
by a solemn sacrifice, to appease the 
manes of Sichssus, to whom she had 
promised eternal fidelity. When all was 
prepared, she stabbed herself on the pile 
in presence of her people, and by this 
uncommon action obtained the name of 
Dido, valian t woman, instead of Elissa. 
According to Virgil and Ovid, the death 
of Dido was caused by the sudden de- 
parture of yEneas, of whom she was 
deeply enamoured, and whom she could 
not obtain as a husband. This poetical 
fiction represents iEneas as living in the 
age of Dido, and introduces an ana- 
chronism of near 300 years. Dido left 
Phoenicia 247 years after the Trojan 
war, or the age of iEneas, that is, about 
953 years B. C. This chronological 
error proceeds not from the ignorance 
of the poets, but it is supported by the 
authority of Horace, 
" Aut famam sequere, out sibi conve- 

nientia finge." 
While Virgil describes, in a beautiful 
episode, the desperate love of Dido, and 
the submission of iEneas to the will of 
the gods ; he at the same time explains 
the hatred which existed between the 
republics of Rome and Carthage. Dido, 
after her death, was honored as a deity 
by her subjects. Virg. Jttstin. Ovid. &c. 

Didymaon, an artist, much 
celebrated for his skill in making suits 
of armour. 

Didyme, one of the Lipari 
islands ; — one of the Cyclades. 

Didymum, a mountain in Asia 
Minor. 

DiENECES, a Spartan, who, 
upon hearing, before the battle of Ther- 
mopylae, that the Persians Mere so nu- 
merous that their arrows would darken 
the light of the sun, observed, that 
it would be a great convenience, for 



DIN 



DIO 



they Chen should fight in the shade. 
Herodot. 

Diespiter, a surname given 
to Jupiter, as the father of light. 

Digextia, a small river which 
watered Horace's farm, in the country 
of the Sabines. 

Dn, the divinities of the ancient 
inhabitants of the earth, were very nu- 
merous. Every object which caused 
terror, inspired gratitude, or bestowed 
affluence, received the tribute of venera- 
tion. Mythologists have divded these 
Dii into different classes, according to 
their will or pleasure. The Romans, 
generally speaking, reckoned two classes 
of the gods, the dii majorum gentium, 
or dii consulentes, and the dii minor um 
gentium. The former were twelve in 
number, six males and six females ; 
their names are Juno, Vesta, Minerva, 
Ceres, Diana, Venus, Mars, Mercurins, 
Jupiter, Neptunus, Vulcan, Apollo. 
\ Vid. Consentes.] In the class of the 
latter were ranked all the gods who were 
worshipped in different parts of the 
earth. Besides these, there were some 
called dii selecti } sometimes classed with 
the twelve greater gods. There were 
also some called demi-gods, that is, who 
deserved immortality by the greatness 
of their exploits, and for their uncom- 
mon services to mankind. Besides these, 
all the passions, and the moral virtues, 
were reckoned as powerful deities, and 
temples were raised to a goddess of con- 
cord, peace, &c. According to Hesiod, 
there were no less than 30 000 gods that 
inhabited the earth, and were guardians 
of men, all subservient to the power of 
Jupiter; and in succeeding ages we find 
temples erected, and sacrifices offered to 
unknown gods. In process of time, not 
only good and virtuous men, who had 
been the patrons of learning and the 
supporters of liberty, but also thieves 
and pirates, were admitted among the 
gods; and the Roman senate courteously 
granted immortality to the most cruel 
and abandoned of their emperors. 

Dixarchtjs, an orator, pupil 
to Theophrastus, who acquired a for 
tune by his compositions, and yet sub- 
mitted to be bribed by the enemies of 
his countrymen. 

Dixasstjs, an island near 
Rhodes. 

DindYmene, a surname of 
Cybele. [Vid. Dindymus.] 

Dindymus or a (orum% a I 
mountain of Phrygia, near a town of 
the same name in the neighbourhood of j 
Cyzicus. It was from this place that 
Cybele was called Dindymene, as her 
worship was established there by Jason. 
Strab. Ovid. Virg. &c. 

Dix6cHARES,an architect, who 
finished the temple of Diana at Ephe- 



sus, after it had been burnt by Eros- 
tratus. 

Din ocr at es, an architect of 

Macedonia, who proposed to Alexander 
to cut mount Athos in the form of a 
statue, holding a city in one hand, and 
in the other a basin, into which all the- 
waters of the mountain should empty 
themselves. This project Alexander re- 
jected as chimerical, but he employed 
the talents of the artist in building and 
beautifying Alexandria. He began to 
build a temple in honor of Arsinoe, by 
order of Ptolemy Philadelphus,in which 
he intended to suspend a statue of the 
queen, by means of loadstones. His 
death, and that of his royal patron, pre- 
vented the execution of a work which 
would have been the admiration of every 
age. Plin. &c. — A Messenian, who de- 
feated Philopoemen, and put him to 
death, B. C. 183. Plut. 

Dixolochus, a poet of Syra- 
cuse who wrote 14 comedies. Mlian. 

DlXOMEXES, one of the nu- 
merous tyrants of Syracuse. 

Dixox,the father of Clitarchus, 
who wrote a history of Persia in Alex- 
ander's age. He is esteemed a very au- 
thentic historian, by C.Nep. 

Di x os t hexes, a sculptor, 

who made a statue of himself in the cha- 
racter of a victor at the Olympian 

games. 

Dixostratus, a celebrated 

geometer, in the age of Plato. 

Di6cLEA,festivals in the spring 
at Megara, in honor of Diocles, who 
died in the defence of a certain youth, 
to whom he was tenderly attached. 
There was a contention on his tomb, 
and the youth who gave the sweetest 
kks, was "publicly rewarded with a gar- 
land. TfieocritushsiS described them in 
his 12th Idi/ll. — A town on the coast of 
Dalmatia, celebrated as the birthplace 
of the emperor Diocletian. Plin. 

Diocletiaxopolis, a town 

of Thessaly, called so in honor of Dio- 
cletian. 

Djocletiaxus, (Caius Vale- 
rius Jovius) a celebrated Roman em- 
peror, born of an obscure family in 
Dalmatia. He was first a common sol- 
dier, and by merit he rose to the office 
of a general, and at the death of Nu- 
merian, he was invested with imperial 
power. In his high station he rewarded 
the virtue of Maximian, by making him 
his colleague on the throne. He created 
two subordinate emperors, Constantius 
and Galerius, whom he called Caesars. 
Diocletian has been celebrated for his 
military virtues; and though naturally 
unpolished by education, yet he wasthe 
friend and patron of learning and genius. 
He was resolute, active, and well ac- 
quainted with the arts which will endear 



DIG 



DIO 



a sovereign to his people, and make him 
respectable even in the eyes of his ene- 
mies. His cruelty , however, against the 
followers of Christianity, has been de- 
servedly branded with the appellation 
of unbounded tyranny. After he had 
reigned 21 years in the greatest pro- 
sperity, he publicly abdicated the crown 
at Nicomedia, on the first of May, A.D. 
304, and retired to a private station at 
Salona. Maximian, his colleague, fol- 
lowed his example ; but not from choice. 
He lived nine years after his abdication, 
in the greatest security and enjoyment, 
at Salona, and died in the 68th year of 
his age. 

Diodorus, an historian, sur- 
named Sicuhis, because he was born at 
Argyra, in Sicily. He wrote a history 
of Egypt, Persia, Syria, Media, Greece, 
Rome, and Carthage, which was divided 
into 40 books, of which only 15 are ex- 
tant, with some few fragments. This 
valuable composition was the work of 
an accurate inquirer, and it is said that 
he visited all the places of which he has 
made mention in his history. It was 
the labor of 30 years. He often wanders 
far from the truth. His style is neither 
elegant, nor too labored; but it contains 
great simplicity and unaffected correct- 
ness. This historian flourished about 
44 years B. C. — A stoic philosopher, 
preceptor to Cicero. He lived and died 
in the house of his pupil, whom he 
instructed in the various branches of 
Greek literature. Cic. 

Diogenes, a celebrated Cynic 

Ehilosopher of Sinope, banished from 
is country for coining false money. 
From Sinope he retired to Athens,where 
he became the disciple of Anlisthenes, 
the head of the Cynics. Antisthenes at 
first refused to admit him into his house, 
and even struck him with a stick. 
Diogenes calmly said, Strike me, Antis- 
thenes, but never shall you find a stick 
sufficiently hard to remove me from 
your presence, whilst there is any thing 
to be gained from your conversation 
and acquaintance. Such firmness re- 
commended him to Antisthenes, and he 
became his most devoted pupil. He 
dressed himself in the Cynical garment, 
and walked about the streets with a tub 
on his head, which served him as a house 
and a place of repose. ' Such singularity, 
joined to the greatest contempt for 
riches, soon gained him reputation, and 
Alexander the Great condescended to 
visit the philosopher in his tub. He 
asked Diogenes if there was any thing 
in which he could gratify or oblige him. 
'f Get out of my sunshine " was the only 
answer from the philosopher. Such an 
independence of rnind so pleased the 
monarch, thathe turned to his courtiers, 
and said, Were I not Alexander, I would 
wish to be Diogenes. He was once sold as 
a slave, but his magnanimity so pleased 
his master, that he made him the pre- 
ceptor of his children, and the guardian 



of his estates. After a life spent in the 
greatest misery and indigence, he died 
B. C. 324, in the 96th year of his age. 
The inhabitants of Sinope raised statues 
to his memory, and the marble figure 
of a dog was placed on a high column 

erected on his tomb. Diod. Plut. 

Laertius, an Epicurean philosopher, 
born in Cilicia. He wrote the lives of 
the philosophers in ten books,, still ex- 
tant. This work contains an accurate 
account of the ancient philosophers,and 
is replete with all their anecdotes and 
particular opinions. Diogenes died A.D. 
222. — There were also two other philo- 
sophers of this name, one of Babylon, 
the disciple of Chrysippus, the other a 
native of Apollonia. 

Diogenta, daughter of the ri- 
ver Cephisus, and married to Erectheus. 

Diogne Tus,aphilosopher,who 
instructed Marcus Aurelius in philoso- 
phy. There is extant,among the works 
of St. Justin, a letter to Diognetus,sup- 
posed to be this person, on the false gods 
worshipped in those times. This letter 
is considered by historians as one of the 
most valuable remains of ecclesiastical 
antiquity, containing an interesting ac- 
count of the life and manner of the 
primitive Christians. 

Diomeda, a daughter of Phor- 
bas, whom Achilles brought from Lem- 
nos to be his mistress after the loss of 
Briseis. Homer. 

Diomedes, son of Tydeus and 

Deiphyle, was king of iEtolia, and one 
of the bravest of the Grecian chiefs in 
the Trojan war. He engaged Hector and 
&neas, and wounded Mars and Venus 
in battle. He went with Ulysses to steal 
the Palladium from the temple of Mi- 
nerva, in Troy, and assisted in murder- 
ing Rhesus ,king of Thrace,and carrying 
away his horses. During his long ab- 
sence, his wife iEgiale forgot her mar- 
riage vows, and prostituted herself to 
Cometes, one of her servants. This 
infidelity was highly displeasing to Dio- 
medes*. he resolved to abandon his na- 
tive country, which was the seat of his 
disgrace. He came to that part of Italy, 
which has been called Magna Gracia, 
where he built a city, which he called 
Argyrippa, and married the daughter of 
Daunus, the king of the country. He 
died there in extreme old age,or, accord- 
ing to a certain tradition, he perished 
by the hand of his father-in-law. His 
death was greatly lamented by his com- 
panions, who, in the excess of their 
grief, were changed into birds resem- 
bling swans. Altars were raised to Dio- 
medes, as to a god, one of which Strabo 
mentions at Timavus. Virg. Ovid. &c. 
— A king of Thrace, son of Mars and 
Cyrene, who fed his horses with human 
flesh. It was one of the labors of Her- 
cules to destroy him ; and accordingly 
the hero, attended with some of his 
friends, attacked Diomedes, and gave 



DIO 



DIO 



him to be devoured by his own horses, 
which he had fed so barbarously. Diod. 

Diomedon, a general whom 
the Athenians put to death for neglect- 
ing his duty at Arginus. 

Dion, a Syracusan, son of Hip- 
parinus, famous for his power and abi- 
lities. He was related to Dionysius, 
and often advised him, together with 
the philosopher Plato, to lay aside the 
supreme power. His great popularity 
rendered him odious in the eyes of the 
tyrant, who banished him to Greece : 
there he collected a numerous force, 
and resolved to free his country from 
tyranny. This he easily effected, on 
account of his great popularity : he en- 
tered the port of Syracuse with only two 
ships, and in three days reduced an em- 
pire which had already subsisted for 50 
years, and which was guarded by 500 
ships of war, and 100,000 foot, and 
10,000 horse. The tyrant fled to Co- 
rinth, and Dion kept the power in his 
own hands, fearful of the aspiring ambi- 
tion of some of the friends of Dionysius. 
He was shamefully murdered by one of 
his familiar friends, called Callicrates, 
or Callipus, 354 yeais before the Chris- 
tian era, in the 55th year of his age,and 
four years after his return from Pelo- 
ponnesus. His death was universally 
lamented by the Syracusans, and a mo- 
nument raised to his memory. Diod. &c. 
— Cassius, a native of Niccea, in Bi- 
thynia, who was raised to the greatest 
offices of state in the Roman empire.by 
Pertinax, and his three successors. He 
was 10 years in collecting materials for 
a history of Rome, which he made 
public in 80 books, after a laoorious 
employment of 12 years in composing 
it. The 34 first books are totally lost, 
the 20 following are mutilated , and frag- 
ments are all we possess of the last 20. 
Dion flourished about the 230th year of 
the Christian era. — A famous Christian 
writer ,_surnamed Chrz/scstom, &c. 

DiQNiEA, a surname of Verms, 
supposed to be the daughter of Jupiter 
and Dione. 

Dione, a nymph, daughter of 
Nereus and Doris. She was mother of 
Venus, by Jupiter, according to Homer 
and others. Hesiod, however, gives Ve- 
nus a different origin, f Fid. Venus.] 

DlONYSIA, from Aioyucro;, fes- 
tivals in honor of Bacchus, among the 
Greeks. Their form and solemnity were 
first introduced into Greece from Egypt 
by a certain Melampus,and if we admit 
that Bacchus is the same as the Egyp- 
tian Isis, the Dionysia of the Greeks 
are the same as the festivals celebrated 
by the Egyptians in honor of Isis. At 
Athens those of both sexes joined in the 
solemnity. The worshippers ran about 
the hills and country, nodding their 
heads, dancing in ridiculous postures, 
and filling the air with hideous shrieks 
and shouts, and crying aloud, Evoe 



Bacche ! Io ! Io ! Evoe ! Iacche ! Io 
Bacehe ! Evohe ! The festivals in honor 
of Bacchus were almost innumerable in 
Greece ; they were celebrated with the 
greatest licentiousness, and when intro- 
duced into Rome, the debaucheries and 
impurities practised by their votaries 
were so great, that the interference of 
the senate was necessary for their sup- 
pression, under the consulship of S.Post- 
humius Albinus and Q. Mar. Philippus. 
They, however, v/ere reinstituted at 
Rome in length of time, but not with 
such licentiousness as before. 

Dionysiades, festivals held 

in honor of Bacchus. Pans. 

Diony sides, a writer of tra- 
gedies, at Tarsus. 

Dion ysion, a temple dedicated 

to Bacchus in Attica. 

Dionysius 1st, or the elder, 

was son of Hermocrates. He signalized 
himself in the wars which the Syra- 
cusans carried on against the Cartha- 
ginians, and, taking advantage of the 
power lodged in his hands, he made 
himself absolute at Syracuse. To 
strengthen himself in his usurpation, 
and acquire popularity, he increased 
the pay of his soldiers, and recalled 
those that had been banished. He 
vowed eternal enmity against Carthage, 
and experienced'various success in his 
wars against that republic : he was highly 
ambitious of being thought a poet, and 
he set higher value on a prize adjudged 
to a composition of his at Athens, than 
all the victories he had obtained. His 
tyranny and cruelty at home rendered 
him odious in the eyes of his subjects, 
and he became so suspicious, that he 
never admitted his wife or children to 
his private apartments without a pre- 
vious examination of their garments : 
he never trusted his head to a barber, 
but always burnt Jiis beard. He made 
a subterranean cave in a rock, said to be 
still extant, in the form of a human ear, 
in order to hear whatever was said by 
those whom his suspicions and cruelty 
had confined in the apartments above, 
and then put the artists to death, lest 
they should disclose the purpose for 
which it was constructed. His impiety 
and sacrilege were as conspicuous as his 
suspicious credulity. He died, as some 
say, of an indigestion, in the G3d year of 
his age, B. C. 388, after a reign of 3S 
years. Others are of opinion that he 
died a violent death. The invention of 
the catapulta is attributed to him. Diod. 
Justin. &c. — The second of that name, 
surnamed the younger, was sen of 
Dionysius the 1st, by Doris : he suc- 
ceeded his father as tyrant of Sicily, 
and, by the advice of Dion, his brother- 
in-law, he invited the philosopher Plato 
to his court, under whom he studied for 
a while. The philosopher advised him 
to lay aside the supreme power, and in 
his admonitions he was warmly seconded 



DIP 

by Dion 5 who afterwards expelled the 
tyrant, from Syracuse, B. C. 357. [Vid. 
Dion.] Dionysius retired to Loeri, and 
recovered Syracuse ten years after his 
expulsion. His triumph was short : the 
Corinthians,under the conduct of Timo- 
ieon, obliged him to retire from the city: 
he fled to Corinth, where, to support 
himself, he kept a school, as Cicero ob- 
serves, that he might still continue to 
be tyrant ; and, as he could not com- 
mand over men, he might still exercise 
his power over boys. It is said that he 
died from an excess of joy when he heard 
that a tragedy of his own composition 
had been rewarded with a poetical prize. 
Dionysius was as cruel as his father, but 
he did not, like him, possess the art of 
retaining his power. Justin. Diod. &e. — 
An historian of Halicarnass us, ,who came 
to reside at Rome, that he might care- 
fully study all the Greek and Latin 
writers, whose compositions treated of 
the Roman history. He made acquaint- 
ance with all the learned of the age, and 
derived much information from their 
conversation. After an unremitted ap- 
plication, he save to the world his Ro- 
man Antiquities, in 20 books, of which 
only the 11 first are now extant. His 
composition has been greatly valued for 
the easiness of his style, the fidelity of 
his chronology, and the judiciousness 
of his remarks and criticisms. To the 
character of the elegant historian Diony- 
sius also added that of the eloquent ora- 
tor, the critic, and the politician, as may 
be seen in his treatises. He lived during 
the Augustan age, and came to Rome 
about 30 years before the Christian era. 
— A tyrant of Heraclea, in Pontus, in 
the age of Alexander the Great. Ancient 
writers make mention of others of this 
name, in whose lives there is nothing 
very remarkable. 

Diophanes, the man by 
whose influence Peloponnesus was added 
to the Achaean league. 

Diophantus. The most ce- 
lebrated of this name is a native of 
Alexandria, in the fourth century. He 
wrote 13 books of arithmetical questions, 
of which six are still extant.— An orator 
of Mitylene, who was preceptor to Ti- 
berius Gracchus.— General of the Greek 
mercenaries in the service of Nectane- 
bus, king of Egypt. 

Diop(Exu*s,a celebrated sculp- 
tor, of a noble family at Alte. 

Biopolis, a town in Paphla- 
gonia._ 

Diores, a friend of ./Eneas, 
killed by Turnus : he had engaged in 
the games exhibited by iEneas on his 
father's tomb in Sicily. Virg. 

Bioscorides. The most re- 
markable of this name is a native of Ci- 
licia, who was physician to Antony and 
Cleopatra, or lived, as some suppose, 
m the age of Nero. He was originally a 



DIS 

soldier, but afterwards he applied him- 
self to study, and wrote a book upon 
medicinal herbs. 

Dioscoridis Insula, an 

island situated at the south of the en- 
trance of the Arabic Gulf. It is now 
called Socotara. 

Dioscuri, or sons of Jupiter , 
a name given to Castor and Pollux. 
There were festivals in their honor, 
called Dioscuria, celebrated by the peo- 
ple of Corcyra, and chiefly by the Lace- 
daemonians. They were observed with 
much jovial festivity. 

Diosp5lis, or Thebes, a fa- 
mous city of Egypt, formerly called 
Heeatompylos. [Vid. Thebas.J 

Dip^e^e, a place of Pelopon- 
nesus, where a battle was fought be- 
tween the Arcadians and Spartans. 
Herodot. 

DiPHiLUS,an architect, so slow 

in finishing his works, that Diphilo tar- 
dior became a proverb. Cic. 

DiRiE, the daughters of Ache- 
ron and Nox, who persecuted the souls 
of the guilty. They are the same as the 
Furies, and some suppose that they are 
called Furies in hell, Harpies on earth, 
and Diree in heaven. They were repre- 
sented as standing near the throne of 
Jupiter, in an attitude which expressed 
their eagerness to receive his orders, 
and the power of tormenting the guilty 
on earth with the most, excruciating 
punishments. Virg. 

Dirce, a woman whom Lycus, 
king of Thebes, married after he had 
divorced Antiope. In consequence of 
her cruelties to Antiope, she was tied, 
by Am phi on and Zethus, the sons- of 
Antiope, to the tail of a wild bull, and 
dragged over the rocks, &c. The gods, 
pitying her fate, changed her in to a foun- 
tain in the neighbourhood of Thebes. 
[Vid. Amphion, Antiope.] According 
to some accounts, Antiope was mother 
of Amphion and Zethus, before she was 
confined and exposed to the tyranny of 
Dirce. Propert. Luc. Ovid. — A fountain 
of Bceotia, sacred to the Muses, whence 
Pindar, the Theban poet, is called Dir- 
cceus Cygnus. Horat. 

Dis, a god of the Gauls, the 
same as Pluto, the god of hell. The in- 
habitants of Gaul supposed themselves 
descended from that deity. Cces. 

DiscoRDiA,a malevolent deity, 

daughter of Nox, and sister to Nemesis, 
the Parcae, and Death. She was driven 
from heaven by Jupiter, because she 
was the cause of continual quarrels. 
When the nuptials of Peleus and Thetis 
were celebrated, this goddess was not in- 
vited, and the neglect so irritated her 
that she threw an apple into the midst 
of the gods, with the inscription of 
detur pulchriori. This apple was the 
cause of the ruin of Troy, and of infinite 



DOD 



DOM 



misfortunes to the Greeks. [ Vid. Paris.] 
She is represented with a pale and 
ghastly look, and her garment torn. 
Her head is generally entwined with 
serpents, and she is attended byBel- 
lona. She is supposed to be the cause 
of all the dissensions which arise upon 
earth, public as well as private. Virg. 
Hesiod. 

Dithyr ambus, a surname of 
Bacchus, whence the hymns sung in his 
honor were called Dithyrambics. He 
obtained this name either because he 
was twice born, or because Ceres col- 
lected and restored life to his limbs, 
that had been cut to pieces in the wars 
of the giants, or because the cave where 
he was brought up had two entrances. 
Horat. &lc. 

Divi, a name chiefly appro- 
priated to those who were made gods 
after death, such as heroes and warriors, 
or the Lares and Penates, and other do- 
mestic gods. 

Docimus, a man of Tarentum, 
deprived of his military dignity by Phi- 
lip, son of Amyntas, for indulging him- 
self with hot baths. Polycen. 

Dodona, a town of Thesprotia 
in Epivus, or according to others in 
Thessaly. There was in its neighbour- 
hood a celebrated oracle of Jupiter. 
The town and temple of the god were 
first built by Deucalion, after the uni- 
versal deluge. It was supposed to be 
the most ancient oracle of all Greece, 
and, according to the traditions of the 
Egyptians, mentioned by Herodotus, it 
was founded by a dove, which, together 
with another, took flight from Thebes, 
in Egypt, and alighted, one at the tem- 
ple of Amnion, and the other at Dodona , 
where, with a human voice, it informed 
the natives that the surrounding ground 
should in future be endued with a pro- 
phetic spirit. Oracles were therefore 
m consequence frequently delivered by 
the sacred oaks, and the doves which in- 
habited the place. This fabulous tra- 
dition of the oracular power of the doves 
is explained by Herodotus, who observes 
that some Phoenicians carried away two 
priestesses from Egypt, one of which 
went to fix her residence at Dodona, 
where the oracle was established. It 
may further be observed that the fable 
might have been founded on the double 
meaning of the word weXf/«,i, which 
signifies doves in most parts of Greece, 
while in the dialect of the Epirots, it 
implies old women. The oracles of Do- 
dona were generally delivered by women. 
\_Vid. Lodonides.] Plin. Herodot. &c. 

Dodona us, a surname of Ju- 
piter, _from Dodona. 

DONONE,a daughter of Jupiter, 
and Europa. — A fountain in the forest 
of Dodona. [ Vid. Dodona.] 

Podonides, the priestesses 



who gave oracles in the temple of Jupi- 
ter in Dodona. According to some tra- 
ditions the temple was originally in- 
habited by seven daughters of Atlas, 
who nursed Bacchus. Their names 
were Ambrosia, Eudora, Pasithoe. Py- 
tho,Plexaure, Coronis, Tytheor Tyche. 
In the latter ages the oracles were always 
delivered by three old women. 

Don, a people in Arabia Felix. 

DoLABELLA, P. CORN, a Ro- 
man, who married the daughter of Ci- 
cero. During the civil wars he warmly 
espoused the interest of J. Caesar, at 
the famous battles of Pharsalia, &c. 
He was made consul by his patron, 
though M. Antony, his colleague, op- 
posed it. After the death of J. Casar, 
he received the government of Syria, as 
his province, but was opposed by Cas- 
sius, who besieged him in Laodicea, 
where, when he saw that all was lost, 
he killed himself, in the27th year of his 
age. The family of the Dolabellae at 
different times distinguished themselves 
at Rome, and one of them, L. Corn, 
conquered Lusitania, B. C. 99. 

Doliche, an island in the 
iEgean sea. — A town of Macedonia. — A 
town in Syria. 

Do l omen A, a province in As- 
syria. 

Dolon, a Trojan, famous for 

his swiftness. Being sent by Hector to 
spy the Grecian camp by night, he was 
seized by Diomedes and Ulysses, to 
whom he revealed the situation and 
schemes of his countrymen, with the 
hopes of escaping with his life. He was 
put to death by Diomedes as a traitor. 
Homer. Virg. 

Dolopes, a people of Thes- 

salymear mount Pindus. Peleus reigned 
there, and sent them to the Trojan war 
under Phoenix. 

Dolopia, the country of the 

Dolopes, near Pindus, through which 
the Achelous flowed. 

Dolops, a Trojan, killed by 
Menelaus. Homer. 

Domiductjs, a god who pre- 
sided over marriage. Juno also was 
called Domiduca, from the power she 
was supposed to have in marriages. 

Dominica, wife to the empe- 
ror Valens, and daughter of Petronius. 

D Omit i a Lex, a law by which 
the right of electing priests was trans- 
ferred to the people from the college. 

Domitta LoNGTNA,a Roman 
lady who boasted of her debaucheries. 
She was the wife of the emperor Domi- 
tian. 

Domitianus, Titus Flavius, 

son of Vespasian and Flavia Domitilla, 
made himself emperor of Rome at the 
death of his brother Titus, whom, ae- 



DOM 



DOR 



cording to some accounts, he destroyed 
by poison. The beginning of his reigu 
promised tranquillity to his people, but 
their expectations were soon frustrated. 
Domitian became cruel, and gave way 
to incestuous and unnatural indul- 
gences. He commanded himself to be 
called God and Lord in all the papers 
which were presented to him. He passed 
the greatest part of the day in catching 
flies and killing them with a bodkin. 
In the latter part of his reign Domitian 
became suspicious, and his anxieties 
were increased by the predictions of 
astrologers, but still more poignantly by 
the stings of remorse. He was so dis- 
trustful, even when alone, that round 
the terrace, where he usually walked, 
he built a wall with shining stones, that 
from them he might perceive, as in a 
looking-glass, whether any body follow- 
ed him. All these precautions were 
unavailing ; he perished by the hand of 
an assassin the 18th of September, A. D. 
96, in the 45 th year of his age, and the 
15th year of his reign. He was the last 
of the twelve Caesars. After his death 
he was publicly deprived by the senate 
of all the honors which had been pro- 
fusely heaped upon him, and even his 
body was left in the open air without 
the honors of a funeral. This disgrace 
might perhaps have proceeded from his 
having once assembled that august body 
to know in what vessel a turbot might 
be most conveniently dressed. Suet, in 
rit. 

Domitius. A name common 
to many eminent Romans, the most 
conspicuous of whom are the folio wing : 
Domitianus, a general of Diocletian in 
Egypt. He assumed the imperial pur- 
ple at Alexandria, A. D. 288, and sup- 
ported the dignity of emperor about two 
years. He died a violent death. —Lucius. 
IVid. jEnobarbus.]— Cn. yEnobarbus, a 
Roman consul who conquered Bituitus 
the Gaul, and left 20,000 of the enemy on 
the field of battle, and took S000 prison- 
ers. — The father of Nero, famous for 
his cruelties and debaucheries. Suet. — 
Afer, an orator, who was preceptor to 
Quintilian. He disgraced his talents by 
his adulation, and by practising the arts 
of an informer under Tiberius and his 
successors. He was made consul by 
Nero, and died A. D.59. — A Latin poet, 
called also Mars us, in the age of Ho- 
race. He wrote epigrams, and also a 
poem called Amazonis, or the wars of 
Hercules against the Amazons. Only 
three of his verses remain. Ovid. Mar- 
tial 

Donysa, an island in the M- 
gean sea, where green marble is found. 
Virg. 

Doracte, a small island in 
the Persian Gulph. 

Doricus, an epithet applied 
not only to Doris, but to all the Greeks 
in general. Virg. 



Dorieus, son of Diagoras of 
Rhodes. — A person, who headed a co- 
lony into Sicily. 

Dorilas, a prince of Libya, 
slain in the court of Cepheus. 

Dorilaus, one of Mithri- 
dates' generals. 

Do Rio N, a town of Pelopon- 
nesus, where Thamyras, the musician, 
challenged the Muses to a trial of skill. 
Lucan. 

D5ris, a country of Greece, 
between Phocis, Thessaly, and Acarna- 
nia. It received its name from Dorus, 
the son of Deucalion, who made a set- 
tlement there. It was called Tetrapo- 
lis, from the four cities of Pindus or 
Dryopis, Erineum, Cytinium, Borium, 
which it contained. To these four some 
add Lilseum and Carphia, and therefore 
call it Hexapolis. The name of Doris 
has been common to many parts of 
Greece. The Dorians sent many colo- 
nies into different places, which bore 
the same name as their native country. 
The most famous of these is Doris in 
Asia Minor, of which Halicarnassus was 
once the capital. Strab. Herodot. &c. 
— A goddess of the sea, daughter of 
Oceanus and Tethys. She married her 
brother Nereus, by whom she had fifty 
daughters, called Nereides. Her name 
is often used to express the sea itself. 
Propert. Virg. 

Doriscus, a place of Thrace, 
near the sea, where Xerxes numbered 
his forces. Herodot. 

DoriuMj one of the daughters 
of Danaus. 

Dorsennus, a comic poet of 
great merit in the Augustan age. 

Dorso, C. Fabius, a Roman, 
who, when Rome was in the possession 
of the Gauls, issued from the capitol, 
which was then besieged, to offer a sa- 
crifice, which was to be ottered on 
mount Quirinalis. He dressed himself 
in sacerdotal robes, and carrying on his 
shoulders the statues of his country 
gods, passed through the guards of the 
enemy, without betraying the least signs 
of fear. When he had finished his sa- 
crifice he returned to the capitol, un- 
molested by the enemy, who were asto- 
nished at his boldness, and did not ob- 
struct his passage, nor molest his sacri- 
fice. Liv. 

Dortjs, a son of Helen, cr ac- 
cording to others, of Deucalion, who 
left Phthiotis, where his father reigned, 
and went to make a settlement with 
some of his companions near mount 
Ossa. The country was called Doris, 
and the inhabitants Dorians. Herodot. 
— A city of Phoenicia, whose inhabi f ants 
are called Dorienses. 

Doryclus, an illegitimate son 



DRU 



of Priam, killed by Ajax in the Trojan 
war. 

Dorylas, one of the centaurs, 

killed by Theseus. Ovid. 

Doryl^um, a Phrygian city, 
now called Eski Shehr. 

Dosci, a people inhabiting near 
the Euxine sea. 

Do to, one of the Nereides. 

Virg. 

Dracaxus, a mountain where 
Jupiter took Bacchus from his thigh. 
Theocrit. 

Draco, a celebrated lawgiver 

of Athens. When he exercised the office 
of archon, he made a code of laws, B. C. 
623, for the use of the citizens, which, 
on account of their severity, were said 
to be written in letters of blood. He 
punished all crimes with death, alleging 
that as the smallest crime deserved it, 
he could not find a more severe punish- 
ment for the most atrocious. These 
laws were at first enforced, but they 
were often neglected on account of their 
extreme severity, and Solon totally abo- 
lished them, except that one which pu- 
nished a murderer with death. Not- 
withstanding the severity of his laws, 
he was very popular, which at last 
proved fatal to him. The Athenians, 
agreeably to a custom among them, out 
of great respect, heaped clothes on him 
at the theatre to such a degree that they 
smothered him. Plin. 

Dr,axces, a friend of Latinus, 
remarkable for his weakness and elo- 
quence. He showed himself an obsti- 
nate opponent to the violent measures 
which Turn us pursued against the Tro- 
jans, &c. Some have imagined that the 
poet wished to delineate the character 
and the eloquence of Cicero under this 
name. Virg. 

Dravus, a river of Noricum, 
which falls into the Danube at Mursa. 

Drepaxa and Drepaxum, a 

town of Sicily near mount Eryx, in the 
form of a scythe., whence its name, 
(3^7Tc4vov, falx. ) Anchises died there, 
in his voyage to Italy with his son. 
iEneas. The Romans under Ci. Pulcher 
were defeated near the coast B.C. 249 
bv the Carthaginian general Adherbal. 
Virg. Ovid. 

Drill o, a river of Macedon, 

falling into the Adriatic. 

Drimachus, a famous robber 
of Chios. When a price was set upon 
his head, he ordered a young man to 
cut it off and goaud receive the money. 
Such an uncommon instance of gene- 
rosity so pleased the Chians, that they 
raised a temple to his memory, and ho- 
nored him as a god. Athen. 

De.i6pii>es, an ambassador 
dispatched to Darius, cm the occasion 



of the peace with Alexander having been 

violated. 

Drozsleus, a Cretan name for 

Apollo. 

Dropici, a people of Persia. 
Druextius and Druextia, 

now Durance, a rapid river of Gaul, 
which falls into the Rhone, between 
Aries and Avignon. Sil. Ital. 

DruIDxE, so called from 
an oak, because the woods were the 
place of their residence. The ministers 
of religion amongst the ancient Gauls 
and Britons. They were divided into 
different classes, called the Bardi, Eu- 
bages, the Vates, the Semnothei, the 
Sarronides, and the Samothei. They 
were held in the greatest veneration by 
the people. Their life was austere and 
recluse, their dress was peculiar to 
themselves, and they generally appeared 
with a tunic which reached a little below 
the knee. They could declare war and 
make peace at their option. Their 
power was extended not only over pri- 
vate families, but they could depose 
magistrates and even kings, if their ac- 
tions in any manner deviated from the 
laws of the state. They were entrusted 
with the education of youth, religious 
ceremonies, &c. They" taught the doc- 
trine of the metempsychosis, and be- 
lieved the immortality of the soul, and 
in their sacrifices they often immolated 
human victims to "their gods. The 
power and privileges which they en- 
joyed were beheld with admiration by 
their countrymen, and as their office 
was open to every rank and every sta- 
tion, there were many who daily pro- 
posed themselves as candidates to enter 
upon this important function. Ccs*. 
B. G. &c. 

Druxa, the Drome, a river of 
Gaul, falling into the Rhone. 

Drusilla Livia, a daughter 
of Germanicus and Agrippina. famous 
for her debaucheries and licentiousness. 
She committed incest with her brother 
Caligula, who, in a dangerous illness, 
made her heiress of all his possessions: 
and commanded that she should suc- 
ceed him in the Roman empire. She 
died A. D. 38, in the 23d year of her 
age, and was deified by her brother Ca- 
ligula.— A daughter of Agrippa, king of 
J udea, &c. 

Druso, an unskilful historian 
and mean usurer, who obliged his debt- 
ors, when they could not pay him, to 
hear him read his compositions, to draw 
from them praises and flattery. Horat. 

Drusus, a name common ta 
many eminent Romans, the most re- 
markable of whom are the following. 
A son of Tiberius and Vipsania, who 
made himself famous by his intrepidity 
j and courage in the provinces of Illy- 
| ricum and Pannonia. He was raised to 



DRY 



DUU 



the greatest honors of the state by his 
father, but a blow which he gave to Se- 
janus, an audacious libertine, proved 
his ruin. Ssjanus corrupted Livia, the 
wife of Drusus, and, in conjunction 
with her, he caused him to be poisoned 
by an eunuch, A. D. 23. — A son of Ger- 
manicus and Agrippina, who enjoyed 
offices of the greatest trust under Tibe- 
rius. His enemy, Sejanus, however, 
effected his ruin, by his insinuations; 
Drusus was confined by Tiberius, and 
deprived of all aliment. He was found 
dead nine days after his confinement, 
A. D. 33. — Livius, father of Julia Au- 
gusta, was intimate with Brutus, and 
killed himself with him after the battle 
of Philippi. Patera — Nero Claudius, a 
son of Tiberius Nero and Livia, adopt- 
ed by Augustus. He was brother to Ti- 
berius, who was afterwards made em- 
peror. He greatly signalized himself in 
his wars in Germany and Gaul against 
the Rhagti and Vindelici, and was ho- 
nored with a triumph. He died of a 
fall from his horse in the 30th year of 
his age, B. C. P. He left three children, 
Germanieus, Livia, and Claudius, by 
his wife Antonia, Dion. — The plebeian 
family of the Drusi produced eight con- 
suls, "two censors, and one dictator. 
The surname of Drusus was given to 
the family of the Livii, as some suppose, 
because one of them killed a Gaulish 
leader of the name of Drusus. 

Dryad es, nymphs that pre- 
sided over the woods. Oblations of 
milk, oil, and honey, were offered to 
them, and sometimes the votaries sa- 
crificed a goat. Virg. 

Dryaxt jades, a patronymic 
of Lycurgus, king of Thrace, who cut 
his legs, as he was endeavouring to cut 
the vines, that no more libations might 
be offered to Bacchus. 

Dryas* There were many of 
this name mentioned by ancient writers, 
the most conspicuous of whom is a son 
of Hippolochus, who was father to Ly- 
curgus. He went with Eteocles to the 
Theban war, where he perished. Stat. 
— A son of Mars, who went to the chase 
of the Calydonian boar. Apollod. — A 
Centaur at" the nuptials of Pirithous, 
who killed Rhcetus. Ovid. 

Drymo, a sea-nymph, one of 
the attendants of Cyrene. Virg. 

Dryope, a woman of Lernnos, 
whose shape Venus assumed, to per- 
suade all the females of the island to 
murder the men. Fla^c. — A virgin of 
CEchalia, whom Andramion married 
after she had been ravished by Apollo. 
She was chanced into a lotus. Ovid. 
Met. — A nymph, mother of Tarquitus 
by Faunus. Virg. 

Dryopes, a people of Greece, 
near mount GZia. They afterwards 
passed into the Peloponnesus, where 
they inhabited the towns of Asine and 



Hermione, in Argolis. Whenfhey were 
driven from Asine, by the people of 
Argos, they settled among the Messe- 
nians, and called a town by the name of 
their ancient habitation Asine. Some of 
their descendants went to make a settle- 
ment in Asia Minor together with the 
Ionians. Herodot. &e. 

Dryopis and Dry5pida, a 
small country at the foot of mount (Eta 
in Thessaly. Its true situation is not 
well ascertained. 

Darops, a son of Priam, 
killed by Achilles. Horner. — A friend 
of .Eneas killed by Clausus in Italy. 

DRYp£Tis,the younger daugh- 
ter of Darius, given in marriage to iie- 
phaestion by Alexander. Diod. 

Dubris, a town in Britain, 
now Dover. 

Duillia lex, a law, making 
it capital to create new magistrates 
without an adequate cause. 

C. Duillius Nepos, a Ro- 
man consul, the first who obtained a 
victorv over the naval power of Car- 
thage," B. C. 2(50. He took fifty of the 
enemy's ships, and was honored with a 
naval triumph, the first that ever ap- 
peared at Rome. The senate rewarded 
his valor by permitting him to have 
music playing and torches lighted, at the 
public expenee, every day while he was 
at supper. There were some medals 
struck in commemoration of this vic- 
tory, and there exists a column at 
Rome, which was erected on the occa- 
sion. _ 

Dulichxum, an island of the 

Ionian sea, opposite the Achelous. It 
was part of the kingdom of Ulysses. 
Ovid. 

Dumnorix, a powerful chief 
among the iEdui. Cces. 

Duris, of Samos, author of a 
History of Maeedon, the Life of Aga- 
thocles, and a Treatise on Tragedy. 

Durius, a large river of Spain, 
now called the Douro, which falls into 
the ocean near modern Oporto in Por- 
tugal, after a course of nearly three 
hundred miles. 

Durocasses, now Dreux, the 

principal residence of the Druids cf 
Gaul. 

Duumviri, two noble patri- 
cians at Rome, first appointed by Tar- 
quin to keep the Sibylline books, which 
were supposed to contain the fate of the 
Roman empire. These priests conti- 
nued in their original institution till the 
year U. C. 388, when a law was pro- 
posed by the tribunes to increase "the 
number "to ten, to be chosen promiscu- 
ously from patrician and plebeian fa- 
milies. They were from their number 
called Decemviri, and some time after 
H 5 



DYA 



ECH 



Sylla increased them to fifteen, tnown 
by the name of Quindecimviri. — There 
were also certain civil magistrates 
among the Romans that bore this 
name. 

Dyagondas, a legislator of 
Thebes, who abolished all sacrifices by 
night. 

Dymas, a Trojan, who joined 

himself to /Eneas when Troy was taken, 
and was at last killed by his country- 
men, who took him to be an enemy be- 
cause he had dressed himself in the ar- 
mour of one of the Greeks he had slain. 
Virg. — The father of Hecuba. Ovid. 

I)ymnus, one of Alexander's 
officers. He conspired with many of 
his fellow soldiers against his master's 
fife. The conspiracy was discovered , 



and Dymnus stabbed himself before he 
was brought before the king. Curt. 

D^namene, one of the Ne- 
reides. Homer. 

Dyras, a river of Trachinia. 

It rises at the foot of mount CEta, and 
falls into the bay of Malia. Herodot. 

Dyris, the name of mount 
Atlas among the inhabitants of that 
neighbourhood. 

Dyrrachium, a large city of 
Macedonia, bordering on the Adriatic 
sea. It was founded by a colonv from 
Corcyra, B. C. 623. It was anciently 
called Epidamnus. Mela, &c. 

Dysaules, the first institutor 
of the Eleusinian mysteries at Celea?. 



EAN 

Eanes, a man who was sup- 
posed to have slain Patroclus, and to 
have fled into Thessaly. 

Eanus, the name of Janus 
among the ancient Latins. 

Ebdome, a festival in honor of 
Apollo at Athens, on the seventh day of 
every lunar month. It was usual to 
sing hymns in honor of the god, and to 
carry about boughs of laurel. — There 
was also another of the same name cele- 
brated by private families, the seventh 
day after the birth of every child. 

Errudje, the western islands 
of Scotland, now called the Hebrides. 

Ebtjsus, one of the Baleares, 
which produces no hurtful animals. It 
is near the coast of Spain, in the Medi- 
terranean, and now bears the name of 
Yvica. PUn. 

Ecbatana, (oruni) the capital 
of Media, and the palace built, accord- 
ing to Herodotus, by Deioces, king of 
Media. It was surrounded with seven 
walls, which rose in gradual ascent, and 
were painted in seven different colors. 
The most distant was the lowest, and 
the innermost, which was the most ce- 
lebrated, contained the royal palace. 
Parmenio was put to death there by 
Alexander's order, and Hephsestion died 
there also. — A town of Syria, where 
Cambyses gave himself a mortal wound 
when mounting on horseback. He) odot. 

Ecdysia, festivals in Crete, in 
honor of Latona, who changed the sex 
of the daughter of Lamprus. 

E c e t r a, a Volscian town. 

Liv. 

Echecrates, Thessalian, 



EEH 

who offered violence to Phcebas the 
priestess of Apollo's temple at Delphi. 
From this circumstance a decree was 
made by which no woman was admitted 
to the office of priestess before the age 
of fifty. Diod. 

Echembrottjs, an Arcadian 
who obtained the prize at the Pythian 
games. Paws. 

EcHE3ius, an Ajcadian, who 
conquered the Dorians when they en- 
deavoured to recover Peloponnesus 
under Hyllus. 

Echidna, a celebrated mon- 
ster, sprung from the union of Chry- 
saor with Callirhoe, the daugther of 
Oceanus. She is represented as a beau- 
tiful woman in the upper parts of the 
body, but as a serpent below the waist, 
She'was mother by Typhon, of Orthos. 
Cerberus, the Hydra, <fcc. According to 
Herodotus, Hercules had three children 
by her, Agathyrsus, Gelonus, and Scy- 
tha. Herodot". Hesiod. 

EchIxades, five small islands 

near Acarnania at the mouth of the 
river Achelous. They have been form- 
ed by the inundations* of that river, and 
by the sand and mud which its waters 
carry down, and now bear the name of 
Curzolari. The mythologists supposed 
that they were five nymphs changed by 
the Achelous into as many islands. Phn. 
Herodot. Ovid. 

EcHiOtf. The most remarkable 

of this name, is one of those men who 
sprang from the dragon's teeth sown by 
Cadmus. He survived the fate of some 
of his brothers, and assisted Cadmus in 
building the city of Thebes. Cadmus 
rewarded his services by giving him his 
daughter Agave in marriage. He was 



ECH 



ELE 



father of Pentheus, by Agave. He suc- 
ceeded his father-in-law on the throne 
of Thebes, as some have imagined, and 
from that circumstance Thebes has 
been called Echioniae, and the inhabit- 
ants Echionida?. Ovid. — A son of Mer- 
cury and Antianira, who was the herald 
of the Argonauts. 

Echionides, a patronymic 
given to Pentheus as descended from 
Echion. Ovid. 

Echo, a daughter of the Air 

and Tellus, who chiefly resided in the 
vicinity of the Cephisus". She was once 
one of Juno's attendants, and became 
the confidant of Jupiter's amours. Her 
loquacity, however, displeased Jupiter ; 
and she was deprived of the power of 
speech by Juno, and only permitted to 
answer to the questions which were put 
to her. Pan had formerly been one of 
her admirers, but he never enjoyed her 
favors. Echo, after she had been pu- 
nished by Juno, fell in love with Nar- 
cissus, and on being despised by him, 
she pined away, and was changed into 
a stone, which still retained the power 
of voice. Ovid. <fec. 

Edessa and Edesa, a town of 
Syria. 

Edox, a mountain of Thrace, 

called also Edonus. From this moun- 
tain Thrace is often called Edonia. 
Virg. 

Ed usa, (ab edere) a goddess 
whose office was to protect the aliments 
of young children after they were wean- 
ed from their mothers. Varro. 

EETION, the father of An- 
dromache, was king of Thebes in Cili- 
cia. Homer. 

Egeria, a nymph of Aricia in 
Italy. She was courted by Numa, and 
according to Ovid she became his wife. 
This prince frequently visited her ; and 
that he might introduce his laws and 
new regulations into the state, he so- 
lemnly declared before the Roman 
people, that they were previously sanc- 
tified and approved by the nymph Ege- 
ria. Ovid says that Egeria was so dis- 
consolate at the death of Numa, that 
she melted into tears, and was changed 
into a fountain by Diana. 

Egesta, a daughter of Hip- 
potes the Trojan. Her father exposed 
her on the sea, for fear of being de- 
voured by a marine monster which laid 
waste the" country. She was carried safe 
to Sicily, where she was ravished by the 
river Crini>us. 

P. Egnatius, a crafty and 
perfidious Roman, in the reign of Nero, 
who committed the greatest crimes for 
the sake of money. Tacit. 

Elagabalus, the surname of 
the sun at Emessa. 

Elaphebolia, a festival in- 



stituted by the Phocians in honor of 
Diana the huntress- In the celebration 
a cake was made in the form of a deer, 
shu(po^ and offered to the goddess. 

Elea, a town of Campania, 
whence the followers of Zeno were 
called the eleatic sect. Clc. 

Electra. Of this name the 
following are the most remarkable : — 
One of the Oeeanides, wifeof Atlas, and 
mother of Dardanus, by Jupiter. Ovid. 
— A daughter of Atlas andPleione. '- he 
was changed into a constellation. A i*d- 
Jod.—X daughter of Agamemnon, king 
of Argos. She first incited her brother 
Orestes to revenge his father's death by 
assassinating his mother Clytemhestra. 
Orestes gave her in marriage to his 
friend Pylades, and she became mother 
of two sons, Strophius and Medon. 
Her adventures and misfortues form 
one of the interesting tragedies of the 
poet Sophocles. Hi/gin. &c. 

Elect rides, islands in the 
Adriatic sea, which received their name 
from the quantity of amber (electram) 
which they produced. They were at the 
mouth of the Po according to Apollo- 
nius of Rhodes, but some historians 
doubt of their existence. Plin. 

Electryon, a king of Argos, 
son of Perseus and Andromeda. He was 
brother to Alcaeus, and father to Ak- 
mena, &c. [Firf. Amphitryon and Ale- 
mena.] 

ELEI, a people of Elis in Pe- 
loponnesus. They were formerly called 
Epei. In their country was the temple 
of Jupiter, where also were celebrated 
the Olympic games, of which they had 
the superintendence. Their horses were 
in great repute. Propert. &c. 

Eleleus, a surname of Bac- 
chus, from the word eXeXeu, which the 
Bacchanals loudly repeated during his 
festivals. Ovid. 

Eleox. There were two vil- 
lages of this name, one in Phocis, the 
other in Boeotia. 

Eleontttm, a town in the 
Thracian Chersonesus. 

Elephantis, a poetess who 

wrote lascivious verses. Martial. — An 
island in the river Nile, inUpper Egypt : 
with a town of the same name, which i* 
often called Elephantina bv some au- 
thors. Strab. 

Elephantophagi, a people 

of Ethiopia. 

Eleus, a river in Media :— 
A city in Thrace. 

Eleusjnia, a great festival 
observed every fourth year by many of 
the G ret i instates, but mere particularly 
by the people of Athens, every fifth 
year, at Eleusis in Attica, where it w.ii 
introduced by Eumolpus, B. C« in.v;. 



ELE 



ELY 



It was the most celebrated of all the re- 
ligious ceremonies of Greece, whence 
it is often called, by way of eminence, 
[xvcr^noiv-) the mysteries. It was so su- 
perstitiously observed, that if any one 
ever revealed it, it was supposed that he 
had called divine vengeance upon his 
head, and it was unsafe to live in the 
same house with him. Such a wretch 
was publicly put to an ignominious 
death. This festival was sacred to Ceres 
and Proserpine, every thing contained a 
mystery, and Ceres herself was known 
only by the name of ocy <3"5iO, from the 
sorrow and grief ( X X^° S ) which she 
suffered for the loss of her daughter. 
This mysterious secrecy was solemnly 
observed, and enjoined to all the vota- 
ries of the goddess ; and if any one ever 
appeared at the celebration, either in- 
tentionally or through ignorance, with- 
out proper introduction, he was imme- 
diately punished with death. Persons 
of both sexes and all ages were initiated 
at this solemnity, and it was looked 
upon as so heinous a crime to neglect 
this sacred part of religion, that it was 
one of the heaviest accusations which 
contributed to the condemnation of So- 
crates. For a more minute and detailed 
description of all the ceremonies exer- 
cised in the celebration of this grand fe- 
stival, the student is referred to Dr. 
Lempriere's Dictionary, or Potter's An- 
tiquities. They were carried from Eleu- 
sis to Rome in the reign of Adrian, 
where they were observed with the 
same ceremonies as before, though per- 
haps with more freedom and licentious- 
ness. They lasted about 1800 years, 
and were at last abolished by Theodo- 
sius the Great. 

E letj sis, a town of Attica, 
equally distant from Megara and the 
Piraeus, celebrated for the festivals of 
Ceres. [_Vid. Eleusinia.] It was founded 
by Triptolemus, and received its name 
from Eleusus the founder's father, or 
from the residence which Ceres made 
there (eXei;<7<_c) when she left Enna in 
Sicily. Hygin. Ovid. 

Eleuther, a person from 
whom two towns were named ; one in 
Crete, the other in Bceotia. 

Eleuthm, a village of Bce- 
otia, where Mardonius was defeated 
with 300,000 men. 

EleuthIria, a festival ce- 
lebrated at Plataea, in honor of Jupiter 
Eleutherius, or the assertor of liberty, 
by delegates from almost all the cities of 
Greece. Its institution originated in 
this ; after the victory obtained by the 
Grecians under Pausanius over Mardo- 
nius, the Persian general, in the coun- 
try of Platsea, an altar and statue were 
erected to Jupiter Eleutherius, who had 
freed the Greeks from the tyranny of 
the barbarians. It was further agreed 



upon in a general assembly, by the 
advice of Aristides the Athenian, that 
deputies should be sent every fifth year 
from the different cities of Greece to ce- 
lebrate Eleutheria festivals of liberty. 
The Platasans celebrated also an anni- 
versary festival in memory of those who 
had lost their lives in that famous bat- 
tle. There was also a festival of the 
same name observed by the Samians in 
honor of the god of love. Slaves also, 
when they obtained their liberty, kept 
a holiday, which they called Eleuthe- 
ria. 

Eleutherocilices, a peo- 
ple of Cilicia, never subject to kings. 

Elicius, a surname of Jupi- 
ter, worshipped on mount Aventine, be- 
cause he had been drawn (elicere) upon 
earth by the prayers of the Romans, and 
especially by Numa, to whom he gave 
an undoubted pledge of the duration, 
prosperity, and greatness of the Roman 
empire. Ovid. Fast. 

Eliensis and Eliaca, a sect 
of philosophers founded by Phadon of 
Elis, who was originally a slave. Diog. 

Strab. 

El i ph as ii, a people of Pelo- 
ponnesus. Pulyb. 

Elis, a country of Peloponne- 
sus at the west of Arcadia, and north of 
Messenia. It runs along the coast, and 
is watered by the river Alpheus. The 
capital of the country is called Elis. It 
was originally governed by kings, and 
received its name from Eleus, one of 
its monarchs. Elis was famous for the 
horses it produced, whose celerit was 
so often known and tried at the Olympic 
games. Virg. Strab. &c. 

Elissa, a queen of Tyre, more 
commonly known by the name of Dido. 
IVid. Di_do.] 

Elorus, a king of Sicily. 
— A river of Sicily. 

Elpenor, one of the com- 
panions of Ulysses, changed into a hog 
by Circe's potions, and afterwards re- 
stored to his former shape. He fell from 
the top of a house where he was sleep- 
ing, and was killed. Ovid. 

El pi nice, a daughter of Mil- 
tiades, who married a man that pro- 
mised to release from confinement her 
brother and hubsand, whom the laws of 
Athens had made responsible for the 
fine imposed on his father. C. Nep. . 

Elymais, a country of Persia*. 

between the Persian gulf and Medi#. 
The capital of the country was called 
Elymais, and was famous for a rich 
temple of Diana, which Antiochus Epi- 
phanes attempted to plunder. 

Elymi, a people, in alliance 

with the Carthaginians, descended from 
the Trojans. 



ELY 



ENN 



Elysium, and Elysii Cam- 
pi, a place or island in the infernal re- 
gions/ where, according to the mytholo- 
gy of the ancients, the souls of the vir- 
tuous were placed after death. There 
happiness is complete, the pleasures are 
innocent and refined. Bowers for ever 
green, delightful meadows with pleasant 
streams, are the most striking objects. 
The air is wholesome, serene, and tem- 
perate ; the birds continually warble in 
the groves, and the inhabitants are 
blessed with another sun and oilier stars. 
The Elysian fields were, according to 
some, in the Fortunate Islands on the 
coast of Africa, in the Atlantic. Others 
place them in the island of Leuce ; and, 
according to the authority of Virgil, 
they were situate in Italy. According 
to Lucian they were near the moon ; or 
in the centre of the earth, if we believe 
Plutarch. Virg. Homer. &c. 

Emathia, a name given an- 
ciently, and particularly by the poets, 
to the* countries which formed the em- 
pires of Macedonia and Thessaly. Virg. 

Emathion, a son of Titan and 
Aurora, who reigned in Macedonia. The 
country was called Emathia from his 
name. Some suppose that he was a fa- 
mous robber destroyed by Hercules. 
Ovid. — A man killed at the nuptials of 
Perseus and Andromeda. 

E merita, a city of Spain, ce- 
lebrated for the dyeing of wool. 

Emoda, a mountain of India. 

Empedocles, $ philosopher, 
poet, and historian of Agrigentum, in 
Sicily, who flourished 444 years B. C. 
He warmly adopted the "doctrine of 
transmigration, and wrote a poem upon 
the opinions of Pythagoras, very much 
commended, in which he spoke of the 
various bodies which nature had given 
him, He was first a girl, afterwards a 
boy, a shrub, a bird, a fish, and lastly 
Empedocles. His poetry was bold and 
animated, and his verses were so uni- 
versally esteemed, that they were pub- 
licly recited at the Olympic games with 
those of Homer and Hesiod. He showed 
himself an inveterate enemy to tyranny, 
and refused to become the sovereign of 
his country. It is reported that his cu- 
riosity to visit the flames of the crater of 
JEtna. proved fatal to him. Some main- 
tain that he wished it to be believed 
that he was a god, and that his death 
might be unknown, he threw himself 
Jijt£> the crater, and perished in the 
^fpmies. His expectations, however, 
were frustrated, for the volcano, by 
throwing up one of his sandals, disco- 
vered to the world that Empedocles had 
perished by fire. Others report that he 
lived to an extreme old age, and that he 
was drowned in the sea. Horat. &c. 

Empe ramus, a Spartan gene- 
ral in the second Messenian war. 



Exceladtjs, ason of Titan and 
Terra, the most powerful of all the 
giants who conspired against Jupiter. 
He was struck with Jupiter's thunders, 
and overwhelmed under mount .-Etna. 
Some suppose that he is the same as 
Typhon. According to the poets, the 
flames of iEtna proceeded from the 
breath of Enceladus ; and as often as he 
turned his weary side, the whole island 
of Sicily felt the motion., and shook 
from its very foundations. Virg. 

EnxHELEiE, a town, in which 

Cadmus was metamorphosed into a 
serpent. 

Exdeis, a nymph, daughter of 
Chiron. She married iEacus, king of 
iEgina, by whom she had Peleus and 
Telamon." Paus. 

Endymion, a shepherd, son of 
iEthlius and Calyce. It is said that he 
required of Jupiter to grant to him to be 
always young, and to sleep as much as 
he would ; whence came the proverb of 
Endymionis somnum dormire, to ex- 
press a long sleep. Diana saw him naked 
as he*slept on mount Latmos, and wag 
so struck with his beauty, that she came 
down from heaven every night to enjoy 
his company. The fable" of Endymion's 
amours with Diana, or the moon, arises 
from his knowledge of astronomy, and 
particularly his observation of the 
motion, &e. of that planet. The people 
of Heraclea maintained that Endymion 
died on mount Latmos, and the Eleans 
pretended to show his tomb at Olympia, 
in Peloponnesus. Propert. Cic. Juv. 
&c. 

Exett, a people near Paphla- 
gonia. 

Exgyum, a Sicilian town, now 

Gangi. 

Exiexses, a people of Greece. 

Eniopeus. Hector's Cha- 
rioteer. Homer II. viii. 120. 

ExIpeus, a river of Thessaly, 
flowing near Pharsalia. Lucan. — A river 
ofElis,in Peloponnesus, of which Tyro 
the daughter of Salmoneus became ena- 
moured. Neptune assumed the shape 
of the river god to enjoy the company 
of Tyro. Ovid. 

Enna, a town in the middle of 
Sicily, with a beautiful plain, where 
Proserpine was carried away by Pluto. 

Ex ni a, wife to the emperor 
Caligula. 

Q. Exxius, an ancient poet, 
born at Rudii, in Calabria. His style is 
rough and unpolished, but his defects, 
which are more particularly attributed 
to the age in which he lived, have been 
fully compensated by the energy of his 
expressions, and the fire of his poetry. 
Ennius wrote in heroic verse the annals 
of the Roman republic, and displayed 



ENN 



EPH 



much knowledge of the world in some 
dramatic and satirical compositions. He 
died of the gout, contracted by his fre- 
quent intoxication, about \G9 years be- 
fore the Christian aara, in the 70th year 
of his age. Scipio, on his death-bed, or- 
dered his body to be buried by the side 
of his poetical friend. Conscious of his 
merit as the first epic pcet of Rome, 
Ennius bestowed on himself the appella- 
tion of the Homer of Latium. Of all 
his writings nothing now remains but 
fragments, happily collected from the 
quotations of ancient authors. 

Ennomus, a Trojan prince, 
who with Chromis commanded the 
Mysians. He was skilled in the know- 
ledge of augury, and at last perished by 
the hands of Achilles. Homer. 

ExnosigxEus, a surname of 
Neptune, terra concasscr, shaker of 
the earth. 

EN OPE, a town in the Pelo- 
ponnesus. 

En ops. The most remarkable 
of this name is a shepherd, loved by the 
nymph Neis, by whom he had Satnius. 
Homer. 

E sr o s, a maritime town in 
Thrace. 

Enotocoeta, a people, men- 
tioned by Strabo, as having ears so 
long, that they reached down to their 
heels. 

Entellus, a famous athlete 
among the friends of yEneas : he was in- 
timate with Eryx, and entered the lists 
against Dares, in the funeral games of 
Anchises in Sicily. Virg. 

Enyo, a sister of Mars, called 
by the Latins Bellona. 

Eos, the name of Aurora among 
the Greeks, whence the eastern parts of 
the world are called Eous. 

Eous, one of the horses of the 
sun. Ovid. 

Epaminondas, afamons The- 
ban, descended from the ancient kings 
of Bceotia. His father's name was Po- 
lymnus. He has been celebrated for his 
private virtues and military accomplish- 
ments : he formed a most sacred and in- 
violable friendship with Pelopidas, 
whose life he saved in a battle. By his 
advice Pelopidas delivered Thebes from 
the power of Laeedaemon. This was 
the signal of war. Epaminondas was 
set at the head of the Theban armies, 
and defeated the Spartans at the cele- 
brated battle of Leuctra, about 371 years 
B. C. Epaminondas made a proper 
use of this victorious campaign, and en- 
tered the territory of Lacedsemon with 
50,000 men : here he gained many par- 
tizans : but at his return to Thebes he 
was seized as a traitor, for violating the 
laws of his country : in the midst of his 
success he neglected the law which for- 



bade any citizen to retain the supreme 
power more than one month, and all 
his eminent services seemed unable to 
redeem him from death. He paid im- 
plicit obedience to the laws, and only 
begged of his judges that it might be 
inscribed on his tomb that he had suf- 
fered death for saving his country from 
ruin. This animated reproach was felt ; 
he was pardoned, and invested again 
with the sovereign power. He was suc- 
cessful in a war in Thessaly, and assist- 
ed the Eleans against the Lacedaemo- 
nians : the hostile armies met near Man- 
tinea, and while Epaminondas was 
bravely fighting, he received a fatal 
wound" in the breast, and expired, ex- 
claiming that he died unconquered, 
when he heard that the Boeotians ob- 
tained the victory, in the 4Sth year of 
his age, 363 years' B. C. The Thebans 
severely lamented his death ; in him 
their power was extinguished, for only 
during his life they had enjoyed free- 
dom and independence among the Gre- 
cian states. Plut. C. Nepos. &c. 

Epaphus, a son of Jupiter and 
Io, who founded a city in Egypt, which 
he called Memyhis, in honor of his 
wife, who was the daughter of the Nile : 
he had a daughter called Libya : he wa& 
worshipped as a god at Memphis. He- 
rodot. 

Epeus. The most remarkable 

of this name is son of Panopeus, who 
was the fabricator of the famous wooden 
horse which proved the ruin of Troy. 

Virg. 

Ephesus, a city of Ionia, 

built, as Justin mentions, by the Ama- 
zons; or by Androchus, son of Codrus, 
according to Strabc ; or by Ephesus, 
son of the river Cayster. It is famous 
for a temple of Diana, reckoned one of 
the seven wonders of the world. This 
temple was 425 feet long, and 200 feet 
broad. The roof was supported by 127 
columns, 60 feet high, which had been 
placed there by so many kings. Of these 
columns, 36 were carved in the most 
beautiful manner, one of which was 
the work of the famous Scopas. This 
celebrated building was not totally com- 
pleted till 220 years after its foundation, 
Ctesiphon was the chief architect. The 
riches which were in the temple were 
immense, and the goddess who presided 
over it was worshipped with the most 
awful solemnity. It was burnt on the 
night that Alexander was born, [Fid. 
Eratostratus], and soon after it rose 
from its ruins with more splendor and 
magnificence. Ephesus for some time 
bore the name of Arsinoe, in honor of 
the wife of Lysimachus, but it^was again 
known by its old name. Some hnve 
given the name of Ajasalouc to what 
they conjecture to be the remains of 
Ephesus. Strab. &c 

Ephet^e, a number of ma- 



EPH 



EPI 



gisaates at Athens, first instituted by 
Demophoon, the son of Theseus. They 
were reduced, to the number of 51 by 
Draco, who, according to some, first 
established them. They were superior 
to the Areopagites, and their privileges 
were great and numerous. Solon, how- 
ever, lessened their power. They were 
all more than 50 years old, and it was 
required that their manners should be 
pure and innocent, and their behaviour 
austere and full of gravity. 

Ephialtes or Ephialtus, a 

giant, son of Neptune, who grew nine 
inches every month. [Vid. Aloeus.] — 
A Trachinian, who led a detachment of 
the army of Xerxes by a secret path to 
attack the Spartans at Thermopylae. 
Paus. 

Ephori, powerful magistrates 
at Sparta, who were first created by Ly- 
curgus ; or, according to some, by 
Theopompus, B. C. 760. They were 
five in number. Like censors, they 
could check the authority of the kings, 
and even imprison them, if guilty of 
irregularities. They were much the same 
as the tribunes of the people at Rome, 
created to watch with a jealous eye over 
the rights of the populace. 1 hey were 
the arbiters of peace and war. Their 
office was annual, and they had the pri- 
vilege of convening, prolonging, and 
dissolving the greater and less assem- 
blies of the people. 

Ephorus, a famous orator and 
historian of Cumae, in iEolia, about 352 
years B. C. He was disciple to Isocra- 
tes, by whose advice he wrote a his- 
tory, which gave an account of all the 
actions and battles that had happened 
between the Greeks and barbarians for 
750 years, from the return of the He- 
raclidae to Peloponnesus, to the 20th 
year of the reign of Philip, Alexander's 
father : this work, now lost, was di- 
vided into 30 books, and was held in 
high esteem among the ancients. Cic. 
Quintil. 

Ephyra, the ancient name of 
Corinth, which it received from a 
nymph of the same name. Ovid. 

Epicharis, a woman accused 
of a conspiracy against Nero. She re- 
fused to confess the associates of her 
guilt, though exposed to the greatest 
torments, &c. Tacit. 

EpICHAElMUS, a poet and Py- 
thagorean philosopher of Sicily, who 
introduced comedy at Syracuse, in the 
reign of Hiero: his compositions have 
been imitated by Plautus. He wrote 
some treatises upon philosophy and me- 
dicine. According to Aristotle and 
Pliny, he added the two letters % and 
to the Greek alphabet. He flourished 
about 440 years B.C. and died in the 
90th year of his age. Korat. Dwd. 



Epicles, a Trojan, slain by 
Ajax. 

EpiclIdes, a Lacedemonian, 
who was made king by Cleomenes the 
third, in violation of the laws and con- 
stitution. 

Epicrates, Julius Caesar's 
servant. 

Epictetus, a Stoic philoso- 
pher of Hieropolis, in Phrygia, origin- 
ally the slave of Epaphroditus, the 
freedraan of Nero. Though driven from 
Rome by Domitian, he returned after 
the emperor's death, and gained the 
esteem of Adrian and Marcus Aurelius. 
Like the Stoics, he supported the doc- 
trine of the immortality of the soul, 
but he declared himself strongly against 
suicide: he died at a very' advanced 
age. His Enchiridion is a faithful pic- 
ture of the Stoic philosophy ; his style 
is concise, and devoid of all ornament, 
full of energy and useful maxims. The 
emperor Antoninus thanked the gods 
he could collect from the writings of 
Epictetus wherewith to conduct his life 
with honor to himself and advantage to 
his country. 

Epicurus, a celebrated philo- 
sopher, born at Gargettus, in Attica : he 
gave an early proof of the brilliancy of 
his genius, for at the age of 12, when 
his preceptor repeated to him this verse 
from Hesiod, 

Htoi fxsv 7TfwTtg-a. X ao £ymT% &c. 
In the beginning of things the Chaos 

was created, 
Epicurus earnestly asked him who cre- 
ated it. To this the teacher answered, 
that he knew not, but only philoso- 
phers. '* Then," says the youth, " phi- 
losophers henceforth shall instruct me.' 
After having improved himself, he vi- 
sited Athens, which was then crowded 
by the followers of Plato, the Cynics, 
the Peripatetics, and the Stoics. Here 
he established himself, and soon at- 
tracted a number of followers by the 
sweetness and gravity of his manners, 
and by his social virtues. He taught 
them that the happiness of mankind 
consisted in pleasure, not such as arises 
from sensual gratification, or from vice, 
but from the enjoyments of the mind, 
and the sweets of virtue. The Stoic* 
particularly attacked his doctrine, but 
he refuted all the accusations of his ad- 
versaries by the purity of his morals. 
His health was at last impaired by con- 
tinual labor, and he died of a retention 
of urine, 270 years B. C. in the 72d year 
of his age. The followers of Epicurus 
were numerous in every age and coun- 
try, his doctrines were rapidly dissemi- 
nated over the world, and when the gra- 
tification of the senses was substituted 
to the practice of virtue, the morals of 
mankind were undermined and destroy- 
ed. Diog. in vita . 



EPI 



EPO 



Epidamnus, a town of Mace- 
donia, on the Adriatic, nearlv opposite 
Brundusium. The Romans planted 
there a colony, which they called Dyr- 
rachium. Paus. 

Epidaphne, a town of Syria, 
called also Antioch. Germanicus, son 
of Drusus, died there. Tacit. 

Epidauria, a festival at 
Athens in honor of iEseulapius.-— A 
country of Peloponnesus. 

Epidaurus, a town at the 
north of Argolis, in Peloponnesus, 
chiefly dedicated to the worshipof iEseu- 
lapius, who had there a famous temple. 
It received its name from Epidaurus, a 
son of Argos and Evadne. It is now 
called Pidaura, Strab. 

Epidium, an island among 
the Hebrides. 

Epidius a writer on portents 
and prodigies. 

Epidotje, certain deities who 
presided over the birth of children. They 
were worshippedby the Lacedaemonians, 
and chiefly invoked by those who were 
persecuted by the ghosts or the dead,&c. 
Pates. 

Epigexes, an astrologer and 

historian of Babylon. 

Epigeus, a Grecian prince, 
who left his native country after the 
murder of a relation, and fled to Peleus, 
who engaged him to accompany his son 
Achilles to the Trojan war : he was,afler 
many deeds of valor, slain by Hector. 
Homer* 

Epigoni, the sons and de- 
scendants of the Grecian heroes who 
were killed in the first Theban war. 
The war of the Epigoni is famous in an- 
cient history : they resolved to revenge 
the death of their fathers, and marched 
against Thebes, under the command of 
Thersander. The Argives were assisted 
by the Corinthians, the people of Mes- 
senia, Arcadia, and Megara. The The- 
bans had engaged ail their neighbours 
in their quarrel, as in one common cause. 
The two armies met and engaged on the 
banks of the Glissas. The fight was ob- 
stinate and bloody, but victory declared 
for the Epigoni, and some of the The- 
bans fied to Illyricum with Leodamas 
their general, while others retired into 
Thebes, where they were soon besieged., 
and forced to surrender. Paus. &c. 

Epxgranea, a fountain in 
Bceotia. 

Epijmelides founder of Co- 
rona, a town of Messenia. 

Epime>s t es, one of those, who 
conspired against the life of Alexander. 

Epimenides, an epic poet of 
Crete, contemporary with Solon. He is 
reckoned one of the seven wise men by 
those who exclude Periander from the 



number. "While he was tending his 
fiocks one day, he entered a cave, where 
he fell asleep : his sleep continued 57 
years, according to tradition, and when 
he awoke, he found every object so con- 
siderably altered, that he scarcely knew 
where lie was. His brother apprized 
him of the length of his sleep, to his 
great astonishment. It is supposed that 
he lived 299 years. After his death he 
was revered as a god by the Athenians. 
Cic Diog. &c. 

Epimetheus, a son of Japetus 

and Clymene, one of the Oceanides,who 
inconsiderately married Pandora, by 
whom he had Pyrrha, the wife of Deu- 
calion. He had the curiosity to open 
the box which Pandora had brought 
with her. [Vid. Pandora.] Epimetheus 
was changed into a monkey by the gods, 
and sent into the island of Pithecusa. 
Apollod. Hygin.&c. [Vid. Prometheus.] 
Epimethis, a patronymic of 
Pvrrha, the daughter of Epimetheus. 
Ovid. 

Epiochus, one of the sons of 

Lycurgus, to whom divine honours 
were paid hi Arcadia. 

Epiphanius, a bishop of Saia- 

mis, active to refute the writings of Orx- 
gen; but his compositions are more 
valuable for the fragments which they 
preserve, than for their own intrinsic 
merit. He died A. D. 403. 

EpiPOLiE, a district in Sicily 
surrounded by a wall, erected in 30 days, 
by Dionysius, who employed upon it 
60,000 men. 

Epirus, a country situate be- 
tween Macedonia, Achaia, and the Io- 
nian sea. It was formerly governed by 
kings, of whom Neoptolemus, son of 
Achilles, was one of the first. It was 
afterwards joined to the empire of Ma- 
cedonia, and at last became a part of 
the Roman dominions. It is now called 
Larta. Strab. &c. 

Epistropheus, a son of Iphi- 

tus, king of Phocis, who went to the 
Troj an war. — Also a prince who assisted 
the Trojans against the Greeks. Ho- 
mer- 

Epitades, the person, who 

first violated the injunctions of Lycur- 
gus, who had forbidden any more laws 
to be enacted. 

Epittm, a town, on the fron- 
tiers of Arcadia. 

Epopeus. The most remark- 
able of this name is a son of Neptune 
and Canace, who came from Thessaly 
to Sicvcn, and carried away Antiope, 
daughter of Nycteus, king of Thebes. 
This rape was followed by a war, in 
which Nycteus and Epopeus were both 
killed. Paus. 

E tore dor ix, an jEduan,who 



EQU 



ERI 



commanded the iEdui, against the Se- 
quani. 

Eqtjiria, festivals established 
at Rome by Romulus, in honor of Mars, 
when horse-races and games were ex- 
hibited in the Campus Martius. Vairo. 

E qu o t u t icu M,a little town of 
Apulia, to which, as some suppose, 
Horace alludes in this verse, 1 Sat. 5, 
v. 87. 

(f Mansuri oppidulo, versu quod dicer e 
non est" 

Eracon, one of Alexander's 
officers, who was thrown into prison for 
his oruelty. 

Erasentjs, a river of Pelopon- 
nesus, flowing for a little space under 
the ground in Argolis. Ovid. 

Erasistrattjs, a celebrated 
physician, grandson to the philosopher 
Aristotle : he discovered by the motion 
of the pulse the love which Antiochus 
had conceived for his mother-in-law 
Stratoniee, and was rewarded with 100 
talents for the cure by the father of A n- 
tiochus. He died B. C. 257. His name 
is rendered still more illustrious when 
he is considered as the inventor of ana- 
tomy, and the first experimentalist in 
that art. Plin. Val. Max. 

Erato. The most celebrated 

of this name is one of the Muses, who 
presided over lyric and tender poetry. 
She is represented as crowned with roses 
and myrtle, holding a lyre in her hand. 
She appears with a thoughtful, and 
sometimes with a gay and animated look. 
She was invoked by lovers, especially in 
the month of April, which, among the 
Romans, was more particularly devoted 
to love. Virg. Ovid. &c. 

Eratosthenes, a native of 

Cyrene, was the second entrusted with 
the care of the Alexandrian library : he 
has been called a second Plato, the cos- 
mographer, and the geometer of the 
world : he first observed the obliquity of 
the ecliptic, and found out how to mea- 
sure the extent and circumference of the 
globe. He starved himself, after he had 
lived to his 82d year, B. C. 194. He col- 
lected the annals of the Egyptian kings, 
by order of one of the Ptolemies. Cic. 
ad Attic. 

ERATOSTRATus,anEphesian, 
who burnt the famous temple of Diana, 
the same night that Alexander the Great 
was born. Eratostratus did this villany 
merely to eternize his name by so un- 
common an action. 

Eratus, son of Hercules and 
Dynaste. 

Erebus, a deity of hell, son of 

Chaos and Darkness : hemarried Night, 
by whom he had the light and the day. 
The poets often used the word Erebus 
to signify hell itself, and particularly 
that part where dwelt the souls of those 



who had lived a virtuous life, from 
whence they passed into the Elysian 
fields. Hesiod. Cic. &c. 

Erechtheus, son of Pandion 
1st, was the sixth king of Athens. In a 
war against Eleusis he sacrificed his 
daughter Othonia, to obtain a victory 
which the oracle promised for such a 
sacrifice. In that war he killed Eumol- 
pus, Neptune's son, general of the ene- 
my, for which he was struck with thun- 
der by Jupiter. Some say that he was 
drowned in the sea. After death he re- 
ceived divine honors at Athens. He 
reigned 50 years, and died B. C. 1347 v 
According to some accounts, he first 
introduced the mysteries of Ceres at 
Eleusis. Ovid. &c. 

Erechthides, a name given 
to the Athenians from their king Erech- 
theus. 

Eretria, a city of Euboea, on 
the Euripus, anciently called Melaneis 
and Arotria. It was destroyed by the 
Persians when they invaded Greece,and 
the ruins were hardly visible in the age 
of Strabo. 

Ereuthalion, a friend and 
arm-bearer of Lycurgus, king of Ar- 
cadia, from whom he inherited a famous 
iron club, which had once been in the 
possession of Mars. He was conquered 
and slain by Nestor, in a war between 
the Pylians and Arcadians. Homer. 

E rgane, a river whose waters 
intoxicated as wine. — A surname of Mi- 
nerva. Paus. 

Ergintjs. The most cele- 
brated of this name is a king of Orcho- 
menos, son of Clymenus : he obliged 
the Thebans to pay him a yearly tribute 
of 100 oxen, because his father had been 
killed by a Theban. Hercules attacked 
his servants, who came to raise the 
tribute, mutilated them, and afterwards 
killed Erginus, who attempted to avenge 
their death by invading Boeotia with an 
army. Paus. 

Erginnus, master of the ship 
Argo, after the death of Typhis. 

Eribcea mother to Ajax Te- 
lam on. 

Ericetes, a man of Lycaonia, 
killed by Messapus. 

Erichtho, a Thessalian wo- 
man, famous for her knowledge of poi- 
sonous herbs and medicines. Lucan. — 
One of the furies. Ovid. 

Ericthonius, the fourth 

king of Athens, sprung from the seed of 
Vulcan, which fell upon the ground 
when that god attempted to offer vio- 
lence to Minerva : he was very deform- 
ed, and had the tails of serpents instead 
of legs. Erichthonius was young when 
he ascended the throne of Athens : he 
reigned 50 years, and died B. C. 1437. 
The invention of chariots is attributed 



ERI 



ERY 



to him, and the "manner of harnessing 
horses to draw them : he was made a 
constellation after death under the name 
of Bootes. Ovid. &c. 

Ericcjsa, now Alicudi, one of 

the Lipari islands. 

Eridanus, one of the largest 

rivers of Italy, rising in the Alps, and 
falling into the Adriatic by several 
mouths ; now called the Po. Virgilcalls 
it the king of all rivers. 

Erigon E,a daughter of Icarius, 
who hung herself when she heard that 
her father had been killed by some shep- 
herds whom he had intoxicated. She 
was made a constellation, now known 
under the name of Virgo. Bacchus de- 
ceived her by changing himself into a 
beautiful grape. Ovid. Virg. &c. — A 
daughter of iEgisfhus and Cly temnestra, 
who had by her brother Orestes, Pen- 
thilus, who shared the regal power with 
Timasenus,the legitimate son of Orestes 
and Hermione. Pans. 

Erigoneius, a name, some- 
times applied to the do^-star. 

Erigonus, a Thracian river. 

Erillus, a Carthaginian Phi- 
losopher, cotemporary with Zeno. 

Erinna, a poetess intimate 
with Sappho. 

Erinnys, one of the furies or 
Eumenides. The word signifies the fury 
of the mind, ££i £ yo v;. [ Vid. Eumenides.] 
Virg. — A surname of Ceres, on account 
of her amour with Neptune under the 
form of a horse. She had a temple under 
this name, on the banks of the Ladon, 
in Arcadia, with a statue, which repre- 
sented her as holding a basket in the 
left hand, and a flambeau in the right. 
Apollod. Pans. 

Eriphanis, a Greek woman, 

famous for her poetical compositions. 
.She was extremely fond of the hunter 
Melampus, and to enjoy his company 
she accustomed herself to live in the 
woods. 

ERiPHYLE,asisterof Adrastus, 
king of Argos, wh o married Amphiaraus. 
When her husband concealed himself, 
that he might not accompany the Ar- 
gives in their expedition against Thebes, 
where he knew he was to perish, Eri- 
phyle suffered herself to be bribed by 
Polynices with a golden necklace, for- 
merly given to Hermione by the god- 
dess "Venus, and she discovered where 
Amphiaraus was. This treachery of 
Eriphyie compelled* him to go to the 
war ; but before he departed ,he charged 
^his son Alcraseon to murder his mother 
as soon as he was informed of his death. 
Amphiaraus perished in the expedition, 
and his death was no sooner known than 
his last injunctions were obeyed, and 
Eriphyie was murdered by the hands of 
her son. Virg, Homer. 

Eris, the goddess of discord 



among the Greeks, the same as the Dis- 
cordia of the Latins. [Vid, Discordia.] 

Erisichthok, a Thessalian, 
son of Triops, who derided Ceres and 
cut down her groves. This impiety ir- 
ritated the goddess, who afflicted him 
with continual hunger : he squandered 
all his possessions to gratify the cravings 
of his appetite, and "at last he devoured 
his own limbs for want of food. His 
daughter had the power of transforming 
herself into whatever animal she pleased, 
and she made use of that artifice to main- 
tain her father, who sold her ; after 
which she assumed another shape, and 
became again his property. Ovid. Met. 

Eros, a servant, of whom An- 
tony demanded a sword to kill himself. 
Eros produced the instrument, but in- 
stead of giving it to his master, he killed 
himself in his presence. Pint.— The god 
of love, son of Chronos, or Saturn. 
\_Vid. Cupido.] 

Erotia, a festival in honor of 
Eros, the god of love, celebrated by the 
Thespians every fifth year with sports 
and games, when musicians and others 
contended. 

Erycina, a surname of Venus, 
from mount Eryx, where she had a 
temple. She was also worshipped at 
Rome under this appellation. Virg. 

Erymanthis, a surname of 
Calisto, as an inhabitant of Eryman- 
thus. — Arcadia is also known by that 
name. 

Erymanthus, a mountain, 
river, and town of Arcadia, where Her- 
cules killed a prodigious boar,which he 
carried on his shoulders to Eurystheus, 
who was so terrified at the sight that he 
hid himself in a brazen vessel. Pans. 
Virg. 

Erythea, an island between 

Gades and Spain, where Geryon reigned. 
Plin. 

ERYTHBiE, a name common 

to four different towns ; the most famous 
of which is that opposite Chios, once the 
residence of a Sybil. 

ErYTHR^EUM MARE, a partof 
the ocean on the coast of Arabia. As it 
communicated with the Persian Gulf, 
and that of Arabia, or the Red Sea, it 
has often been mistaken by ancient 
writers, who by the word Erythrean un- 
derstood indiscriminately either the Red 
Sea or the Persian Gulf. It received 
this name either from Erythras.or from 
the redness (*(*v${*Hi ruber) of its sand 
or waters. 

Erythras, a son of Perseus 
and Andromeda, drowned in the Red 
Sea, which from him was called Ery- 
thraeum. Mela. 

Eryx, a son of Butes and Ve- 
nus, who, relying upon his strength, 
challenged all strangers to fight with 



ERY 



EVA 



him in the combat of the cestus. Her- 
cules accepted his challenge after many 
had yielded to his superior dexterity, 
and Eryx was killed in the combat ,and 
buried on a mountain near Drepanum, 
in Sicily, where he had built a temple to 
Venus, to which he gave his name. Vhg. 
— A mountain of Sicily, near Drepanum, 
so steep that it seemed ready, every mo- 
ment, to fall. Daedalus enlarged the 
aummit, and surrounded it with a wall. 
Here also he consecrated to Venus Ery- 
cina, a Heifer of gold, so much resem- 
bling life, that it seemed to exceed the 
power of human art. This mountain 
is now called Giuliano. 

Eryxo, the mother of Battus, 
who artfully killed the tyrant Learchus 
who courted her. Herodot. 

Esquili^e and Esquilinus 

MONS, one of the seven hills of Rome, 
which was joined to the city by king 
Tullus. 

Essedones, a people of Asia, 

above the Palus Maeotis, who eat the 
flesh of their parents mixed with that of 
cattle. They gilt the head, and kept it 
as sacred. Mela. 

Estiaia, solemn sacrifices to 
Vesta, of which it was unlawful to carry 
away any thing, or communicate it to 
anybody. 

Etearchus, a king of Oaxus, 
in Crete : after the death of his wife, he 
married a woman who made herself 
odious for her tyranny over her step- 
daughter Phronima. Etearchus gave 
ear to all the accusations which were 
brought against his daughter, and or- 
dered her to be thrown into the sea. 
She had a son called Battus, who led a 
colony to Cyrene. Herodot. 

Eteocles, a son of (Edipus 

and Jocasta. After his father's death it 
was agreed between him and his brother 
Polynices, that they should both share 
the royalty, and reign alternately each 
a year. Eteocles, by right of seniority, 
first ascended the throne, but after the 
first year of his reign he refused to re- 
sign to his brother, according to their 
mutual agreement. Polynices, resolving 
to punish him, implored the assistance 
of Adrastus, king of Argos. He received 
that king's daughter in marriage, and 
was soon after assisted with a strong 
army, headed by several famous gene- 
rals. Eteocles, on his part, did not re- 
main inactive. He chose seven chiefs to 
oppose the seven leaders of the Argives, 
and stationed them at the seven gates 
of the city. Much blood was shed in 
light and unavailing skirmishes, and it 
was at last agreed between the two bro- 
thers that the war should be decided by 
single combat. They both fell, and it 
is said that the ashes of these two bro- 
thers, who had been so inimical one to 
the other, separated themselves on the 



burning pile, as if sensible of resent- 
ment,and hostile to reconciliation. Stat. 

Eteoclus, one of the seven 
chiefs of the army of Adrastus, in his 
expedition against Thebes. He was 
killed by Megareus, the son of Creon, 
under the walls of Thebes. Eurip. 

Etesi^e, northern breezes of a 
gentle and mild nature, very common 
in the months of spring and autumn. 

Ethaliok, one of the Tyr- 
rhene sailors changed into dolphins for 
carrying away Bacchus. Ovid. 

Etruria. [ Vid. Hetruria.] 

Etrusci, the inhabitants of 
Etruria, famous for their superstitions 
and enchantments. [ Vid. Hetruria.] 

Evadue, a daughter of Iphis 

or Iphiclesof Argos, who slighted the 
addresses of Apollo, and married Capa- 
neus, one of the seven chiefs who went 
against Thebes. When her husband had 
been struck with thunder hy Jupiter for 
his blasphemies and impiety, and his 
ashes had been separated from those of 
the rest of the Argives, she threw herself 
on his burning pile, and perished in the 
flames. Virg. Stat. — A daughter of the 
Strymon and Neaera. She married Ar- 
gus, by whom she had four children. 
Apollod. 

Evagoras. The most cele- 
brated of this name is a king of Cyprus 
who retook Salamis, which had been 
taken from his father by the Persians. 
He made war against Artaxerxes, the 
king of Persia, with the assistance of 
the Egyptians, Arabians, and Tyrians, 
and obtained some advantage over the 
fleet of his enemy. The Persians how- 
ever soon repaired their losses ,and Eva- 
goras saw himself defeated by sea and 
land, and obliged to be tributary to the 
power of Artaxerxes, and to be stripped 
of all his dominions except the town of 
Salamis. He was assassinated soon after 
this fatal change of fortune, by an eu- 
nuch, 374 B. C. He left two sons, Ni- 
cocles, who succeeded him, and Pro- 
tagoras, who afterwards deprived his 
nephew Evagoras of his possessions, 
upon account of his oppression. C. Nep. 
Justin, &c. 

Evagore, one of the Naides. 

Evan, a surname of Bacchus, 
which he received from the ejaculation 
of Evan ! Evan ! by his priestesses. Ovid. 

Evander, a son of the pro- 
phetess Carmente, king of Arcadia : an 
accidental homicide obliged him to leave 
his country, and he came to Italy, drove 
the Aborigines from their ancient pos- 
sessions, and reigned in that part of the 
country where Rome was afterwards 
founded: he gave jEneas assistance 
against the Rutuli, and distinguished 
himself by his hospitality. It is said, 
that he first brought the Greek alphabet 



EUB 



EVE 



into Italy, and introduced there the wor- 
ship of the Greek deities : he was ho- 
nored as a god after death, and his sub- 
jects raised him an altar on mount 
Aventine. Paus. Liv. &e. Evander had 
a son named Pallas, who was slain by 
the Rutuli ; and to the town which he 
erected on the Tiber, for the capital of 
his kingdom, he gave the name of Pal- 
lanteum.— A philosopher of the 2d aca- 
demy, who flourished B. C. 215. 

Evangelus, an historian. — A 
writer of comedies. 

Evan go rides, a man of Elis, 
who wrote an account of all those who 
had obtained a prize atOlympia, where 
he himself had been victorious. Pans. , 

Evarchus, a river of Asia i 
minor, flowing into the Euxine sea. 

Evas, a native of Phrygia, who 
accompanied yEneas into Italy, where ! 
he was killed by Mezentius. Virgil. 

Evax a prince of Arabia, who 
wrote to Nero, relative to some jewels. 
Plin. 

Eubages, certain priests, held 

in great veneration among the Gauls and 
Britons. \_Vid. Druidse.] 

Eubcea, the largest island in 

the JEgean sea, after Crete, now called 
Negropont: it is separated from the con- 
tinent of Bceotia by the narrow straits of 
the Euripus. It is 150 miles long, and 
37 broad, in its most extensive parts. 
The principal town was Chalcis,and the 
whole island,in process of time, was sub- 
jected to the power of the Greeks. — The 
only remarkable person of this name is 
one of the three daughters of the river 
Asterion, who was one of the nurses of 
Juno. 

Eubotes, a son of Hercules. 
Eubule, an Athenian virgin, 

sacrificed with her sisters for the safety 
of her country, which labored under a 
famine. Milan. 

EubulIdes. The most re- 
markable of this name is a philosopher 
of Miletus, pupil and successor to Eu- 
clid. Demosthenes was one of his pu- 
pils : he severely attacked the doctrines 
of Aristotle. Diog. 

Eucertjs, a native of Alexan- 
dria, unjustly accused by Nero, that he 
might divorce his wife Octavia. 

EuchENOR, a son of Polyidus, 
who was told that he should die of a 
lingering disease in his palace, or glo- 
riously perish in war : he preferred an 
honorable death, and accompanied the 
Greeks to Troy, where he was slain. 
Homer. 

EucLiDES,a native of Megara, 
disciple of Socrates,B. C. 404. When the 
Athenians had forbidden all the people 
of Megara on pain of death to enter 
their city, Euclides disguised himself in 



woman's clothes to introduce himself 
into the presence of Socrates. Diog. — A 
mathematician of Alexandria, who flou- 
rished 300 years B. C. He has written 
15 books on the elements of mathema- 
tics. Euclid was so respected in his life- 
time that king Ptolemy became one of 
his pupils : he established a school at 
Alexandria, which became so famous , 
that from his age to the time of the Sa- 
racen conquest no mathematician was 
found but what had studied at Alexan- 
dria: he was so respected, that Plato, 
who was himself a mathematician, held 
him in the greatest esteem. 

Euclus, a prophet of Cyprus, 
who foretold the birth and greatness of 
the poet Homer, according to some tra- 
ditions. Pans. 

E ltd am Idas, a name common 
to two Spartan kings, one of whom suc- 
ceeded on the throne B. C. 330, the 
other B. C. 268. 

EuDE3ius,an orator of Megalo- 
polis, preceptor to Philopoemen. 

Eudocia, the wife of the em- 
peror Theodosiusthe younger,whogave 
the nublic some compositions. 

EtjdOrus, a son of Mercury 
and Polimela, who went to the Trojan 
war with Achilles. Homer. 

Eudoxia, a daughter of Theo- 
dosius the younger, who married the 
emperor Maximus, and invited Genseric 
the Vandal over into Italy. 

Eudoxus, a son of vEschines 

of Cnidus, who distinguished himself by 
his knowledge of astrology, medicine, 
and geometry : he was the first who re- 
gulated the year among the Greeks, 
among whom he first brought from 
Egypt the celestial sphere and regular 
astronomy : he died in his 63d year, 
B. C. 352. Ltccan. Diog. — A native of 
Cyzicus, who sailed all round the coast 
of Afr ica from the Red Sea, and entered 
the Mediterranean by the columns of 
Hercules. 

Evemerus, an ancient histo- 
rian of Messenia, intimate with Cassan- 
der : he travelled over Greece and Ara- 
bia, and wrote a history of the gods, in 
which he proved, from the monuments 
and records which he found in the tem- 
ples, that they all had been upon earth 
as mere mortal men. This work is now 
lost. 

Evejjus, a river of /Etoiia, 

flowing into the Ionian sea. It receives 
its name from Evenus, son of Mars and 
Sterope, who being unable to overcome 
Idas, who had promised lym his daugh- 
ter Marpessa in marriage,if he surpassed 
him in running, grew so desperate that 
he threw himself into the river, which 
afterwards bore his name. Ovid. — A son 
of Jason and Hypsipyle, queen of Lem- 
nos. Homer. 



EUM 



EUM 



Evephenus, a Pythagorean 

philosopher ,whom Dionysius condemn- 
ed to death because he had alienated the 
people of Metapontum from his power. 
The philosopher begged leave of the 
tyrant to go and marry his sister, and 
promised to return in six months. Di. 
onysius consented by receivingEucritus, 
who pledged himself to die i f E vephenus 
did not return in time. Evephenus re- 
turned at the appointed moment, to the 
astonishment of Dionysius, and deliver- 
ed his friend Eucritus from the death 
which threatened him. The tyrant was 
so pleased with the conduct of these two 
friends, that he pardoned Evephenus, 
and begged to share their friendship and 
confidence. Poly an. 

Everes., son of Pteralaus, the 
only one of his family, who did not 
perish in a battle against Electryon. 

Evergetje, a people of Scy- 

thia, called also Arimaspi. Curt. 

Evergetes, a surname, sig- 
nifying benefactor, commonly given to 
many kings in ancient times. 

Eve spe rides, a nation of 

Africa. 

Eugan'EX, a people of Italy on 
the borders of the Adriatic, who, upon 
being expelled by the Trojans, seized 
upon part of the Alps. Sil. Liv. 

Eugenius, an usurper of the 
imperial title after the death of Valen- 
timan the 2d, A. D. 392. 

Eugeon, an historian, who 
wrote before the Peloponnesian war. 

Euhyus and Evius, a sur- 
name of Bacchus, given him in the war 
cf the giants against Jupiter. Horat. 

Evippe, mother of the Pierides, 
who were changed into magpies. 

Evippus, a son of Thestius, 
king of Pleuron, killed by his brother 
Iphiclus in the chase of the Calydonian 
boar. Apollod. 

Eumachius, a native of Cam- 
pania, who wrote a history of Hannibal. 

EuMiEUs,a herdsman and stew- 
ard of Ulysses, who knew his master at 
his return from the Trojan war, after 
20 years' absence, and assisted him in 
removing Penelope's suitors : he was 
originally the son of the king of Scyros, 
and upon being carried away by pirates, 
he was sold as a slave to Laertes, who 
rewarded his fidelity and services. Ho- 
mer. Odys. 

Eumedes, a Trojan, son of 
Dolon, who came to Italy with ./Eneas, 
where he was killed by Turnus. Virg. 

Eumelus. There are many of 
this name recorded by ancient writers ; 
the most remarkable are the following : 
— A son of Admetus, king of Phera? in 
Thessaly ; he v/ent to the Trojan war, 
and had the fleetest horses in the Grecian 



army; he distinguished himself in the 
games made in honor of Patroelus. 
Homer — One of the followers of iEneas, 
who first informed his friend that his 
fleet had been set on fire by the Trojan 
women. Virg. 

Eumenes, a Greek officer in 

the army of Alexander, son of a cha- 
rioteer : he was the most worthy of all 
the officers of Alexander to succeed after 
the death of his master; he conquered 
Paphlagcnia and Cappadocia, of which 
he obtained the government, till the 
power and jealousy of Antigonus obliged 
him to retire : he joined his forces to 
those of Perdiecas, and defeated Cra- 
terus and Neoptoleraus. Neoptolemus 
perished by the hands of Eumenes. 
Eumenes fought against Antipater, and 
conquered him, and after the death of 
Peidiccas,his ally, his arms were directed 
against Antigonus, by whom he was 
conquered, chiefly through the trea- 
cherous conduct of his officers, who 
betrayed him into the hands of Anti- 
gonus, at Nora, a fortified place in Cap- 
padocia, whither he had retired after 
the last fatal battle. He was put to 
death by order of Antigonus, B. C. 315. 
Antigonus. however, honored his. re- 
mains with a splendid funeral, and con- 
veyed his ashes to his wife and family 
in Cappadocia. Pint. Diod. &c. — This 
name was common also to two kings of 
Pergamus, in alliance with the Romans, 
both remarkable for their love of learn- 
ing. The second of the name greatly 
enriched the famous library of Perga- 
mus, which had been founded by his 
predecessors, in imitation of the Alex- 
andrian collection of the Ptolemies. 
Polyb. &c. 

Eumenia, a name common to 
four different cities of Europe and Asia. 

Eumenides, a name given to 
the Furies by the ancients. They sprang 
from the drops of blood which flowed 
from the wound which Ccelus received 
from his son Saturn. According to 
others, they were daughters of the earth, 
and conceived from the blood of Saturn. 
Some make them daughters of Acheron 
and Night, or Pluto and Proserpine. 
According to the more recei vedopinions, 
they were three in number, Tisiphone, 
Megara, and Alecto, to which some add 
Nemesis. They were supposed to be 
the ministers of the vengeance of the 
gods, and therefore appeared stern and 
inexorable ; always employed in punish- 
ing the guilty upon earth, as well as in 
the infernal regions. They inflicted their 
vengeance upon earth by wars, pesti- 
lence, and dissensions, and by the secret 
stings of conscience ; and in hell they 
punished the guilty by continual tor- 
ments. They were also called Fur ice 
and Erinnyes. They were generally re- 
presented with a grim aspect, bloody 
garments, and serpents wreathing round 
their head instead of hair. They held 
a burning torch in one hand, and a whi p 



EUM 



EUP 



of scorpions in the other, and were al- 
ways attended by terror, rage, paleness, 
and death. Sophocl. &c. In their sacri- 
fices, the votaries used branches of cedar 
and of alder, hawthorn, saffron, and ju- 
niper, and the victims were generally 
turtle doves and sheep, with libations 
of wine and honey. In hell they were 
seated round Pluto's throne, as the mi- 
nisters of his vengeance. Horat. Virg. 
&c. 

Eumexidia, festivals in honor 
of the Eumenides, called by the Athe- 
nians <7SyUV0fi £sor<, venerable goddesses. 
They were celebrated once every year. 

EuMOLPEjOne of the Nereides. 
Apollod. 

Eumolpim:, the priests cf 

Ceres at the celebration of her festivals 
of Eleusis. They were descended from 
Eumolpus, a king of Thrace, who was 
made priest of Ceres, by Erechtheus, 
king of Athens. The priesthood, whi.-h 
enjoined perpetual celibacy, remained 
in the family of Eumolpus for 1200 
years. 

Eumolpus, a king of Thrace, 

son of Neptune and Chione : he was 
thrown into the sea by his mother, who 
wished to conceal her shame from her 
father. Neptune saved his life, and 
carried him into ^Ethiopia, where he 
was brought up by a woman, one of 
whose daughters he married : having 
successively fled from ^Ethiopia and 
Thrace, he arrived in Attica, where he 
was initiated in the Eleusinian myste- 
ries, and at last perished in battle,nght- 
ing against Erechtheus, king of Athens. 
Apollod, Hygin. &c. 

Eun^eus, son of Jason and 

Kypsipyle. _ 

EuNAPius,a physician, sophist, 

and historian, born at Sardis : he flou- 
rished in the reign of "Valentinian and 
his successors : he wrote a history of the 
Csesars,of which few fragments remain ; 
his life of the philosophers of his age is 
still extant. It is composed with fide- 
lity and elegance, precision and correct- 
ness. 

Eunomia one of the Horae. 
Euxomus, a son of Prytanes, 

who succeeded his father on the throne 
of Sparta. Pans. — The father of Lycur- 
gus, killed by a kitchen knife. Pint. — 
A musician of Locris, who obtained at 
Delphi a musical prize against Aris on. 
— A native of Thrace who desired De- 
mosthenes on no account to be discou- 
raged because he had not succeeded in 
his first attempt at oratory. 

Eunus, a Syrian slave, who in- 
framed the minds of the servile multi- 
tude by pretended inspiration and en- 
thusiasm ; he filled a nut with sulphur 
in his mouth, and artfully breathed out 
flames, to the as tonishment of the people, 



who believed him to be a god. Oppres- 
sion and misery compelled 2000 slaves 
to join his cause, and he soon saw him- 
self at the head of 60,000 men. With 
such a force he defeated the Roman 
armies, till Perpenna obliged him to 
surrender by famine, and exposed on a 
cross the greatest part of his followers, 
B. C. 132. Plut. 

Eupalamon, One of the hunt- 
ers of the Calydonian boar. Ovid. Met. 

Eupator, a surname given to 
many of the Asiatic princes, such as 
Mithridr-tes, &c. Strab. 

Eupatouia, a Paphlagonian 

city, built by Mithridates. 

EupEiTHEs,aprince of Ithaca, 
father to Antinous : he was one of the 
most importuning lovers of Penelope. 

Homer. 

Eu phae s succeeded A ndrocles 

on the throne of Messenia, and in his 
reign began the first Messenian war. He 
died B. C. 730. Pans. 

Eupheme, a woman who was 

nurse to the Muses, and mother of Cro- 
cus by Pam Pans. 

Euphemus, a son of Neptune, 

and Europa, who was among the Argo- 
nauts and the hunters of the Calydonian 
boar: he was so swift and light," that he 
could run over the sea without wetting 
his feet. Pindar, &c. 

EuPHORBus,a famous Trojan, 
son of Pantfaous^: he was the first who 
wounded Patroclus, whom Hector 
killed ; he perished by the hand of Me- 
nelaus, who hung his shield in the tem- 
ple of Juno at Argos. Pythagoras, the 
founder of the doctrine of the metemp- 
sychosis, or transmigration of souls, af- 
firmed that he had been once Euphor- 
bus, and that his soul recollected manv 
exploits which had been done while it 
animated that Trojan's body. As a 
further proof of his assertions,he showed 
at first sight the shield of Euphorbus in 
the temple of Juno. Ovid. 

Euphoiiion. The most re- 
markable of this name is a Greek poet 
of Chalcis, in Euboea, in the age of An- 
tiochus the Great. Tiberius took him 
for his modelfor correct writing : he died 
in his 56th year, B. C. 220. 

Euphrmor, a famous painter 
and sculptor of Corinth, who wrote on 
symmetry and the art of coloring : he 
was peculiarly happy in representing 
his heroes with majesty of character : 
his most famous paintings were the 
twelve gods, the battle of Mantinea,and 
Theseus. Pans. Plin. 

Euphrates. The most cele- 
brated of this name were a disciple of 
Plato, who governed Macedonia with 
absolute authority in the reign of Per- 
diccas ; and a stoic philosopher in the 
age of Adrian, who destroyed himself, 



EUR 



EUR 



with the emperor's leave, to escape the 
miseries of old age. — A large and cele- 
brated river of Mesopotamia,rising from 
mount Taurus, in Armenia, and dis- 
charging itself with the Tigris into the 
Persian Gulf. It is very rapid in its 
course, and passes through the middle 
of the city of Babylon. It inundates the 
country Of Mesopotamia at a certain 
season of the year, like the Nile in 
Egypt. Cyrus changed the course of 
its "waters "when he besieged Babylon. 
Strab. &c. 

EirrHRO>r, a man of Sicyon, 
who bribed his countrymen to slavery. 

Euphrosyna. [ Vid. Cha- 

rites.] 

Euplcea, an island in the Tyr- 
rhene sea. 

Eupolis, a comic poet of 
Athens, who flourished 435 years before 
the Christian sera : he severely lashed 
the vices and immoralities of his age. 
It is said that he had composed 17 dra- 
matical pieces at the age of 17. Some 
suppose that Alcibiades put Eupolis to 
death, because he had ridiculed him in 
his verses ; but Suidas maintains that 
he perished in a sea-fight between the 
Athenians and the Lacedaemonians in 
the Hellespont. Hot: &c. 

Eupompus, a Macedonian 
geometrician. 

Euripides, a celebrated tragic 

poet, born at Salamis : he studied elo- 
quence under Prodicus, ethics under 
Socrates, and philosophy under Anaxa- 
goras : he applied himself to dramatical 
compositions, and his writings became 
so much the admiration of his country- 
men, that the unfortunate Greeks, who 
had accompanied Nieias in his expedi- 
tion against Syracuse, were freed from 
slavery , only by repeating some verses 
from the piece.-; or Euripides. Euripides 
and Sophocles viewed each other's ta- 
lents with the most illiberal jealousy, 
which gave an opportunity to the comic 
muse of Aristophanes to ridicule them 
both on the stage with success and hu- 
mor. The ridicule and envy to which 
he was continually exposed obliged him 
at last to remove from Athens: he re- 
tired to the court of Archelaus, king of 
Macedonia, where he received the most 
conspicuous marks of royal munificence. 
His end was most deplorable: it is said 
that the dogs or" Archelaus met him in 
his solitary walks, and tore his body to 
pieces, 407 years before the Christian 
a?ra, in the 78th year of his age. Euri- 
pides wrote 75 tragedies, hf which only 
19 are extant. He is peculiarly happy 
in expressing the passions of love, espe- 
cially the more tender and animated. 
To pathos he has added sublimity. 
And the most common expressions have 
received a perfect polish from his pen. 
Diod. Val. Max. — He was such an enemy 
tu women. that he was called the woman- 



hater. He nevertheless married twice ; 
but so injudiciously, that he was com- 
pelled to divorce both his wives. 

Eu rip us, a narrow strait which 

separates the island of Eubcea from the 
coast of Bceotia. Its flux and reflux, 
which continued regular during 18 or 19 
days, and were uncommonly unsettled 
the rest of the month, was a matter of 
deep inquiry among the ancients ; and it 
is said that Aristotle threw himself into 
it, because he was unable to find out the 
causes of that phsenomenon. Liv. Mela. 
&e. From these circumstances, the pro- 
verb Euripo mobilior became to express 
fickleness, and the word Euripisua .was 
employed by Cicero in the same signifi- 
cation as mobilis. 

Euromus, a city of Caria. 

Europa, one of the three grand 
divisions of the earth, known among 
the ancients, and now is superior to the 
others in the learning, power, and abi- 
lities of its inhabitants. It is bounded 
on the east by the /Egean sea, Hellespont, 
Euxine, Palus Masoiis, and the Tanais 
in a northern direction. The Mediter- 
ranean divides it from Africa on the 
south, and on the west and north it is 
washed by the Atlantic and Northern 
Oceans. It is supposed to receive it> 
name from Europa. — A daughter of 
Agenor, king of Phoenicia, so beautiful 
that Jupiter became enamoured of her, 
who, the betfer to seduce her, assumed 
the shape of a bull, and mingled with 
the herds of Agenor,while Europa, with 
her female attendants, were gathering 
flowersin themeadows. Europa caressed 
the animal, and at last had ihe courage 
to sit upon his back. The god took ad- 
vantage of her situation, and with pre- 
cipitate steps retired towards the shore, 
and crossed the sea with Europa on his 
back, and arrived safe in Crete. Here 
he assumed his original shape, and de- 
clared his love. The nymph consented, 
although she had before made vows of 
perpetual celibacy, and she became mo- 
ther of Minos, Sarpedon, and Rhada- 
manthus. After this distinguished amour 
with Jupiter, she marries Asterius,king 
of Crete. Minos succeeded to the throne 
of Asterius. Some suppose that Europa 
lived about J 552 years before the Chris- 
tian sera. Ovid. (fee. &c, 

Eurotas, a son of Lelex, fa- 
ther to Sparta, who married Lacedae- 
mon. He was son of one of the first 
kings of Laconia, and gave his name to 
the river which flows near Sparta,and is 
called by way of eminence, Basilipo- 
tamos, the king of rivers, and worship- 
ped by the Spartans as a powerful god. 
Laurels, reeds, myrtles, and olives grew 
on its banks in great abundance. Strab. 
&c.— A river in Thessaly, near mount 
Olympus. It emptied itself into the 
Euphrates, but was supposed not to in- 
corporate its waters with it. 



EUR 



EUR 



Euroto, one of the daughters 
of Danaus. 

Euuus, a wind blowing from 

the eastern parts of the -world. The 
Latins sometimes called it Vulturnus. 
Ovid. 

Euryale. The most cele- 
brated of this name is a daughter of 
Minos, mother of Orion by Neptune. — 
Also one of the Gorgons who was im- 
mortal. Hesiorf. 

Euryalus. Ancient writers 
mention many of this name ; the most 
remarkable of whom is a Trojan, who 
came with iEneas into Italy. He ren- 
dered himself famous for his immortal 
friendship with Nisus. [Vid. Nisus.] 
Virg. 

Eurybates, a herald in the 

Trojan war, who took Briseis from 
Achilles by order of Agamemnon. Ho- 
mer. — An Argive warrior, who was fre- 
quently victorious at the Nemean 
games. 

Eurybia, the mother of Lu- 
cifer and all the stars. Hesiod. — A 
daughter of Pontus and Terra, mother 
of Astrseus, Pallas, and Perses,by Crius. 

Eurybiades, a Spartan ge- 
neral of the Grecian fleet at the battles 
of Artemisium and Salamis against 
Xerxes. He offered-to strike Themis- 
tocles when he wished to speak about 
the manner of attacking the Persians, 
upon which the Athenian said, " Strike 
me, but hear pie." Herodot. &c 

Euryclea, a beautiful daugh- 
ter of Ops of Ithaca. Laertes bought 
her for 20 oxen, and gave her his son 
Ulysses to nurse, and treated her with 
much tenderness and attention. Homer. 

Eurycles, an orator of Syra- 
cuse, who proposed to put Nieias and. 
Demosthenes to death, and to confine 
to hard labor all the Athenian soldiers 
in the quarries. Plut. 

Eurycrates, a Spartan king, 
descended from Hercules. 

Eurydamas, a Trojan skilled 
in the interpretation of dreams. His 
two sons were killed by Diomedes dur- 
ing the Trojan war. Homer. — A wrest- 
ler of Cyrene, who, in a combat ,had his 
teeth dashed to pieces by his antagonist, 
which he swallowed, without showing 
anv sign of pain, or discontinuing the 
fight. Mlian. 

Eur yd amid as, a Lacedaemo- 
nian king of the family of the Proclidse. 

Eurydice, a name common 
to many women in the works of ancient 
writers, the most celebrated of whom 
are, the wife of Amyntas king of Mace- 
donia. — A daughter of Amyntas, who 
married her uncle Aridaeus, the illegiti- 
mate son of Philip : she hung herself, 
at the instigation of Olympias. C. Nep. 
&c— The wife of the poet Orpheus. 



As she fled before Aristaeus, who wished 
to offer her violence, she was bitten by 
a serpent in the grass, and died of the 
wound. Orpheus was so disconsolate, 
that he ventured to go to hell, where, 
by the melody of his lyre, he obtained 
from Pluto the restoration of his wife to 
life, provided he did not look behind 
him before he came upon earth. He 
violated the condition ; his eagerness to 
see his wife rendered him forgetfnl : he 
looked behind, and Eurydice was for 
ever taken from him. \_Vid. Orpheus.] 
Virg. &c. &c. 

EURYLOCHUS. The most re- 
markable of this name are the follow- 
ing : — A companion of Ulysses, the only 
one who did not taste the potions of 
Circe. Ovid. — A man who discovered 
the conspiracy which was made against 
Alexander by Hermolaus and others. 
Curt. 

Eurymedon, the father of 

Periboea, by whom Neptune had Nausi- 
thous. Homer. — A river of Pamphylia, 
near which the Persians were defeated 
by the Athenians under Cimon, B. C. 
470. 

Eurynome. Ancien writers 

have recorded many of this name, the 
most remarkable of whom is one of the 
Oceaniues, mother of the Graces. He- 
siod. 

Euryphost, a king of Sparta, 

son of Sous. His reign was so glorious, 
that his descendants were called Eury- 
pontida?. Paus. 

Eurypylus, a son of Tele- 

phus, killed in the Trojan war by Pyr- 
rhus. He made his court to Cassandra. 
Homer. — A soothsayer in the Grecian 
camp before Troy, sent to consult the 
oracie of Apollo how his countrymen 
could return safe home. The result of 
his inquiries was the injunction to offer 
a human sacrifice. Virg. — There are 
many others of this name mentioned 
in ancient writers, in whose lives there 
is nothing very striking or remarkable. 

Eijrysthestes, a son of Aris- 

todemus, who lived in perpetual dis- 
sension with his twin brother Procles, 
while they both sat on the Spartan 
throne. It was unknown which of the 
two was born first; the mother, who 
wished to see both her sons raised to 
the throne, refused to declare it, and 
they were appointed kings of Sparta by 
order of the oracle of Delphi, B, C.1102. 
The descendants of Euryslhenes were 
called Eurysthenidas, and those of Pro- 
cles, Proclidse. JSurysthenes had a son 
called Agis, who succeeded him. His 
descendants were called Agidae. There 
sat on the throne of Sparta 31 kings of 
the family of Eurysthenes, and only 24 
of the Proclidae. The former were the 
more illustrious. Herodot. &c. 

Eurystheus, a king of Ar- 
gos and Mycenae, son of Sthenelus, and 



EUT 



EXA 



Nicippe the daughter of Pelcps. Juno 
hastened his birtn by two months, that 
he might come into the world before 
Hercules the son of Alcmena, as the 
younger of the two was doomed, by 
order of Jupiter, to be subservient to 
the will of the other. [ Vid. Alcmena.] 
This natural right was cruelly exercised 
by Eurystheus, who imposed'upon Her- 
cules the most dangerous enterprises, 
well known by the name of the twelve 
labors of Hercules. After the death of 
Hercules, Eurystheus renewed his cruel- 
ties against his children, and made war 
against Ceyx king of Trachinia, because 
he had treated them with hospitality. 
He was killed in the prosecution of this 
war by Hyllus the son of Hercules. Eu- 
rystheus was succeeded on the throne of 
Argos by Atreus his nephew. Hygin. 
Ovid. &c. 

Euryte, daughter of Hippo- 
damus, and wife of Parthaon. 

EuaYTEiE, an Achaian town. 

EurytIle, daughter of Leu- 
cippus. 

EuRYTHION andElTRYTION. 

The most remarkable of this name is a 
Centaur, whose insolence to Hippoda- 
mia was the cause of the quarrel between 
the Lapithss and Centaurs, at the nup- 
tials of Pirithous. Ovid. Hesiod. 

Eurytus. This name is com- 
mon to many mentioned in Apollodorus, 
the most remarkable of whom is a king 
of (Echalia, father to Iole. He offered 
his daughter to him who shot a bow 
better than himself. Hercules conquered 
him, and put him to death, hecause he 
refused him his daughter as the prize of 
his victory. Apollod. — A son of Actor, 
king of Phthia, who purified Peleus of 
the murder of Phocus, and gave him 
his daughter Antigone in marriage. He 
was killed at the chase of the Calydo- 
nian boar. 

Eusebia, an empress, wife to 
Constantius, &c. 

Eusebitjs, a bishop of Csesa- 
rea, in great favor with the emperor 
Constantine. He was concerned in the 
theological disputes of Arius and Atha- 
nasius, and distinguished himself by his 
ecclesiastical writings, &c. 

Eusepus and Peadastjs, 
twin brothers killed at the siege of Troy. 

Eustathius, a Greek com- 
mentator on the works of Homer. 

Eutelidas, a celebrated 
sculptor at Argos. 



Euterpe, one of the Muses, 

daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne- 
She presided over musie.and was looked 
upon as the inventress of the flute. She 
is represented as crowned with flowers, 
and holding a flute in her hands. — The 
name of the mother of Themistocles, 
according to some. 

Euthycrates, a sculptor of 

Sicyon, son of Lysippus. He was pecu- 
liarly happy in the proportions of his 
statues. Those of Hercules and Alex- 
ander were in general esteem, and par- 
ticularly that of Medea, which was car- 
ried on a chariot by four horses. Plut. 
Euthydemxjs, a celebrated 

orator and rhetorician. 

Eutropius, a Latin historian 
in the age of Julian, under whom he 
carried arms in the fatal expedition 
against the Persians. His origin,as well 
as his dignity, are unknown. He wrote 
an epitome of the history of Rome,from 
the age of Romulus to "the reign of the 
emperor Valens, to whom the work was 
dedicated. Of all his works, the Roman 
history alone is extant. It is composed 
with conciseness and precision ,butwith- 
out elegance. — A famous eunuch at the 
court of Arcadius, son of Theodosius 
the Great. After the vicissitudes of po- 
pular favor and imperial suspicion, and. 
after exercising the highest offices with 
the caprices and cruelty of a tyrant, he 
was at last beheaded, A. D. 399. 

Etj t y chide ,a woman who was 
thirty times brought to bed, and carried 
to the grave by twenty of her children. 
Plin. 

Euxinus Pontus, a sea be- 
tween Asia and Europe, partly at the 
north of Asia Minor and at the west 
of Colchis. It was anciently called 
a^e/vo?, inhospitable, on account of the 
savage manners of the inhabitants on its 
coasts. Commerce with foreign nations, 
and the plantation of colonies in their 
neighbourhood, gradually softened their 
roughness, and the sea was no longer 
called Axenus, but Euxenus, hospitable. 
Ovid. Strab. &c. 

Ex^thes, a Parthian 5 who cut 

off the head of Crassus, &c. Polycen. 

Exagonus, the ambassador of 
a nation in Cyprus, who came to Rome, 
and talked so much of the power of ser- 
pents, &c. that the consuls ordered him 
to be thrown into a vessel full of ser- 
pents, which venomous creatures, far 
from hurtinghim,harmlesslylicked him 
with their tongues. Plin. 



FAB 



FAL 



FAB 

Fab aria, festivals celebrated 
at Rome on the 1st of June, in honor of 
the goddess Carna, the wife of Janus, 
when beans «t ab^e) were presented as an 
oblation. From this circumstance the 
same name was sometimes applied to 
the calends of June. 

Fabaris, a river of Italy, in 
the territories of the Sabines. It was 
also called Farfarus. Virg. 

Fabia, a tribe at Rome. Horat. 

Fabia, sister to Terentia the 
wife of Cicero, and one of the vestal vir- 
gins. 

Fabia lex, a law made to limit 

the number of attendants to candidates, 
when canvassing for offices. 

Fabiani, some of the Luperci 
at Rome, instituted in honor of the Fa- 
bian family. 

Fabii, a noble and powerful 
family at Rome, who, it is affirmed, de- 
rived "their name from a bean, be- 
cause some of their ancestors cultivated 
this pulse. Historians say that the whole 
family! amounting to 306 men, were all 
slain/s^ve one, in a general engagement 
near the Cremera against the Veientes, 
B. C. 447. From the survivor sprang 
the following celebrated characters : 

Fab I us Maximus Ruliianus, 
obtained the surname of Maximus, for 
lessening the power of the populace at 
elections. He w r as master of horse,five 
times consul, twice dictator, and once 
censor. He triumphed over seven dif- 
ferent nations in the neighbourhood of 
Rome, and rendered himself illustrious 
by his patriotism. — Q. Maximus,a cele- 
brated Roman,w T ho from inactive child- 
hood was raised to the highest offices of 
the state. In his first consulship, he 
obtained a victory over Liguria, and the 
fatal battle of Thrasymenus occasioned 
his election to the dictatorship. In this 
important office he began to oppose An- 
nibal, not by fighting him in the open 
field, like his predecessors, but he con- 
tinually harassed his army by counter- 
marches and ambuscades," from which 
he received the surname of Cunctator, 
or delayer. Such operations for the 
commander of the Roman armies, gave 
offence to some, and Fabius was even 
accused of cowardice. He, however, 
patiently bore to see his master of horse 
raised to share the dictatorial dignity 
with himself, by means of his enemies 
at home. Previously to the battle of 
Cannae, he laid down his dictatorship, 
out shortlv after obliged Tarentum to 
surrender to the Roman arms. He did 



FAL 

not, however, live to see the success of 
the Roman arms under Scipio. He died 
in the 100th year of his age, after he had 
been five times consul, and twice ho- 
nored with a triumph. Liv. Polyb. &c. 
— His son bore the same name, and 
showed himself worthy of his noble fa- 
ther's virtues.— Pictor, the first Roman 
historian who gave an historical account 
of his country. He flourished B. C. 225. 
The work now extant, which is attri- 
buted to him, is a spurious composition. 
A Roman consul, who being struck with 
lightning was thence called Ambustus. 
—A general sent against the Carthagi- 
nians in Italy. He lost all his troops 
in the battle,ahd fell by the side of Han- 
nibal. 

Fabricius, a Latin writer in 

the reign of Nero,who employed his pen 
in satirizing and defaming the senators. 
His works were burnt by order of Xero. 
— Caius, a celebrated Roman, who, in 
his first consulship, obtained several vic- 
tories over the Samnites and Lucanians, 
and was honored with a triumph. Two 
years after Fabricius went as ambassador 
to Pyrrhus, and refused with contempt 
the presents offered to him. Pyrrhus 
admired the magnanimity of Fabricius, 
but his astonishment was more awak- 
ened when he saw him make a discovery 
of the perfidious offers of his physician, 
"who pledged himself to the Roman ge- 
neral for a sum of money to poison his 
master. To this greatness of soul was 
added the most consummate knowledge 
of military affairs, and the greatest sim- 
plicity of manners. Fabricius wished to 
inspire a contempt of luxury among the 
people. He lived and died in the great- 
est poverty. His body was buried at the 
public charge, and the Roman people 
w r ere obliged to give a dowry to his two 
daughters, when they had arrived to 
years of maturity. Yal. Max. Flor. &c. 
— A bridge at Rome, built by the consul 
Fabricius. Horat. 

F^esul^e, a town of Etruria, 
famous for its augurs. Ital. 

Falerii (or ium), now Palari, 
a town of Etruria, of which the inhabit- 
ants are called Falisci. The Romans 
borrowed some of their laws from this 
town. The place was famous for its 
pastures, and for a peculiar sort of sau- 
sage. \_Vid. Falisci.] 

Falernus, a fertile mountain 
and plain of Campania, famous for its 
w r ine, which the Roman poets have 
greatly celebrated. Virg. Horat. &c« 

Falisct, a people of Etruria, 
originally a Macedonian colony. When 



FAV 



FER 



they were besieged by Camillus,a school- 
master went out of the gates of the city, 
and betrayed them into the hands of the 
Roman enemy, that by such a posses- 
sion he might, easily oblige the place to 
surrender. Camillus heard the proposal 
with indignation, and ordered the man 
to be stripped naked and whipped back 
to the town by those whom his perfidy 
wished to betray. This instance of ge- 
nerosity operated upon the people so 
powerfully, that they surrendered to the 
Romans. Plat. 

Fama, (fame), was worshipped 
by the ancients as a powerful goddess, 
and was generally represented blowing 
a trumpet. 

FANNiA.a woman of Minturnse, 
who, though Marius had sat in judg- 
ment upon her and divorced her from 
her husband, hospitably entertained 
him in his flight. 

Fannia lex, a law passed to 
allow no person to spend more than 
100 asses a day on great festivals, 30 on 
other days, and ten at other times. 

Fannius, an inferior poet, ridi- 
culed by Horace because his poems and 
picture were consecrated in the library 
of Apollo, on mount Palatine at Rome, 
as it was then usual for such as pos- 
sessed merit. Horat. — Caius, an author 
in Trajan's reign, the loss of whose hi- 
story of the cruelties of Nero is greatly 
regretted. 

Farfarus, a Sabine river, fall- 
ing into the Tiber. 

Fauna, a deity among the Ro- 
mans. She was daughter of Picus, and 
was originally called Marica. Her mar- 
riage with Faunus procured her the 
name of Fauna, and her knowledge of 
futurity that of Fatua and Fatidica. It 
is said that she never saw a man after 
her marriage with Faunus, and that her 
uncommon chastity occasioned her be- 
ing ranked among the gods after death, 
Virg. 

Faun alia, festivals at Rome 
in honor of Faunus. 

Faun i, rural deities, represent- 
ed as having the legs, feet, and ears of 
goats, and the rest of the body human. 
They were called satyrs by the Greeks. 
The peasants offered them a lamb or a 
kid, with great solemnity. Virg. Odd. 

Faunus, a son of Picus, is said 
to have reigned in Italy about 1300 years 
B. C. His bravery has given rise to the 
tradition that he was son of Mars. His 
great fondness for agriculture made his 
subjects revere him as one of their coun- 
try deities after death. He was repre- 
sented with all the equipage of the sa- 
tyrs, and was consulted to give oracles. 
IHonys. Virg. &c. 

Favonius, the name of one of 
the winds. [Vid. Venti.] 



Faustina. The most remark- 
able of this name is the wife of the em- 
peror Antoniuus, famous for her de- 
baucheries. Her daughter of the same 
name, blessed with beauty, liveliness, 
and wit, became the most abandoned of 
her sex. She married M. Aurelius. 

Faustitas, a goddess among 
the Romans, supposed to preside over 
cattle. Horat. 

Faustul us, a shepherd order- 
ed to expose Romulus and Remus. He 
privately brought them up at home 
Liv. &c. 

Februus, a god at Rome, who 

presided over purifications. Pluto was 
sometimes called by this name, as obla- 
tions of purification were offered to the 
manes of the dead. Juno was also often 
invoked under the name of Februa, as 
she presided over parturition. 

Feciales, a number of priests 
at Rome, employed in declaring war 
and making peace. When the Romans 
thought themselves injured, one of the 
sacerdotal body was empowered to de- 
mand redress /and after the allowance 
of 33 days to consider the matter, war 
was declared if submissions were not 
made, and the Feciales hurled a bloody 
spear into the territories of the enemy, 
in proof of intended hostilities. Liv. 

Felicit as, a divinity who pre- 
sided over happiness, and to whom the 
Romans erected a temple in the age of 
Augustus. Aug. Civ. D. 

Feralia, a festival in honor 

of the dead, observed at Rome the 17th 
or 2lst of February. It continued for 
eleven days, during which time presents 
were carried to the graves of the de- 
ceased, marriages were forbidden, and 
the temples of the gods were shut. 

Feretrius, a surname of Ju- 
piter, aferendo, because he had assisted 
the Romans, or aferiendo, because he 
had conquered their enemies under Ro- 
mulus. He had a temple at Rome, 
built by Romulus. It was there that 
the spoils called opima were always car- 
ried. Liv. &c. 

Ferine LatIn^e, festivals at 
Rome instituted by Tarquin the Proud. 
The feria; among the Romans were cer- 
tain days set apart to celebrate festivals, 
and during that time it was unlawful for 
any person to work. They were cither 
public or private. The public were of 
four different kinds, and were called 
stativcs, or immoveable; conceptivce, or 
moveable ; latincs, compitalia, impera- 
tive, appointed only by the consul, dic- 
tator, &c. Nuwdiria; and private. [For 
a minute description of the several kinds 
oifericB the student is referred to Ken- 
net's Antiquities.] The days on which 
the ferice were observed were called by 
the Romans/e.s^i dies, because dedicated 
to mirth, relaxation, and festivity. 



FLA 



FLO 



FerOxia, a goddess at Rome, 
who presided over the woods and groves. 
It was usual to make a yearly sacrifice 
to her., and it is said that those" who were 
filled with the spirit of this goddess 
could walk barefooted over burning 
coals without receiving any injury. 
Virg. Varro. &c. — Also a town at the 
foot of mount Soracte. 

Fescexxia, a town of Etruria, 
where the Fescennine verses were first 
invented. These verses were a sort of 
rustic dialogue spoken extempore, in 
which the actors exposed before their 
audience the failings and vices of their 
adversaries, and by satirical humor and 
merriment endeavoured to raise the 
laughter of the company. They were 
proscribed by Augustus, as of immoral 
t .ndency. They had often been repeated 
a.z nuptials, and many lascivious expres- 
sions were used for the general diver- 
sion; as also at harvest home, when 
gestures were made adapted to the sense 
of the unpolished verses that were used. 
Virg. Herat. &e. 

Fesul^e, an Etrurian town in 
which Sylla settled a colony. 

Festus Porcius, a procon- 
sul who succeeded Felix, in the gover- 
norship of Judaea. 

FiBRExus, a river, flowing 
through Cicero's farm at Arpinum. Cic. 
de leg. 

FjcariAj an island near Sar- 
dinia. 

Fictile a, a town near mount 
Saeer, in which Cicero had a villa. 
Fid EX a, an inland town of La- 

tium, whose inhabitants are called Fi- 
deuates. The place was conquered by 
the Romans, B. C. 435. 

Fides, the goddess of faith and 

honesty, worshipped by the Romans. 
Numawas the first who paid her divine 
honors. The only dress of this divinity 
was a white veil,expressive of frankness, 
candor, and modesty. No animal was 
sacrificed to her, as she was an enemy to 
bloodshed. The symbol of fidelity is 
represented by two hands strongly join- 
ed together. Cic. Var. 

Fidius Dius, a divinity by 

whom the Romans generally swore. He 
was the god of faith and truth, and was 
also called Sancus, or Sanctus, and Se- 
mipater, and he was solemnly addressed 
in prayers the 5th of June, which was 
yearly "consecrated to his service. Some 
suppose him to be Hercules. Ovid. 
Varr o. &c. 

M. Firmius, a powerful native 

of Seleucia, who proclaimed himself 
emperor, and was at last conquered by 
Aurelian. 

Flaccus, [Vid. Valerius,] — 
Yerrius, a grammarian, tutor to the two 



grandsons of Augustus, and supposed 
author of the Capitoline marbles. 

Flamixia via, a celebrated 
road which led from Rome to Ariminu ni 
and Aquileia. It received its name from 

C. Flamixius, a Roman con- 
sul of a turbulent disposition , who was 
drawn into a battle near the lake of 
Thrasymenus, by the artifice of Anni- 
bal : he was killed in the engagement , 
with an immense number of Romans, 
B. C. 217. Poh/b. Liv. fee. 

T. Q. Flamixius, or Flami- 

NINUS, a celebrated Roman, raised to 
the consulship A. U. C. 556, was trained 
in the art of war against Annibal : he 
was sent against Philip, king of Mace- 
donia, and in his expedition he met with 
uncommon success. The Greeks de- 
clared themselves his supporters .and he 
totally defeated Philip on the confines 
of Epirus, and made all Locris, Phocis, 
and Thessaly, tributary to the Roman 
power : he proclaimed all Greece inde- 
pendent at the Isthmian games. This 
celebrated action procured him the name 
of father and deliverer of Greece : he 
was afterwards sent ambassador to Pru- 
sias, king of Bithynia, where, by his 
prudence and artifice, he soon caused 
Annibal, who had taken refuge at his 
court, to dispatch himself. Fiaminhis 
was found dead in his bed, after he had 
imitated with success the virtues of his 
model Seipio. Pint. — Lucius, the bro- 
ther of the preceding, signalized himself 
in the wars of Greece.— Calp. Flamma, 
a tribune, who, at the head of 300 men, 
saved the Roman army in Sicily, B. C. 
258, by engaging the Carthaginians and 
cutting them to pieces. 

Flaxaticus Sixes, a bay of 

the Flanates, in Liburnia, on the Adri- 
atic, now the Gulf of Carnero. 

Flavia lex agraria, by L. 
Flavius, A. U. C. 693, for the distri- 
bution of a certain quantity of lands 
among Pompey's soldiers and the com- 
mons. 

Flayius. A name common to 

many Romans, the most remarkable of 
whom is a senator who conspired with 
Piso against Nero, &c. Tacit. 

Flora, the goddess of flowers 

and gardens among the Romans, such 
as the Chloris of the Greeks. She was 
worshipped among the Sabines, long 
before the foundation of Rome, and 
Tatius was the first who raised her a 
temple in the city of Rome. It is said 
that she married Zephyrus, and re- 
ceived from him the privileges of pre- 
siding over flowers, and of enjoying 
perpetual youth. [Vid. Floralia.J She 
was represented as crowned with flow- 
ers, and holding in her hand the horn of 
plenty. Ovid. &c. — A celebrated cour- 
tezan, passionatelv loved by Pompey 
the Great. 



FOR 



FUL 



Floral i a, games in honor of 
Flora at Rome. They were instituted 
about the age of Romulus, but not re. 
gul&rfy celebrated until the year U. C. 
5S0. They were observed yearly, and 
exhibited a scene of the most unbound- 
ed licentiousness. Veil. Mas. — Cato once 
desirxl to be at the celebration of these 
games:— but perceiving that his pre- 
sence disturbed the feast he retired ; not 
choosing to witness such a scene of li- 
centiousness. As he retired he was 
greeted with vehement applause. 
' Flore JTTiA,a town of Italy on 
the Arnus, now Florence, the capital of 
Tuscany. Tacit. Plin. 

Floriaxus, a man who wore 
the imperial purple at Rome only for 
two months, A. D. 27C 

Florus, L. Annaeus Julius, 
a Latin historian, A. D. 116, who wrote 
an abridgment of Roman annals in four 
books, composed in a florid and poetical 
style, and rather a panegyric on many 
of the great actions of the Romans than 
a faithful and correct recital of their hi- 
story : he also wrote poetry. — Julius, 
a friend of Horace, who accompanied 
Claudius Nero m his military expe- 
ditions. The poc* has addressed two 
epistles to him. 

Fluoxia, surname of Juno 
Lucina. 

Folia, a woman remarkable 

for her knowledge of poisonous plants. 

Foxs Solis, a fountain in the 
province of Cyrene, cool at mid-day, 
and warm at therising and netting of the 
sun. Herodot. 

Formic, a maritime town of 
Campania, at the south-east of Caieta. 
It was anciently the abode of the Lse- 
strygones, and it became known for its 
excellent wines. Liv. Ho rat. 

Formiaxum, a villa of Cicero, 

not far from which he was murdered by 
an emissary of Mare Antony. 

Forxax, a goddess at Rome, 
who presided over the baking of bread : 
her festivals, called Fornacalia, were 
first instituted by Numa. Ovid* 

F o r t u x a, a daughter of 

Oeeanus, according to Homer, or one of 
the Parcse, according to Pindar, was the 
goddess of fortune, and from her hand 
were derived riches and poverty, plea- 
sures and misfortunes, blessings and 
pai n s . S he was worshi pped in different 
parts of Greece. Bupalus was the first 
who made a statue of Fortune for the 
people of Smyrna, and he represented 
her with the polar star upon her head, 
and the horn of plenty in her hand. 
The Romans paid particular attention 
to the goddess of Fortune, and had no 
less than eight different temples erected 
to her honor in their city. Tullus Hos- 
tilius was the first who built her a tem- 



ple : her most famous temple in Italy 
was at Antium. She was worshipped 
among the Romans under different 
names, such as Female Fortune, Virile 
Fortune, Equestrian, Peaceful, Virgin, 
&c. The goddess is generally repre- 
sented blind-folded, and holds a wheel 
in her hand, as an emblem of .her incon- 
stancy. Sometimes she appears with 
wings. Ovid. Plat. &c. 

FortOxat^e ixsul.e, islands 
at the west of Mauritania, in the At- 
lantic sea, supposed to be the Canary 
isles of the moderns. They were repre- 
sented as the seats of the blessed, where 
the souls of the virtuous were placed 
after death. The air was wholesome 
and temperate, the earth produced an 
immense number of various fruits with- 
out the labors of men. Strab. Horat.&c. 

Forum, a conjunctive name 
given to many towns in Italy and Gaul. 

Fossa, the straits of Bonifacio s 
between Corsica and Sardinia, called 
also Taphros. Plin. 

Fraxci, a people of Germany 
and Gaul, whose country was called 
Francia. Claudian. 

Fraus, a divinity worshipped 
among the Romans, daughter of Orcus 
and Night. She was invoked by those 
who dreaded the treachery over which 
she presided, as well as those who prac- 
tised every cruel and secret act of per- 
fidy. She was represented under the 
form of a beautiful woman, whose de- 
formities were concealed in the extremi- 
ties of her bod v' L 

S£X. J UL. FROXTlXUS.a cele- 
brated geometrician, who made himself 
known by the books he wrote on aque- 
ducts and stratagems, dedicated to Tra- 
jan. 

Froxto. The most remark- 
able of this name is a learned Roman, 
who was so partial to the company of 
poets, that he lent them his house and 
gardens, which continually re-echoed 
the compositions of his numerous vi- 
sitors. Juv. 

Fucixus, a lake of Italy, in the 
country of the Marsi , at the north of the 
Liris. It is now called Celano, and is 
supposed to be 47 miles in circumfe- 
rence, and not more than 12 feet deep 
on an average. Plin. Tacit. 

Fulgora, a goddess at Rome, 

who presided over lightning. She was 
addressed to save her votaries from the 
effects of violent storms of thunder, 
Aug. de Civ. D. 

Fulvia lex was proposed but 
rejected A. U. C. 628, by Flaccus Ful- 
vius. It tended to make all the people 
of Italy citizens of Rome. 

Fulvia, an ambitious woman, 
who married the tribune Clodius, and 
afterwards Curio, and at last M. An- 



GAB 



GAL 



tony. She sho wed herself cruel as well 
as revengeful. When Cicero's head had 
been cut off by order of Antony, Fulvia 
ordered it to be brought to her, and with 
the greatest barbarity bored the orator's 
tongue with her golden bodkin. Antony 
divorced her to marry Cleopatra, upon 
which she attempted to persuade Au- 
gustus to take up arms against her hus- 
band. When this scheme didnot succeed, 
she retired into the east, where her hus- 
band received her with great coldness. 
This totally broke her heart, and she 
soon after died, about 40 years before 
the Christian eia. Pint. inCic. $ Anton. 
— A woman who discovered to Cicero 
the designs of Catiline upon his life. 
Plut. 

Fulvius. A name common 

to some eminent Romans, the most re- 
markable of whom are the following: — 
A Roman senatordntimate with Augus- 
tus : he disclosed the emperor's secrets 
to his wife, who made it public to ail the 
Roman matrons, for which he received 
so severe a reprimand from Augustus, 
that he and his wife hanged themselves 
in despair. 

Ser. Fulvius Nobilior, a 

Roman consul who went to Africa after 
the defeat of Regulus. After he had 
acquired much glory against the Car- 
thaginians, he was shipwrecked at his 
return with 200 Roman ships. 

Fund anus, a lake, near 

Fundi, discharging its waters into the 
Mediterranean. 

Furia lex, a law forbidding 



GAB 



Gabellls, now La Sccchia, a 
river falling in a northern direction into 
the Po, opposite the Mincius. Plin. 

Gabienus, a friend of Augus- 
tus, beheaded by order of Pompey . It is 
maintained that he spoke after death. 

Gabii, a city of the Yolsci, 
taken by the artifice of Sextus, the son 
of Tarquin, who gained the confidence 
of the inhabitants, by deserting to them, 
and pretending that his father had ill- 
treated him. Plut. Virg. 

Gab in a, the name of Juno, 

worshipped at Gabii. Virg. 

Gab ini us. The most remark- 
able of this name is a Roman consul, 
who made war in Judaea, and re-esta- 
blished tranquillity there : he suffered 
himself to be bribed, and replaced Pto- 
lemy Auletes on the throne of Egypt : 
he was accused, at his return, of receiv- 
ing bribes. Cicero, at the request of 



any one to leave more than a thousand 
asses, except to the relatives of a master 
who manumitted, and some few other 
exceptions. 

Ftjri.e, the three daughters 
of Xox and Acheron, or of Pluto and 
Proserpine, according to some. \_Vid. 
Eumenides.] 

FuRiXA,the goddess of robbers, 
worshipped at Rome. Some say that 
she is the same as the furies : her festi- 
vals were called Furinalia. 

31. Furius Bibaculus, a 

Latin poet of Cremona, who wrote an- 
nals in Iambic verse,and was universally 
celebrated for the w it and humor of his 
expressions. It is said that Virgil imi- 
tated his poetry, and even borrowed 
some of his lines. Horace, however, has 
not failed to ridicule his verses. Quintil. 
Herat. 

Furnius, a friend of Horace, 

who was consul, and distinguished him- 
self bv his elegant historical writings. 
1 Sat. 10. 

Arist. Fuse us,a friend of Ho- 
race, as conspicuous for the integrity 
and propriety of his manners, as for his 
learning and abilities. 

Fusius. The most remarkable 

of this name is a Roman actor, whom 
Horace ridicules 2 Sat. 3. He intoxicat- 
ed himself, and when on the stage, he 
fell asleep, whilst he personated Ilione, 
where he ought to have been roused 
and moved by the cries of a ghost j but 
in vain. 



GAL 



Pompey, ably defended him. He was 
banished, and died about 40 years B. C. 
at Salona. 

Gades and Gapira, a small 

island in the Atlantic, on the Spanish 
coast, 25 miles from the columns of 
Hercules. It was sometimes called Tar- 
tessus and Erythia, according to Pliny, 
and is now known by the name of Cadiz. 
The inhabitants were called Gaditani. 
ffin. Strab. &c. 

G ad IT anus, a sum ame of Her- 
cules, from Gades. [Vid. Gades.] 

G.etulia, a country of Libya, 
near the Garamantes, which formed 
part of king Alasinissa's kingdom. The 
country was the favorite retreat of wild 
beasts, and is now called BUdulgerid. 
Sallust. &c. 

Galanthis, a servant maid of 
A lcmena,whose sagacity eased the labors 
of her mistress at the birth of Hercules, 



GAL 



GAL 



and deceived the plots of Juno, who had 
sent Lueinato retard the pains of Ale- 
mena, and hasten those of the wife of 
Sthenelus. Lucina was so irritated at 
the deception pracdsed on her, that she 
changed Galanthis into a weazel, and 
condemned her to bring forth her young 
by the mouth, in the greatest pains. 
This transformation alludes to a vulgar 
notion among the ancients,who believed 
this of the weazel, because she carries 
her young in her mouth, and continu- 
ally shifts from place to place. Ovid. 

Galatea and Galath^a, a 
sea-nymph, daughter of Nereus and 
Doris. She was passionately loved by 
the Cyclops Polyphemus, whom she 
treated with disdain, while Acis, a shep- 
herd of Sicily, enjoyed her unbounded 
affection. The happiness of these two 
lovers was disturbed by the jealousy of 
the Cyclops, who crushed his rival to 
pieces with a piece of broken rock, 
while he sat in the bosom of Galataea. 
Galataea was inconsolable for the loss of 
Acis, and as she could not restore him 
to life, she changed him into a fountain. 
Ovid. Virg. — A country girl, &c. Virg. 

Gal at I A, a country of Asia 
Minor, between Phrygia, the Euxine, 
Cappadocia, and Bithynia. It received 
its name from the Gauls, who migrated 
there under Brennus, seme time after 
the sacking of Rome. Strab. Justin. — 
The name of ancient Gaul among the 
Greeks. 

Galaxia, a festival in which 
they boiled a mixture of barley, pulse, 
and milk,caUed va K af / a by the Greeks . 

Galba, Servius Sulpicius, a 
Roman, who, by unremitted diligence,, 
rose gradually to the greatest offices of 
the state : he dedicated the greatest part 
of his time to solitary pursuits, chiefly 
to avoid the suspicions of Nero : his dis- 
approbation of the emperor's commands 
was the cause of new disturbances. Nero 
ordered him to be put to death, but he 
escaped the executioner, and was pub- 
licly saluted emperor. When seated on 
the throne, he suffered himself to be 
governed by favorites, who exposed the 
goods of the citizens to sale to gratify 
tfen avarice. The enm? of murder was 
blotted out, and impunity purchased 
with a large sum of money. Such con- 
duct greatly displeased the people; and 
when Galba refused to pay the soldiers 
the money which he had promised them, 
when raised to the throne, they assas- 
sinatad' him, in the 73d year of his age, 
and in the eighth month of his reign, 
and proclaimed Otho emperor in his 
room, January 16th, A. D. 69. The 
virtues which had shone so brightly in 
Galba, when a private man, totally dis- 
appeared when he ascended the throne. 
Sueton. Plut. — There are also many 



others of this name mentioned in ancient 
writers, but of inferior celebrity. 

Galentjs Claudius, a cele- 
brated physician in the age of M. An- 
toninus and his successors, born at Per- 
gamus : he visited the most learned se- 
minaries of Greece and Egypt; and at 
last came to Rome, where lie soon ren- 
dered himself famous by his profession. 
Tvlany, astonished at his cures, attribut- 
ed them to magic : he was very intimate 
with Marcus Aurelius, the emperor, 
after whose death he returned to Perga- 
mus, where he died in his 90th year, 
A. D. 193. He wrote no less than 300 
volumes, the greatest part of which were 
burnt in the temple of Peace at Rome, 
where they had been deposited. To 
Galen and Hippocrates the moderns are 
indebted for many useful discoveries. 

GaleoljE, Sicilian prophets. 

Galerius, a native of Dacia, 
made emperor of Rome by Diocletian. 
[Vid. Maximianus.] 

Gales us, a river of Calabria, 
flowing into the bay of Tarentum. The 
poets have celebrated it for the shady 
groves in its neighbourhood, and the 
fine sheep which fed on its fertile banks. 
Virg. Horat. — A rich person of Latiurry, 
killed as he attempted to make a recon- 
ciliation between the Trojans and Ru- 
tuiians, when Ascanius had killed the 
favorite stag of Tyrrheus ; which w T as 
the prelude to all the enmities between 
the hostile nations. Virg. 

Galil^ea, a celebrated country 
of Syria. Its principal towns were Cana, 
Chorazim, Tiberias, Capernaum, Beth- 
lehem, Zabulon, Aeon, &c. 

Galinthtadia, a festival at 
Thebes, held in honour of Galinthias, 
the daughter of Prcetus. 

Galli, a nation of Europe, 
naturally fierce, and inclined to war. 
They were so superstitious as to believe 
themselves descended from Pluto ; and 
from that circumstance they always 
reckoned their time, not by the days, 
as other nations, but by the nights. 
C<es. [Vid. Gallia.] Not only the most 
precious things, but even slaves and 
oxen, were burnt on the funeral pile. 
Children, among them, never appeared 
in the presence of their fathers, before 
they were able to bear arms in the de- 
fence of their country.— The priests of 
Cybele, who received that name from 
the river Gallus, in Phrygia, where they 
celebrated the festivals. The chief among 
them was called Archigallus. [Vid. Co- 
rybantes, Dactyli.] They mutilated 
themselves, before they were admitted 
to the priesthood, in imitation of Atys, 
the favorite of Cybele [Vid. Atys]; and 
in the celebration of their festivals they 
exhibited all the enthusiastic gestures of 
madness, accompanied by the confused 
noise of cymbals and drums. 



GAL 



GAN 



Gallia, a large country of Eu- 
rope, called Galatia by the Greeks. The 
inhabitants were called Galli, Celts, 
Celtiberi, and Celtoscythgs. Ancient 
Gaul was divided into four different 
parts by the Romans, called Gallia Bel- 
gica, Narbonensis, Aquitania, and Cel- 
tica. Besides these grand divisions, 
there is often mention made of Gallia 
Cisalpina, or Citerior; Transalpine, or 
Ulterior, which refers to that part of 
Italy which was conquered by some of 
the Gauls who crossed the Alps. By 
Gallia Cisalpina, the Romans under- 
stood that part of Gaul which lies in 
Italy ; and by Transalpine, that which 
lies beyond the Alps, in regard only to 
the inhabitants of Rome. Gallia Cispa- 
dana and Transpadana, is applied to a 
part of Italy, conquered by some of the 
Gauls, and then it means the country 
on this side of the Po,or beyond the Po, 
with respect to Rome. The inhabitants 
took the city of Rome, invaded Greece 
in different ages, and spread themselves 
over the greatest part of the world. 
They revered the sacerdotal order, as 
if they had been gods. [Vid. Druids.] 
Cassar has given a full account of them 
in Bel. Gal. and resided ten years in their 
country before he could totally subdue 
them. 

Gallicanus Mons, a moun- 
tain in Campania. 

Gallicus Ager, a country 

between Arimmum and Picenum, which 
was divided among the R.oman citizens, 
and thither the Galli Senones were ba- 
nished. 

Gallicus sinus, a part of 

the Mediterranean, on the coast of 
Gaul, now called the Gulf of Lyons. 

Galliexus, Publ. Lucinius, a 
son of the emperor Valerian, reigned 
conjointly with his father for seven 
years, and ascended the throne as sole 
emperor, A. D. 260. In his youth, he 
showed his military character, in an 
expedition against the Germans and 
Sarmatse ; but when he came to the 
purple, he delivered himself up to plea- 
sure and indolence. His time was spent 
in the greatest debauchery ; and he in- 
dulged himself in the most shameful 
voluptuousness and immorality. He 
often appeared with his hair powdered 
with golden dust ; and enjoyed tran- 
quillity at home, while his provinces 
abroad were torn by civil quarrels and 
seditions. Two of his officers at length 
revolted,and assumed the imperial pur- 
ple. This intelligence roused him,and 
he marched against the rebels, without 
showing the least favor either to rank, 
sex, or age, and put all to the sword. 
These cruelties irritated the people and 
the army; emperors were elected, and 
no less than thirty tyrants aspired to the 
imperial purple. "Galiienus resolved 
boldly to oppose his adversaries ; but 
jn the midst of his preparations, he was 



assassinated at Milan by some of his 
officers, in the 50th year of his age, 
A. D. 268. 

Gallixauia sylva, a wood 

near Cumac, remarkable for the number 
of robbers, who took refuge there. 

Gallogiuecia, a country of 
Asia Minor, near Bithynia and Cappa- 
docia, inhabited by a colony of Gauls, 
who assumed the name of Gallograeci, 
because a number of Greeks had ac- 
companied them in their emigration. 
Strab. 

Gallonius, an epicure, who 

never enjoyed a good dinner, because 
he was never hungry. 

Gall us. A name common to 

many celebrated Romans, the most di- 
stinguished of whom are the following. 
— Caius, a friend of the great Africanus, 
famous for his knowledge of astronomy , 
and his exact calculations of eclipses. 
Cic. — Cornelius, a Roman knight, who 
rendered him self famous by his poetical, 
as well as military talents." He was pas- 
sionately fond of the slave Lycoris or 
Cytheris, and celebrated her beauty in 
his poetry. She proved ungrateful, and 
forsook him, which gave occasion to 
Virgil to write his tenth eclogue. Gal- 
ius'was in the favor of Augustus, by 
whom he was appointed over Egypt. 
He became forgetful of the favors he 
received ; he pillaged the province, and 
even conspired against his benefactor, 
according to some accounts, for which 
he was banished by the emperor. This 
disgrace operated so powerfully upon 
him, that he killed himself in despair, 
A. D. 26. Some few fragments remain 
of his poetry. He particularly excelled 
in elegiac composition. Virg. &c. <kc. — 
A Roman, who assassinated Decius,the 
emperor, and raised himself to the 
throne. He showed himself indolent 
and cruel, and beheld with the greatest 
indifference the revolt of his provinces, 
and the invasion of his empire by the 
barbarians. He was at last assassinated 
by his soldiers, A. D. 253.— Flavius 
Claudius Constantinus, a brother of the 
emperor Julian, raised to the imperial 
throne under the title of Caesar, by Con- 
stantius, his relation. He conspired 
against his benefactor, and was publicly 
condemned to be beheaded, A. D. 354. 

Gamelta, a surname of Juno, 
as Gamelius was of Jupiter, on account 
of their presiding over marriages.— A 
festival privately observed at three dif- 
ferent times, in commemoration of the 
birth, marriage, and death of a person. 

Ganges, a large river of India, 
falling into the Indian ocean. It inun- 
dates 'the adjacent country in the sum- 
mer. It was held in the greatest vene- 
ration by the inhabitants, and this su- 
perstition is said to exist still in some 
particular instances. The Ganges is 
now discovered to rise in the mountains 



GAZ 



GEN 



of Thibet, and to run upwards of 2000 
miles before it reaches the sea. Strab. 
Plin. &c. 

Ganymede, a goddess, better 

known by the name of Hebe. [Vid. 
Hebe.] Pans. 

Ganymedes, a beautiful youth 
of Phrygia, son of Tros, and brother 
to Ilus aiid Assaracus, was taken up to 
heaven by Jupiter, as he was tending 
his father's flocks on mount Ida, and 
was made the cup-bearer of the gods in 
the place of Hebe. Some say that he 
was carried away by an eagle, to satisfy 
the unnatural desires of Jupiter. He is 
generally represented sittingon the back 
of a flying eagle in the air. Homer. 
Virg. &c. 

G aram antes, a people in the 
interior parts of Africa. They lived in 
common, and scarcely clothed them- 
selves, on account of the warmth of 
their climate. Virg. Strab. &c. 

Garamantis, a nymph who 
became mother of Iarbas, Fhileus, and 
Pilumnus, by Jupiter. Virg. 

Garamas, a king of Libya, 
whose daughter was mother of Ammon 
by Jupiter. 

Gar at as, an Arcadian'river,on 
the banks of which Pan had a temple. 

Gareat^e, a people of Arca- 
dia. 

Garganus, a lofty mountain 

of Apulia, which advances in the form 
of a promontory into the Adriatic sea. 
Virg. 

Gargaphia, a valley near 
Platasa, with a fountain of the same 
name, where Actaeon was torn to pieces 
by his dogs. Ovid. 

Gargara, a town of Troas, 
near mount Ida, famous for its fertility. 
Virg. 

Gargaris, a king of the Cu- 

retes, who first found the manner of 
collecting honey. Justin. 

G arge t t u s , the birth-place of 
Epicurus. 

Garumna, a river of Gaul, 
rising in the Pyrenean mountains, and 
separatingGalliaCelticafromAquitania. 
It is now called Gaionne, and falls into 
the Bay of Biscay near Bourdeaux. 

Gaugamela, a village beyond 
the Tigris, near which Alexander gained 
a third victory over Darius. 

Gaultjs and Gauleon, an 

island in the Mediterranean sea, oppo- 
site Libya. It produces no venomous 
creatures. Plin. 

Gaurus, a Campanian moun- 
tain, much celebrated for the goodness 
of its wines. 

Gaza, a famous town of Pa- 



lestine, which Alexander took after a 
siege of two months. Diod. 

Gegania, the first vestal vir- 
gin, made by Numa. 

Gel a, a town on the southern 
parts of Sicily, about 10 miles from the 
sea, built by a Cretan colony, 713 years 
B. C. The inhabitants were called G-e- 
lenses, Geloi, and Gelani. Virg. Pans. 

Gelanor, a king of Argos, 
who was deprived of his kingdom by 
Danaus the Egyptian. Pates. [ Vid. Da- 
naus.] 

Gellius, a consul who defeated 
a party of Germans, in the interest of 
Spartacus. Plut. 

Gellius Aulus, a Roman 

grammarian in the age of M. Anto- 
ninus, about 130 A. D. He published a 
work which he called Nodes Attica, 
because composed at Athens during the 
winter nights. It was originally com- 
posed for the improvement of his chil- 
dren, and abounds with many gram- 
matical remarks. 

Gelo and Gelon. The most 
celebrated of this name is a son of Di- 
nomenes, who made himself absolute at 
Syracuse, 491 years before the Christian 
era. He conquered the Carthaginians 
at Himera, and became very popular 
by his great equity and moderation. 
He reigned seven years, and his death 
was universally lamented at Syracuse. 
His brother Hiero succeeded him. Pans. 
Herodot. Szc. 

Geloi, the inhabitants of Gela 
in Sicily. Virg. 

GelOnes and Geloni, a peo- 
ple of Scythia, inured from their youth 
to labor and fatigue. They painted 
themselves to appear more terrible in 
battle. They were descended from Ge- 
lonus, a son of Hercules. Virg. &c. 

Geminius, a Roman, who was 

the inveterate enemy of Marius. Ho 
seized the person of Marius, and carried 
him to Minturnae. Plut. 

Ge minus, an astronomer and 
mathematician of Rhodes, B. C. 77. 

Geneva, an ancient, populous, 
and well fortified city in the country of 
the Allobroges, on the lake Lemanus, 
now of Geneva. The inhabitants were 
long celebrated for their love of freedom 
and independence, and for their learn- 
ing; but they have at last yielded to the 
intrigues and violence of their restless 
and powerful neighbours. 

Genius, a spirit, which, ac- 
cording to the ancients, presided over 
the birth and life of every person. Each 
person was supposed to" have two, one 
good, and the other evil ; and according 
to their different influence, his actions 
were guided. The deities which pre-, 
sided over females were calied Junones s 
15 



GER 



GIG 



and those who protected towns and coun- 
tries were ranked among the deities of 
the higher^order. [Vid. Daemon.] 

Genseric, a famous Vandal 
prince who passed from Spain to Africa., 
where he took Carthage. He laid the 
foundation of the Vandal kingdom in 
Africa, and in the course of his military 
expeditions invaded Italy, and sacked 
Rome in July, 455. 

Gentius, a king of Illyricum, 
who imprisoned the Roman ambassa- 
dors at the request of Perseus king of 
Macedonia. This offence was highly 
resented by the Romans, and Gentius 
was conquered by Anicius and led in 
triumph with his family, B. C. 169. 
Li v. 

Genua, a town of Liguria, 

destroyed by Hannibal. Rebuilt by the 
Roman?, and now called Genoa. 

Genutia lex, a law enacted 
to prevent any one from being invested 
with two offices in one year ; and from 
exercising the same magistracy within 
ten years. 

Georgica, a poem of Virgil 
in four books, in imitation of the Opem 
$ Dies of Hesiod. It is so called from 
yea terra, and spyov opus. It treats par- 
ticularly of ploughing, sowing, the raa- 
nagemen of cattle, and the treatment 
and generation of bees. The work is 
dedicated to Maecenas, the great patron 
of poetry in the age of Virgil. 

Gephyr^ei, a people of Phoe- 
nicia, who passed with Cadmus into 
Boeotia, and from thence into Attica. 
Herodot. 

Ger3I ania, an extensive coun- 
try of Europe, situate east of Gaul, from 
which it is separated by the Rhine. Its 
inhabitantswerewarlike and uncivilized, 
and always proved a watchful enemy 
against the Romans. Caesar first entered 
the countrv, but he rather checked their 
fury than conquered them. His succes- 
sors or their generals also attempted to 
chastise the insolence of the inhabitants. 
The ancient Germans were very super- 
stitious, and, in many instances, their 
religion was the same as that of their 
neighbours, the Gauls. Tacitus has de- 
lineated their manners and customs with 
the greatest nicety, and the reflection of 
a philosopher. 

GERMANicus,a name common 
in the age of the emperors, not only to 
those who had obtained victories over 
the Germans, but even to those who had 
entered Germany at the head of an 
army. The most celebrated among 
them was Germanicus Caesar, a son of 
Drusus and Antonia, the niece of Au- 
gustus. He was adopted by his uncle 
Tiberius, and raised to the most im- 
portant offices of the state. When Au- 
gustus died, he was employed in a war 
in Germany, and the affection of the 



soldiers unanimously saluted him em- 
peror. He refused this honor, continued 
his wars, and defeated the celebrated 
Arminius, and was rewarded with a tri- 
umph at his return to Rome. Tiberius 
declared him emperor of the east, and 
sent him to appease the seditions of the 
Armenians. But the success of Germa- 
nicus in the east was soon looked upon 
with an envious eye by Tiberius. He 
was secretly poisoned at Daphne by Piso, 
A. D. 19, "in the 34th year of his age. 
The news of his death was received with 
the greatest grief. He had married 
Agrippina, by whom he'had nine chil- 
dren, one of whom, Caligula, disgraced 
the name of his illustrious father. Ger- 
manicus has been commended, not only 
for his military accomplishments, but 
also for his learning, humanity, and ex- 
tensive benevolence. Sueton. 

Geryox and Geryones, a 
celebrated monster, represented by the 
poets as having three bodies and three 
heads. He lived in the island of Gades, 
where he kept numerous flocks, which 
were guarded by a two-headed dog, 
called Orthos, and by Eurythion. Her- 
cules, by order of Eurystheus, went to 
Gades, "and destroyed Geryon, &c. and 
carried away all his herds to Tirynthus. 
According to Servius, Geryon was the 
sovereign of three provinces in Spain, 
or of the three islands of Majorca, Mi- 
norca, and Ivica, from which circum- 
stance the ancients have made him a 
three-headed monster. Hesiod. Virg. &e. 

Ge t a. The most celebrated of 
this name is a son of the emperor Se- 
verus, brother to Caracalla. After his 
father's death he reigned at Rome, con- 
jointly with his brother; but Caracalla, 
who envied his virtues , ordered him to 
be poisoned ; and when this could not 
be effected, he murdered him in the 
arms of his mother Julia, A. D. 212. 
Geta had not reached the 23d year of 
his age. 

G-ETiE, a people of European 

Scythia, near the Daci. Ovid, who was 
banished in their country .describes them 
as a savage and warlike nation. 

Gigaktes, the sons of Coelus 
and Terra, who, according to Hesiod, 
sprang from the blood of the wound, 
which Ccelus received from his son Sa- 
turn. Hyginus calls them sons of Tar- 
tarus and Terra. They are represented 
as men of uncommon stature,with suita- 
ble strength. Some of them, as Cottus, 
Briareus, and Gyges, had 50 heads and 
100 arms, and serpents instead of legs. 
The defeat of the Titans incensed them 
against Jupiter, and they all conspired 
to dethrone him. The god was alarmed, 
and called all the deities to assist him. 
They heaped mount Ossa upon Pelion, 
to scale with more facility the walls of 
heaven. The gods then fled with con- 
sternation into Egypt, where they as- 
sumed the shape of different animals, 



GLA 



OLA ' 



to screen themselves from their pur- 
suers. Jupiter, however, by the advice 
of Pallas, armed his son Hercules in his 
cause, who soon put to flight and de- 
feated them. [ Fid. Enceladns, Aloides, 
Porphyrion, Typhon, Otus, Titanes, 
&c.] Homer. Virg. &c. 

Gigis, an attendant of Pary- 
satis, privy to the poisoning of Statira. 

Gindanes, a people of Libya, 
who fed on the leaves of the lotus. He- 
rodot. 

Gindes, a river of Albania, 
flowing into the Cyrus. — Another of 
Mesopotamia. Tibull. 

Gingunum, a mountain of 
Umbria. 

Gisco, son of Hamilcon the 

Carthaginian general, was banished 
from Carthage, by the influence of his 
enemies. He was afterwards recalled, 
and empowered by the Carthaginians 
to punish in what manner he pleased, 
those who had occasioned his banish- 
ment. He was satisfied to see them 
prostrate on the ground, and to place 
his foot on their neck, showing that in- 
dependence and forgiveness are two of 
the most brilliant virtues of a great 
mind. He was made a general soon 
after, in Sicily, against the Corinthians, 
about 309 years before the Christian 
sera ; and by his success and intrepidity, 
he obliged the enemies of his country 
to sue for peace. 

Gladiatorii ludi, combats 

originally exhibited on the grave of de- 
ceased persons. They were first intro- 
duced at Rome bv the Bruti, upon the 
death of their father, A. U. C. 488. It 
was supposed that the ghosts of the dead 
were rendered propitious by human 
blood, therefore at funerals it was usual 
to murder slaves in cool blood. In suc- 
ceeding ages the barbarity was covered 
by the specious show of pleasure and 
voluntary combat ; their slaves were 
permitted to kill one another. Ori- 
ginally captives, criminals, or disobe- 
dient slaves, were trained up for com- 
bat ; but when the diversion became 
more frequent, and was exhibited on 
the smallest occasion, to procure esteem 
and popularity, many of the Roman 
citizens enlisted themselves among the 
gladiators, and Nero at one show ex- 
hibited no less than 400 senators,and 600 
knights. It is supposed that there were 
no more than three pair of gladiators 
exhibited by the Bruti. Their numbers, 
however, increased with the luxury and 
power of the city : and under the em- 
perors, not only senators and knights, 
but even women engaged among the 
gladiators, and seemed to forget the in- 
feriority of their sex. These cruel sports, 
after a continuance of GOO years, were 
abolished by Constantine the Great. 
They were revived under Constantius 



and his-two successors,but Honorius for 
ever put an end to them. For a more 
detailed description of the Gladiatorii 
Ludi, the young student is referred to 
Lempri eve's Bibliotheca Classica,or Ken- 
net's Antiquities. 

Glanis, a river of Italy. — of 
Cumas. — of Iberia. 

Glanum, a town in Gaul, now 
St. Remi. 

Glafhyre and Glaphyba, 

a daughter of Archelaus, the high-priest 
of Bellona, in Cappadocia, celebrated 
for her beauty and intrigues. She ob- 
tained the kingdom of Cappadocia for 
her two sons from M . Antony, whom 
she corrupted by defiling the bed of her 
husband. Her grand-daughter bore the 
same name. She was a daughter of Ar- 
chelaus, king of Cappadocia, and mar- 
ried Alexander, a son of Herod, by 
whom she had two sons. After the 
death of Alexander, she married her 
brother-in-law Archelaus. 

Glauce, the wife of Acteeus, 
daughter of Cyehrasus. ApollocU — A 
daughter of Creon, who married Jason. 
[Vid. Creusa.]— One of the Nereides. — 
One of the Danaides. 

GLAUCIPPE, One of the Da- 
naides. 

Glaucippus, a Greek, who 

wrote a treatise concerning the sacred 
rites observed at Athens. 

Glaucopis, a surname of Mi- 
nerva, from the blueness of her eyes. 

Glaucus. Ancient writers 
have recorded many of this name, of 
whom the following are the most cele- 
brated : — A sou of Hippolochus the son 
of Bellerophon. He assisted Priam in 
the Trojan war, and had the simplicity 
to exchange his golden suit of armour 
with Diomedes for an iron one, whence 
came the proverb of Glavci et Diomedis 
pevnnttatio , to express a foolish pur- 
chase. He behaved with much courage, 
and was killed by Ajax. Homer. — A 
fisherman of Anthedon, in Bceotia, son 
of Neptune and Nais, or according to 
others, of Polybius, the son of Mercury. 
As he was fishing, he observed that all 
the fishes which he laid on the grass 
received fresh vigor as they touched 
the ground, and immediately escaped 
from him by leaping into the sea. He 
attributed the cause of it to the grass, 
and by tasting it, he found himself sud- 
denly moved with a desire of living in 
the sea. He therefore leaped into it, 
and was made a sea deity by Ocean us 
and Tethys, at the request of the gods. 
After this transformation, he became 
enamoured of the Nereid Scylla, whose 
ingratitude was severely punished by 
Circe. [Vid. Scylla.] He is represented 
with a long beard, dishevelled hair,and 
shaggy eyebrows, and with the tail of 
a fish.— A son of Sisyphus, king of Co- 



GON 



GOR 



rinth,by /Jerope, the daughter of Atlas, 
born at Potnia, a village of Bceotia. He 
prevented his mares from having any 
commerce with the stallions, in the ex- 
pectati on th at they would become swifter 
in running, upon which Venus inspired 
the mares with such fury, that they tore 
his body to pieces as he returned from 
the games whichA drastus had celebrated 
in honor of his father. He was buried 
near Potnia. Hygin. Vhg.—A son of 
Minos the 2d and Pasiphae, who was 
smothered in a cask of honey, and mi- 
raculously brought to life by means of 
an herb, which had previously been seen 
by a soothsayer, named Polyidus,to re- 
animate a serpent. Apollod. Hygin- — A 
son of Epytus,who succeeded his father 
on the throne of Messenia, about 10 
centuries before the Augustan age. He 
introduced the worship of Jupiteramong 
the Dorians, and was the first who of- 
fered sacrifices to Machaon, the son of 
jEs^ulapius. Paus. 

Glautias, a king of Illyri- 
cum, the tutor of Pyrrhus. 

Glycera, a beautiful woman, 
celebrated by Horace. — A courtezan of 
Sicyon, so skilfufin making garlands, 
that some attributed to her the inven- 
tion of them. 

Glyceritjm, a harlot of Thes- 
pis, who presented her countrymen with 
the painting of Cupid, which Praxiteles 
had given her. 

Glycol, a man remarkable for 
his strength. Horat. — A sculptor of 
Athens, to whose superior execution it 
is said that the moderns are indebted 
for the long admired statue of the Far- 
nese Hercules. 

Glympes, a town on the bor- 
ders of Messenia and Lacedemon. 

Gxatia, a town of Apulia, 
about thirty miles from Brundusium. 
Horat. 

Gxossis and G^ossiA 5 an epi- 
thet given to Ariadne, because she lived 
or was born at Gnossus. The crown 
which she received from Bacchus, and 
which was made a constellation,is called 
Gnossia Stella. Virg. 

GN0Ssus,a famous cityofCrete, 
the residence of king Minos. The name 
of Gnosbia tellus is often applied to the 
whole island. Virg. Strab. &c. 

Gobar, a Mesopotamia!! go- 
vernor, who checked the course of the 
Euphrates, that it might not run too 
rapidly through the city of Babylon. 

Gobryas, one of the seven 
Persians, who conspired against Smer- 
dis. 

Goxatas. [Vict. Antigonus.] 
Goxiades, nymphs in the 

neighbourhood of the river Cytherus. 

Strab. 



Gordijei, mountains in Ar- 
menia, where the Tigris rises, supposed 
to be the Ararat of scripture. 

Gordiaxus, M. Antonius 

Africanus, a'sonof Metius Marcellus, 
descended from Trajan by his mother's 
side, was an example of piety and vir- 
tue. He composed a poem, in 30 books, 
upon the virtues of Titus, Antoninus, 
and M. Aurelius. Having been uro- 
raoted to the praetorship, he was some 
time after elected consul, and went to 
take the government of Africa in the 
capacity of proconsul. After he had 
attained his SOth year," in the greatest 
splendor and domestic tranquillity, he 
was roused from his peaceful occupa- 
tions by the tyrannical reign of the 
Maximini, and he was proclaimed em- 
peror by the rebellious troops of his 
province. He long declined to accept 
the imperial purple, but the threats of 
immediate death gained his compliance. 
Maximinus marched against him with 
the greatest indignation : and Gordian 
sent his son, with whom he shared tire 
imperial dignity, to oppose the enemy. 
Young Gorclian, who was of an amiable 
disposition, was killed in a bloody battle 
the 25th of June, A. D. 236: and the 
father, worn out with age, and grown 
desperate on accountof his misfortunes, 
strangled himself at Carthage, before he 
had been six weeks at the head of the 
empire, A. D. 236. He was universally 
lamented by the army and people. — 
M. Antonius Pius, grandson of the first 
Gordian, was but 12 years old when he 
was honored with the title of Ca?sar. 
He was proclaimed emperor in the 16th 
year of his age, and his election was at- 
tended with universal marks of appro- 
bation. In the 18 th year of his age, he 
married Furia Sabina Tranquillina, 
daughter of Misitheus,a man celebrated 
for "his eloquence and public virtues. 
He entrusted his father-in-law with the 
most important offices, in the execution 
of which he corrected the various abuses 
which prevailed in the state, and re- 
stored the ancient discipline among the 
soldiers. Gordian conquered Sapor,king 
of Persia, who had invaded the Roman 
provinces, and took many flourishing 
cities in the east from his adversary. 
In this success the senate decreed him 
a triumph, and saluted Misitheus as the 
guardian of the republic. Gordian was 
assassinated in the east, A. D. 244, by 
the means of Philip, who usurped the 
sovereign power by murdering a "warlike 
and amiable prince. During the reign 
of Gordianus there was an uncommon 
eclipse of the sun, in which the stars 
appeared in the middle of the day. 

Gordius, a Phrygian, who, 

though originally a peasant, was raised 
to the throne, in consequence of an 
oracle given to the Phrygians, w r hich 
recommended them to give the crown 



GOR 



GRA 



to the first man they met going to the 
temple of Jupiter,muunted on a chariot. 
Thefamous Gordian Knot took its origin 
from this chariot. The knot which tied 
the yoke to the draught tree was made 
in such an artful manner ,-that the ends 
of the cords could not be perceived. 
From this circumstance, a report was 
soon spread that the empire of Asia 
was promised by the oracle to him who 
could untie the Gordian knot. Alex- 
ander, in his conquest of Asia, passed 
by Gordium ; and as he wished to inspire 
his soldiers with courage, and make his 
enemies believe that he was born to 
conquer Asia, he cut the knot with his 
sword ; and asserted that the oracle was 
really fulfilled., and that his claims to 
universal empire were fully justified. 
Justin. Curt. 

Gorge, a daughter of (Eneits, 
king of Calydon, by Althaea, daughter 
of Thestius.' She married Andremon,by 
whom she had Oxilus, who headed the 
Heraclidae when they made an attempt 
upon Peloponnesus. Pirns. Ovid. 

Gorgias. The most celebrated 
of this name is a sophist and orator, 
surnamed Leontinus, because born at 
Leontium, in Sicily. Ke was sent by 
his countrymen to solicit the assistance 
o f the Athenians against the S yracusans, 
and was successful in his embassy. 
He lived to his 108th year, and died 
B. C. 400. 

Gor.go, the wife of Leonidas, 
king of Sparta, &c. — The name of the 
ship which carried Ferseus, after he had 
conquered Medusa. 

Gorgoxes, three celebrated 
sisters, daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. 
Their names were Stheno, Euryale.and 
Medusa, all immortal except Medusa. 
According to the mycologists, their 
hairs were in twined with serpents, their 
hands were brass, their body was co- 
vered with impenetrable scales, and 
their teeth were as long as the tusks of 
a wild boar, and they turned to stones 
all those on whom they fixed their eyes. 
Mythologists differ in their accounts of 
them. They were conquered by Per- 
seus, who, it is said, was furnished with 
weapons by different deities, which he 
afterwards returned to them. The head 
of Medusa remained in his hands ; and 
after he had finished his laborious ex- 
peditions, he gave it to Minerva, who 
placed it on her cegis, with which she 
turned into stones all such as fixed their 
eyes upon it. It is said, that after the 
conquest of the Gorgons, Perseus took 
his flight in the air towards ^Ethiopia ; 
and that the drops of blood which fell 
to the ground from Medusa's head were 
changed into serpents, which have ever 
since infested the sandy desertsof Libya. 
The horse Pegasus also arose from the 
blood of Medusa, as well as Chrysaor 
with his golden sword. Hesiod fixed th3 



residence of the Gorgons in the west ; 
MsctiffiusinScythia.; and Ovid in Libya, 
near the lake Triton. 

Gorgonxa, a surname of Pal- 
las, from the Gorgon Medusa. r L Vid. 
Gorgones.] 

Gorgophoxe, a daughter of 
Perseus and Andromeda, who married 
Perieres, king of Messenia. After the 
death of Perieres, she married (Ebalus, 
She is the first whom the mythologists 
mention as having had asecond husband. 
Pans. Apollod. 

Gorgophora, a surname of 

Minerva, from her aegis, on which was 
the head of the Gorgon Medusa. 

Gorgus. The most remarkable 
of this name is the son of Aristomenes, 
the Messenian. He was married, when 
young, to a virgin by his father, who 
had experienced the greatest marks of 
kindness from her humanity, and had 
been enabled to conquer seven Cre- 
tans who had attempted his life, ^c. 
Paus. — A mineralogist, who was of es- 
sential service to Alexander. 

Gqrtyn,Gortys, and Gor- 

TYNA, an inland town of Crete. On 
the inhabitants of this town Hannibal 
practised the curious artifice,mentioned 
by Cornelius Nepps and other writers. 

Got t hi, a celebrated nation of 
Germany, called also Gothones, Gu- 
tones, Gythones, and Guttones. They 
were warriors by profession, extended 
their power over all parts of the world, 
and chiefly directed their arms against 
the Roman empire. Their first attempt 
was on the provinces of Greece, whence 
they were driven by Constantine. They 
plundered Rome under Alarie, one of 
their most celebrated kings, A. D. -101, 
and finally introduced disorders, an- 
archy, and revolutions in the west of 
Europe. Tacit. 

Gracchus, T. Sempronius, fa- 
ther of Tiberius and Caius Gracchus, 
was twice consul, and once censor. He 
made war in Gaul, and met with much 
success in Spain. He married Sem- 
pronia, of the family of the Scipios, 
a woman of great virtue. Their sons, 
Tiherius and Caius, under the watchful 
eye of their mother, renderedthem selves 
famous for an obstinate attachment to 
the interests of the populace, which at 
last proved fatal to them. With a win- 
ning eloquence, and uncommon popu- 
larity, Tiberius began to renew the 
Agrarian law, which, by the means of 
violence, was enacted. \Yid. Agraria.] 
Being himself appointed one of the com- 
rnissionersfor putting thelawinto execu- 
tion, he was assassinated in the office by 
Pub. Nasica ; and Caius, after his death, 
with more vehemence, but less modera- 
tion, endeavoured to carry the law into 
effect. This in the end increased the 
sedition, and he was murdered by order 



GRJE 



GRA 



of the consul Opimius, B. C. 121, about 
13 years after the unfortunate end of 
Tiberius. His body was thrown into 
the Tiber. Caius has been accused of 
having murdered Scipio Africanus the 
younger. Pint. Cic. &c. — Sempronius, 
a Roman, banished to the coast of 
Africa for his adulteries with Julia, the 
daughter of Augustus. He was assassi- 
nated by order of Tiberius, after he had 
been banished 14 years. Julia also 
shared his fate. Tacit. — There were 
others also of this name, but of inferior 
note. 

Guadivus, a surname of 

Mars among the Romans, perhaps from 
xpa5ft,m:v, to brandish a spear. Though 
he had a temple without the walls of 
Rome, and though Numa had esta- 
blished the Salii in his honor, yet his 
favorite residence was supposed to be 
among the fierce and savage Thracians 
and Getas, over whom he particularly 
presided. Horn. Virg. 

GRiECi, the inhabitants of 
Greece. 

Gr^ecia, a celebrated country 

of Europe, bounded on the west by the 
Ionian sea, south by the Mediterranean, 
east by the ^Egean, and north by 
Thrace and Dalmatia. It is generally 
divided into four large provinces ; Ma- 
cedonia, Epirus, . A ohaia, 01 Hellas, and 
Peloponnesus. This country has been 
reckoned superior to every other part 
of the earth, on account of its salubrity 
and temperature, and, above all, the 
learning and arts of its inhabitants. 
The Greeks have severally been called 
Achasans, Argians, Danai, Dolopes, 
Hellenes, Tones, Myrmidones, and Pe- 
lasgi. The most celebrated of their 
cities were Athens, Sparta, Argos, Co- 
rinth, Thebes, Sicyon, Mycenae, Del- 
phi, &c. The inhabitants supported 
that they wei e born from the very earth 
where they dwelt : and they heard with 
contempt their origin traced among the 
first inhabitants of Asia, and the colo- 
nies of Egypt. In the first ages, the 
Greeks were governed by monarchs ; 
but the monarchical power gradually 
decreased, and the love of liberty esta- 
blished the republican government ; 
and no part of Greece, except Macedo- 
nia, remained in the hands of an abso- 
lute sovereign. The expedition of the 
Argonauts first, and, in the succeeding 
age, the wars of Thebes and Troy, gave 
opportunity to their heroes and demi- 
gods to display their valor in the field 
of battle. The establishment of the 
Olympic games, and the noble reward 
of "the conqueror, which was a laurel 
crown, contributed not a little to their 
aggrandizement. The austerity of their 
laws, and the education of their youth, 
particularly at Lacedaemon, rendered 
them brave and active, insensible to 
bodily pain, fearless and intrepid in the 
time of danger. The celebrated battles 



of Marathon, Thermopylae, baiamis, 
Plataea, and Mycale, sufficiently show 
what superiority the courage of a little 
army can obtain over millions of undis- 
ciplined barbarians. After many signal 
victories over the Persians, they be- 
came elated with their success; and 
then began to turn their arms one 
against the other. While the Greeks 
rendered themselves so illustiious by 
their military exploits, the arts and 
sciences were highly cultivated. The 
labors of the learned were received with 
admiracion, and the merit of a compo- 
sition was determined by the applause 
or disapprobation of a multitude. Their 
generals were orators ; and eloquence 
seemed to be connected with the mili- 
tary profession : their language became 
almost universal, and their country was 
the receptacle of the youths of the 
neighbouring states, where they im- 
bibed the principles of liberty and moral 
virtue. The Greeks planted many co- 
lonies, and totally peopled the western 
coasts of Asia Minor. In the eastern 
parts of Italy there were also many set- 
tlements made; and the country re- 
ceived from its Greek inhabitants the 
name of Magna Graecia. 

Gr^ecia magna, a part of 
Italy, where the Greeks planted colo- 
nies, whence its name. Its boundaries 
are uncertain. Strab. &c. 

GBJECi:Nrus,a Roman senator, 

put to death by Caligula, because he 
refused to bring accusations against Se- 
janus. 

Grjecus, a person from whom 

Aristotle says Greece derived its name. 

Gr JiiE, winged monsters, 
daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They 
were two in number, and received their 
name from the whiteness of their hair. 
According to some authors they had 
but one eye and one tooth between 
them both, which they lent reciprocally 
to each other, and from this circum- 
stance probably they have been con- 
founded with the Gorgons. Msvhyh 
Hesiod. &c 

Grampitjs Mons, mountains 
of Caledonia, now called the Gram- 
pians. 

Granicus, a river of Bithy- 

nia, famous for a battle fought there 
between the armies of Alexander and 
Darius, 22d May, B. C. 334, when 
000,000 Persians were defeated by 30,000 
Macedonians. Diod. Plut. &c. 

Granius Petronius, one 

of Caesar's officers, who refused quar- 
ter, because he said, Caesar's soldiers 
were accustomed to grant life, not to re- 
ceive it. — A questor, whom Sylla or- 
dered to be strangled : but he died a 
natural death the day after the sentence 
was passed. 



GRY 



GYM 



Gratis, three goddesses. [ Vid. 
Charites.] 

Gratiaxus, a native of Pan- 
nonia, father to the emperor Valen- 
tinian 1st, was raised to the throne, 
conjointly with his father, though only 
eight years old ; and afterwards became 
sole emperor, in the 16th year of his 
age : he took, as his colleague, Theo- 
dosius, whom he appointed over the 
eastern parts of the empire : his courage 
in the field is as remarkable as his love 
of learning, and fondness of philoso- 
phy : he slaughtered 30,000 Germans in 
a battle, and supported the tottering 
state by his prudence and intrepidii y : 
his- enmity to the pagan superstition "of 
his subjects ultimately proved his ruin : 
he was forsaken by his troops in the 
field of battle, fighting against Maximi- 
nus in Gaul, and murdered by the re- 
bels, A. D. 383, in the 24th year of his 
age. — A Roman soldier, invested with 
the purple by the rebellious army in 
Britain, in opposition to Honorius : he 
was assassinated four months after, by 
those very troops to whom he owed his 
elevation, A. D. 407 • 

Gration, a giant, killed by- 
Diana. 

Gratius Faliscus, a Latin 

poet, contemporary with Ovid: he wrote 
a poem on coursing, called Cynegeticon , 
much commended for its elegance and 
perspicuity. It consisted of 540 heroic 
verses, and was often compared to the 
Georgics of Virgil. 

Gravii, a people of Spain. 

Gravtsce, a maritime town of 
Etruria, which assisted ^Eneas against 
Turnus. The air was unwholesome, on 
account of the marshes and stagnant 
waters in its neighbourhood. Virg* 

Gregorius, a name common 
to three bishops of the primitive church, 
all celebrated for their theological know- 
ledge and writings. One of them is au- 
thor of the Nicene creed. 

Grosphtjs, a man distinguish- 
ed as much for his probity as his riches, 
to whom Horace addressed 2 Od. 16. 

Grubii, a people of Gaul, in- 
habiting that part of it, in which now 
stand Tournay or Bruges. 

Gryllus, a son of Xenophon, 
who killed Epaminondas, and was him- 
self slain at the battle of Mantinea, 
B. C. 363 : his father, upon receiving 
the news of his death, observed that 
it ought to be celebrated with every 
demonstration of joy, rather than of 
lamentation. Aristot.—One of the com- 
panions of Ulysses, changed into a swine 
by Circe. 

Gryneum and Grynium, a 

town near Clazomenae, where Apollo 
had a temple with an oracle, on account 
of which he is called Grynceus. Strab. 



Gryneus, one of the Centaurs 

who fought against the Lapithas, and 
was killed with the horns of a stag, after 
he had crushed to pieces Broteas and 
Orion with a ponderous altar. Ovid* 
Met. 

Gyarus and Gyaros, an 

island in the /Egean sea, near Delos. 
The Romans were wont to transport 
their culprits there. Ovid. 

Gyas. The most remarkable 
of this name is one of the companions 
of JEneas, who distinguished himself at 
the games exhibited after the death of 
Anchises in Sicily. Virg. 

Gyges or GyesI The most 
celebrated of this name are the follow- 
ing.— A son of Coelus and Terra , repre- 
sented as having an hundred hands : he, 
with his brothers, made war against the 
gods, and was afterwards punished in 
Tartarus. Ovid. — A Lydian, to whom 
Candaules,king of the country, showed 
his wife naked. The queen was so in- 
censed at this instance of imprudence 
and infirmity in her husband, that she 
ordered Gyges either to prepare for 
death himself, or to murder Candaules. 
He chose the latter, and married the 
queen, and ascended the vacant throne, 
about 718 years before the Christian era. 
He was the first of the Mermnada? who 
reigned in Lydia : he reigned 38 years, 
and distinguished himself by the im- 
mense presents which he made to the 
oracle at Delphi. Herodot. 

Gylippus, a Lacedaemonian, 
sent B. C. 414 by his countrymen to as- 
sist Syracuse against the Athenians : lie 
obtained a celebrated victory over Ni- 
cias and Demosthenes, and obliged 
them to surrender. After the capture 
of Athens by Lysander, he was intrust- 
ed by the conqueror with the money 
taken in the plunder, to convey it to 
Sparta, but he had the meanness to un- 
sew the bottom of the bags which con- 
tained it, and secreted about 300 talents : 
his theft was discovered ; and, to avoid 
the punishment which he deserved, he 
fled from his country, and tarnished the 
glory of his victorious actions. This, 
since the establishment of the laws of 
Lycurgus, was the first instance of any 
Spartan being infected by a corrupt de- 
sire of money. Plut. &c. 

Gymnasia, a large city near 

Colchis. Diod* 

Gymnasium, from yvjuvof, 

nudusy because the athletes w r ere usually 
naked, was a place among the Greeks 
where all the public exercises were per- 
formed, and where not only wrestlers 
and dancers exhibited, but also philoso- 
phers, poets, and rhetoricians repeated 
their compositions. The laborious ex- 
ercises of the Gymnasium were running, 
leaping, throwing the quoit, wrestling, 
and boxing, which was called by the 



HAL 



HAL 



Greeks irevra^Xov, and by the Romans 
quinquertia. 

GtYmnesije, two islands near 

the Iberusin the Mediterranean, called 
Baleares by the Greeks. Plin. &e. 

Gymnetes, a people of 
^Ethiopia, whom Pliny represents as 
living almost without clothing. 

Gymxo sophists, a certain 
sect of philosophers in India, who, ac- 
cording to some, placed their summum 
bonum in pleasure, and their mmmufu 
malum in pain. They lived naked, as 
their name implies, and for 37 years 
they exposed themselves in the open air 
to the heat of the sun, the inclemency 
of the seasons, and the coldness of the 
night. Alexander condescended to visit 
them, and was astonished at the sight 
of a sect who despised bodily pain, and 
inured themselves to suifer the greatest 



tortures. [ Vid. Calanus.] The Brach- 
mans were a branch of the sect of the 
Gymnosophista?. [Vid. Brachmaues.l 
Strab. Civ. 

Gyxdes, a river of Assyria, 

falling into the Tigris. When Cyrus 
the Great marched against Babylon, his 
army was stopped by this river, in 
which one of his favorite horses was 
drowned. This so irritated the mon- 
arch, that he ordered the river to be 
conveyed into 360 different channels by 
his army, so that after this division it 
hardly reached the knee. Herodot. 

Gyxjecothgexas, a name 
given to Mars on account of the women 
offering him sacrifices at Tesrea. 

Gytheum, a town of Laconia, 
in Peloponnesus, built by Hercules and 
Apollo, who had there" desisted from 
their quarrels. 



HAL 

Habis, a king of Spain, who 

first taxight his subjects agriculture. 
Justin. 

Hadrian us, a Roman empe- 
ror. [Vid. Adrianus.]— C. Fabius, a 
praetor in Africa, who was burnt by the 
people of Utica for conspiring with the 
slaves. Cic. Ver. 

Hadrlaticlm mare, the 

Adriatic sea. 

H^emox, a Theban youth, son 
of Creon, who was so captivated with 
the beauty of Antigone, that he killed 
himself on her tomb, when he heard 
that she had been put to death by his 
father's orders. Pfopert.—A. Rutu'lian, 
engaged in the wars of Turnus. Virg. 
— A friend of iEneas against Turnus : he 
was a native of Lycia. 1A. 

ELesius, a mountain which se- 
parates Thrace from Thessaly. It re- 
ceives its name from Hasmus", son of 
Boreas and Orithyia, who was changed 
into this mountain for aspiring to di- 
vine honors. Ovid. 

Kal^sus and Halesus, a son 

of Agamemnon by Briseis or Clytem- 
nestra. When he was driven from home, 
he came to Italy, and settled on mount 
Massieus, in Campania, and afterwards 
assisted Turnus against ^Eneas : he was 
killed by Pallas. Virg. — A river near 
Colophon, in Asia Minor. Plin. 

Halcyone. [Vid. Alcyone.] 
Halesitjs, a mountain and 
river near iEtna, where Proserpine w r as 1 
gathering flowers when she was carried j 
away by Pluto. Colum. 



HAL 



Hal i a, one of the Nereides 
Hal i ac mo x, a river which se- 
parates Thessaly from Macedonia, and 
falls into the Sinus Thermaicus. Cess. 

Plin. &c. 

Haliartus, a town of Boeo- 

tia, founded by Haliartus, the son of 
Thersander. The monuments of Pan- 
dion, king of Athens, and Lysander, 
the Lacedaemonian ereneral, were seen in 
that town. Strab. Li v. 

Halicarxassus, a maritime 
city of Caria, in Asia Minor, where the 
mausoleum, one of the seven wonders 
of the world, was erected. It was the 
residence of the sovereigns of Caria. It 
is celebrated for having given birth to 
Herodotus, Dionysius, Heraclitus, &c 

Haltcy^e, a town near Lily- 
basum, now Saleme, in Sicily. 

Halirrhotius, a son of 

Neptune, who ravished Alcippe, daugh- 
ter of Mars, because she slighted his 
addresses. This violence offended Mars, 
and he killed the ravisher. Xeptune 
cited Mars to appear before the tribunal 
of justice, to answer for the murder of 
his son. [Vid. Areopagites.] Apollod. 
&c. 

Halithersus, an old man, 

who foretold to Penelope's suitors the 
return of Ulysses, and their own de- 
struction. Homer. 

H alius, a son of Alcinous, 
famous for his skill in dancing. — A 
Trojan, who came with iEneas into 
Italy, where he was killed by Turnus. 
Virg, 



HAR 



HAR 



Halonnesus, an island in the 

iEgean sea, near Thrace. It was inha- 
bited only by women, who had slaugh- 
tered all the males. Mela. 

Halotus, an eunuch, who 
used to taste the meat of Claudius : he 
poisoned the emperor's food by order of 
Agrippina. Tacit. 

Hal ys, a river of Asia Minor, 
rising in Cappadocia and falling into 
the Euxine sea, famous for the defeat of 
Croesus, king of Lydia, by Cyrus the 
Great. Croesus unfortunately passed the 
Halys, in consequence of an ambiguous 
answer of an oracle : 

If Croisns passes over the Halys, he shall 

destroy a great empire. 
That empire was his own. Herodot. 

Hamadryades, nymphs who 

presided over trees, with which they 
lived and died. The word is derived 
from a/* £ ? simul, and ^f 5 quercus. 
Virg. Ovid. 

Hamilcar. [Vid. Amilcar.] 
Hammok. [Vid. Amnion ] 
Hai*niral. [Vid. Annibal.] 
Hanno. [Vid. Anno.] 
Harcalo, a person, who ren- 
dered himself remarkable for touching 
the most venemous reptiles without in- 
jury : aud for his accurate knowledge 
of poisonous herbs. 

Harmouius. [ Vid. Aristogi- 
ton.] 

Harm 6ni a, a daughter of 

Mars and Venus, who married Cadmus. 
Vulcan, to revenge the infidelity of her 
mother, made her a present of a vest- 
ment dyed in all sorts of crimes, which 
inspired all the children of Cadmus with 
impiety. Pans. 

Harmonides, a Trojan, be- 
loved by Minerva: he built the ships 
in which Paris carried away Helen. 
Homer. 

Harpagus, a general of Cy- 
rus : he conquered Asia Minor after he 
had revolted from Astyages, who had 
cruelly forced him to eat the flesh of 
his son, because he had disobeyed his 
orders in not killing the infant Cyrus. 
Herodot. 

Harp Alice. [Vid. Harpa- 

lyce.] 

Harpaliokt, a son of Pyhe- 
menes, king of Paphlagonia, killed by 
Merion. Homer II. 

Harp alus. The most remark- 
able of this name is a man entrusted 
with the treasures of Babylon by Alex- 
ander : his hopes that Alexander would 
perish in his expedition rendered him 



negligent and vicious. When he heard 
that the conqueror was returning, he 
fled to Athens, where he corrupted the 
orators, among whom was Demosthe- 
nes : he escaped with impunity to Crete, 
where he was at last assassinated by 
Thimbron, B. C. 325. Plut.—A cele- 
brated astronomer of Greece, 480 years 
B. C. 

Harpalyce, the daughter of 

Harpalycus, king of the Amymneans, 
in Thrace : her father fed her with the 
milk of cows and mares, and inured her 
early to sustain the fatigues of hunting. 
When her father's kingdom was inva- 
ded by Neoptolemus, she defeated the 
enemy with manly courage. The death 
of her father, which happened soon 
after, rendered her disconsolate; she 
fled society, and lived in the forests 
upon plunder. Every attempt to secure 
her proved fruitless, till her great swift- 
ness was overcome by intercepting her 
with a net. After her death they ap- 
peased her manes by proper oblations 
on her tomb. Virg. Hygin. — A beauti- 
ful virgin, daughter of Clymenus and 
Epicaste of Argos t her father became 
enamoured of her, and enjoyed her 
company. Some time after she married 
Alastor, who was put to death by her 
father. Harpalyce, inconsolable for the 
death of her husband, and ashamed of 
her father's passion, resolved to revenge 
her wrongs. She killed her younger 
brother, and served it before her faf her. 
She was changed into an owl, upon her 
entreaties of the gods, and Clymenus 
killed himself. Hygin. 

Harpocrates, a divinity, 
supposed to be the same as Orus the son 
of I sis, among the Egyptians : he pre- 
sided over silence, and the Romans 
placed his statues at the entrance of the 
temples : he is represented as holding 
one of his fingers on his mouth. # 

Harpocration, a philoso- 
pher of Argos, whom Stobasus is sup- 
posed to have compiled his Eclogues. 

Harpyi^s, winged monsters, 
were daughters of Neptune and Terra, 
who had the face of a woman, the body 
of a vulture, and their feet and fingers 
armed with sharp claws. They were 
three in number, Aello, Ocypete, and 
Celeno. They were sent by Juno to 
plunder the tables of Phineus, whence 
they were driven to the islands called 
Strophades, by Zethes and Calais. They 
emitted an infectious smell, and spoiled 
whatever they touched by their filth. 
They plundered /Eneas during his voy- 
age towards Italy, and Celeno predicted 
many of the calamities which attended 
him. Virg. Hesiod. 

Harudes, a people of Ger- 
many. 

Haruspex, a soothsayer at 
Rome, who drew omens by consulting 



HEC 



HEC 



the entrails of beasts that were sacri- 
ficed : he received the name o(Aruspex, 
ab arts aspiciendis, and that of Extispex, 
ah extis inspicienclis. The order of Aru- 
spices was first established at Rome by 
Romulus. The first Aruspices were 
Tuscans, who received all their know- 
ledge from a boy named Tages, who, as 
was commonly reported, sprang from a 
clod of earth. [Vid. Tages.] — For a mi- 
nute description of the office of the 
Aruspices, and the manner in which 
they collected the omens, &c. the young 
student is referred to Lempriere's Dic- 
tionary, or Kennet's Antiquities. 
Hasdrubal. [Vid, Asdrubal.] 
Haterius, A grip pa, a se- 
nator, whom Tiberius assassinated for 
the independence of his mind. 

Hebe, a daughter of Jupiter 
and Juno, and according to some, of 
Juno only, who conceived her after eat- 
ing lettuces. As she was fair, and al- 
ways in the bloom of youth, she was 
called the goddess of youth, and made, 
by her mother, cup-bearer to all the 
gods. Ganymedes, however, succeeded 
her as cup-bearer, in consequence of her 
having fallen when she was serving the 
nectar. She was employed by heriuo- 
ther to prepare her chariot, and to 
harness her peacocks whenever requi- 
site. When Hercules was raised to the 
rank of a god, he married Hebe, by 
whom he had two sons, Alexiares and 
Anicetus. As Hebe had the power of 
restoring gods and men to the vigor of 
youth, she, at the instance of her hus- 
band, performed that kind office to Tolas 
his friend. She is represented as a young 
virgin crowned with flowers, and array- 
ed in a variegated garment. In Greece 
she was worshipped under the name of 
Dia and Juventas. Homer, Pindar, 
Hesiod, &c. 

Hebrus, a river of Thrace, 

which was supposed to roll its waves 
upon golden sands. It falls into the 
^Egean sea. The head of Orpheus was 
thrown into it, after it had been cut off 
by the Ciconian women. Strab. Virg. 
—A friend of iEneas, son of Dolichaon, 
killed by Mezentius in the Rutuiian 
war. Vi/g. 

He c ale, an old woman of 
Attica, who received Theseus with ho- 
spitality, when he was going against 
the bull of Marathon. 

Hecalesia, a festival in honor 
of Jupiter of Hecale, instituted by The- 
seus, or in commemoration of the kind- 
ness of Hecale, which Theseus had ex- 
perienced when he went against the bull 
of Marathon, &c. 

Hecajjede, a daughter of Ar- 
sinous, who fell to the lot of Nestor 
after the plunder of Tenedos by the 
Greeks. Homer. 

Hecate, a daughter of Perses 
and Asteria, the same as Proserpine or 



Diana. She was called Luna in heaven, 
Diana on earth, and Hecate or Proser- 
pine in hell, whence her name of Diva 
triformis, tergemina, triceps. She v. as 
supposed to preside over magic and en- 
chantments. Dogs, lambs, and honey 
were generally offered to her, especially 
in cross roads, whence she obtained the 
name of Trivia : her power was extend- 
ed over heaven, the earth, s&a, and 
hell. 

He cat esi a, a yearly festival 

observed by the Stratonicensians in ho- 
nor of Hecate. The Athenians paid also 
particular worship to this goddess, who 
was deemed the patroness of families 
and of children. 

He cat o, a pupil of Panastius, 

and author of a work on the duties of 
man. 

HECATOMBiEus, a surname to 
Jupiter, Neptune, and Apollo, as like- 
wise that of Hecatombsea to Juno, be- 
cause Hecatombs were peculiarly offer- 
ed to their divinity. The festival in ho- 
nor of Juno was celebrated on the first 
of July, whence that month was called 
Hecatombceon. 

Hecatomboia, from Uoltov 
and £ovSj a sacrifice of an hundred 
oxen, a festival celebrated in honor of 
Juno, by the Argians and people of 
iEgina. 

Hecatomphonia, a solemn 

sacrifice offered by the Messenians to 
Jupiter when any of them had killed an 
hundred enemies. 

Hecatompolis, an epithet 

given to Crete, from the hundred cities 
which it once contained. 

Hecatompylos, an epithet 

applied to Thebes, in Egypt, on ac- 
count of its hundred gates. 

Hecatounesi, a collection of 

small islands between Lesbos and the 
continent of Asia. 

Hector, a son of king Priam 
and Hecuba, the most valiant of all the 
Trojan chiefs that fought against the 
Greeks. He married Andromache, the 
daughter of Eetiou, by whom he had 
Astyanax. He was appointed chief com- 
mander of all the Trojan forces, when 
Troy was besieged by the Greeks. He 
engaged with the bravest of the Greeks 
in the different actions. When Achilles 
had driven back the Trojans towards 
the city, Hector waited the approach of 
his enemy near the Scsean gates. The 
sight of Achilles, however, terrified 
him, and he fled before him in the 
plain. The Greek pursued, and Hector 
was killed, and his body was dragged m 
cruel triumph by the conqueror round 
the tomb of Patroclus. Old Priam, after 
the greatest insults had been offered to 
the corpse, ransomed it. The epithet 
of Hecioreus is applied by the poets to 
the Trojans, as best expressive of valor 



HEG 



HEL 



and intrepidity. The Thebans boasted 
in the age of tiie geographer Pausanias 
that they had the ashes of Hector pre- 
served in an urn, by order of an oracle ; 
which promised them undisturbed feli- 
city if they were in possession of that 
hero's remains. 

Hecuba, daughter of Dymas a 
Phrygian prince, or according to others, 
of Cisseis, a Thracian king, was the 
second wife of Priam, king of Troy. 
When pregnant of Paris, she dreamed 
she had brought forth a torch, which 
had reduced all Troy to ashes. The 
soothsayers declared that the son she 
should bring into the world would prove 
the ruin of his country. When Paris 
was born, she exposed him on mount 
Ida to avert the calamities threatened ; 
but the prediction of the soothsayers 
was eventually fulfilled. [Vid. Paris.] 
After having had the misfortune to see 
the greatest part of her children perish 
by the hands of the enemy, she, when 
Troy was taken, fell to the lot of Ulys- 
ses, one of the captors. She sailed for 
Greece, and in her voyage found on the 
Thracian coast the body of her son Po- 
lydorus, who had perished by the cruelty, 
of Polymnestor, king of Thrace. She" 
attempted to revenge the death of her 
son, but was prevented by being sud- 
denly changed into a bitch. After this 
metamorphosis, it is said she threw her- 
self into the sea. Ovid. Hygih. Virg. 

Hegemon, a Thasian poet, 
in the age of Alcibiades. He wrote a 
poem called Gigantomachia, besides 
other works. Milan. 

He ge si an ax, an historian of 
Alexandria, who wrote an account of 
the Trojan war. 

Hegesias. The most remark- 
able of this name is a philosopher who 
so eloquently convinced his auditors of 
their failings and follies, and that there 
were no dangers after death, that many 
were guilty of suicide. Ptolemy forbade 
him to continue his doctrines. — An his- 
torian of Magnesia, who asserted that 
the burning of Diana's temple ought 
not to excite wonder, since the goddess 
was then assisting at the birth of Alex- 
ander. Cic. Pint. 

Hegesilochus, one of the 
chief magistrates of Rhodes in the age 
of Alexander and his father Philip. — 
Another native of Rhodes, 171 years be- 
fore the Christian ae: a. He engaged his 
countrymen to prepare a fleet of 40 ships 
to assist the Romans against Perseus 
king of Macedonia. 

Hegesinous, an Athenian, 
author of a poem on Attica. 

He ge sinus, a philosopher of 
Pergamus, of the second academy. He 
flourished B. C, 193. 

Hegesipyle, a daughter of 
Olorus, king of Thrace, who married 



Miltiades, and became mother of Ci- 
mon. Plut. 

Hegesistratus, an Ephe- 
sian, who consulted the oracle to know 
in what particular place he should fix 
his residence. He was directed to settle 
where lie found peasants dancing with 
crowns of olives. This was in Asia, 
where he founded Elea, &c« 

Hegetoejdes, a Thasian, 

who, upon seeing his country besieged 
by the Athenians, and a law forbidding 
any one, on pain of death, to speak of 
peace, went to the market-place with a 
rope about his neck, and boldly told 
his countrymen to treat him as they 
pleased, provided they saved the city 
from the calamities which the continu- 
ation of the war seemed to threaten. 
The Thasians were awakened, the law 
was abrogated, and Hegetorides pardon- 
ed, &c. Poly an. 

Helena, the most celebrated 

beauty of her age, sprang from one of 
the eggs which Leda, the wife of Tyn- 
darus, brought forth after her amour 
with Jupiter metamorphosed into a 
swan. \_Vid. Leda.] Her beauty was so 
admired, even in infancy, that Theseus , 
with his friend Pirithous, carried her 
away before she had attained her loth 
year, and concealed her at Aphidnse ; 
but her brothers,, Castor and Pollux, re- 
covered her, and she returned unpol- 
luted to Sparta. This violence offered 
to her virtue rather augmented her 
fame, and her hand was eagerly solicit- 
ed by many of the young princes of 
Greece. At length all the suitors agreed 
by oath to abide by the uninfluenced 
choice which Helen herself should 
make, and also to unite, in order to de- 
fend her if any attempt was made to 
force her from her husband. Helen then 
fixed upon Menelaus, and married him. 
Hermione was the early fruit of this 
union. After this, Paris, son of Priam, 
came to Lacedasmon on pretence of sa- 
crificing to Apollo. He was kindly re- 
ceived by Menelaus, but shamefully in 
his absence in Crete, corrupted the fide- 
lity of his wife Helen, and persuaded 
her to follow him to Troy, B. C. 1198. 
At his return, Menelaus, highly sensi- 
ble of the injury, assembled the Grecian 
princes, and reminded them of their so- 
lemn promises. They resolved to make 
war against the Trojans; butpreviously 
sent ambassadors to Priam to demand 
the restitution of Helen, but received 
no satisfactory answer. Soon after their 
return, their combined forces assembled 
and sailed for the coast of Asia. Au- 
thors have differed much with respect 
to her conduct while at Troy. After 
the death of Paris she married Deipho- 
bus, whom she betrayed, in order to in- 
gratiate herself with Menelaus. She re- 
turned to Sparta with Menelaus, who 
pardoned all her errors. Some assert 
that she had willingly followed Paris, 



HEL 



HEL 



and that she warmly supported the 
cause of the Trojans ; while others be- 
lieve that she secretly favored the cause 
of the Greeks, always sighed after her 
husband, and cursed, the day in which 
she had proved faithless to his bed. Ho- 
rner represents her as in the last in- 
stance. After she had lived some years 
at Sparta, Menelaus died, and she was 
driven from Peloponnesus by Mega- 
penthes and Nicostratus, the" illegiti- 
mate sons of her husband. She retired 
to Rhodes, where Polyxo, a native of 
Argos, who reigned over the country, 
caused her to be tied to a tree and 
strangled. Herodotus mentions a tradi- 
tion, that Paris, on his return from 
Sparta, was driven on the coast of 
Egypt, where Helen was detained by 
Proteus, king of the country, in conse"- 
quence of his ingratitude to" Menelaus. 
Helen was honored after death as a god- 
dess, and the Spartans built her a tem- 
ple at Therapne, which had power of 
giving beauty to all the deformed wo- 
men that entered it. Homer. Apollod. 
Herodot, &c. — A young woman of Spar- 
ta, often confounded with the daughter 
of Leda. As she was going to be sacri- 
ficed, because the lot had fallen upon 
her, an eagle came and carried away the 
knife of the priest, upon which she was 
released, and the barbarous custom of 
offering human victims was abolished. 
— The mother of Constantine the Great. 
She was born at Dropanum in Bifhy- 
nia, wiiere she was engaged in the ob- 
scure employment of inn-keeper. Con- 
stantius Clorus saw, and loved her, but 
his marriage with her was some time 
after followed by a divorce, when he 
was elevated to "the imperial dignity. 
When Constantine succeeded to the 
purple, he drew her from her obscurity, 
and the liberality of her conduct, and 
the humanity of her character, merited 
the high rank which she afterwards held 
in the empire. 

HelE-NTIa, a festival in Laco- 
nia, m honor of Helen, who received 
there divine honors. 

Helen or, a Lydian prince 
who accompanied iEneas to Italy, and 
was killed by the Rutulians. His mo- 
ther's name was Licymnia. 

Helenus, son of Priam and 

Hecuba, was a famous prophet, and 
greatly respected by all the Trojans. It 
Was he who disclosed that Troy could 
not be taken whilst in possession of the 
palladium, nor until Philoctetes [vide] 
came from his retreat at Lemncs, and 
assisted at the siege. After the ruin of 
his country, he fell to the share of Pyr- 
rhus, the son of Achilles, and received 
from his hand Andromache, the widow 
of his brother Hector ; some say he 
married her after the death of Pyrrhus. 
Helenus was the only one of Priam's 
sons who survived the ruin of his coun- 
try. After the death of Pyrrhus, he 



reigned over part of Epirus, which he 
called Chaonia, in memory of his bro- 
ther Chaon, whom he had inadvertently 
killed. Helenus received iEneas as he 
voyaged towards Italy, and foretold him 
some of the calamities which attended 
his fleet. The manner in which he re- 
ceived the gift of prophecy is doubtful, 
\Vid. Cassandra.] Virg. &c. 

Heles or Hales, a Lunacian 
river, near Velia. 

Heliades, the daughters of 
the Sun and Clymene, were three in 
number according to Ovid, Lampetie, 
Phaetusa, and Lampethusa, or seven 
according to Hyginus, Mefope, Helie, 
yEgle, Lampetie, Phcebe, /Etheria, and 
Bioxippe. They were so afflicted at 
the death of their brother Phaeton 
[Vid. Phaeton] that they were changed 
by the gods into poplars, and their tears 
into precious amber, on the banks of 
the river Po. Ovid. Hygin. — A name 
given to the inhabitants of Rhodes. 
Diodorus relates, that this island, when 
the world was created, was covered 
with mud ; when being warmed by the 
rays of the sun, seven men sprang up, 
who were called from the sun Helia- 
des. 

Heliastje, a name given to 

the judges of the most numerous tribu- 
nal at Athens. They consisted of 1000, 
and sometimes of 1500 ; they were sel- 
dom assembled, and only upon matters 
of the greatest importance. Demosth. 

Helicaox, a Trojan prince, 
son of Antenor. He married Laodice, 
the daughter of Priam. Homer. 

Helice, a star near the north 
pole, generally called Ursa major. It is 
supposed to receive its name from the 
town of Helice, of which Cali^to, who 
was changed into the Great Bear, was 
an inhabitant. Lucan. — A daughter of 
Lycaon, king of Arcadia. — A town on 
^he bay of Corinth, overwhelmed by an 
inundation of the sea. 

Helicon, a mountain of Breo- 
tia, on the borders of Phoeis, sacred to 
the Muses, who had there a temple. 
The fount?.: n Hippocrene flowed from 
this mountain. Stiab. &c. — A river of 
Macedonia,_near Hium. 

Heliconiades, a name given 

to the Muses because they lived upon 
mount Helicon, which was sacred to 
them. 

Heliodorus. The most re- 
markable of this name is one of the fa- 
vorites of Seleucus Philopator, king of 
Syria. He attempted to plunder the 
temple of the Jews, about 176 years be- 
fore Christ, by order of his master, &c. 
— A. learned Greek rhetorician in the 
age of Horace. — A famous sophist, born 
at Emessa in Phoenicia in the age of 
Theodosius, and made bishop ofTricca 
in Thessaly. He is particularly known 



HBL 



HEL 



for his romance in ten books, called 
Mthfopica , or the history of Theagenes 
and Chariclea. 

He lio gab alus, a deity among 
the Phoenicians. — M. Aurelius Antoni- 
nus, a Roman emperor, son of Varius 
Mareellus, called Heliogabalus, because 
he had been priest of that divinity in 
Phoenicia. After the death of Macrinus, 
he was invested with the purple, and 
the senate approved of his election, and 
bestowed upon him the title of Augus- 
tus at the age of 14 years. Heliogabalus 
made his grand-mother .and mother his 
colleagues on the throne, and chose a 
senate of women, ever which his mo- 
ther presided, and prescribed all the fa- 
shions which prevailed in the empire. 
Rome now displayed a scene of cruelty 
and debauchery, and the imperial pa- 
lace was full of prostitution. He raised 
his horse to the honors of the consul- 
ship. To the ridiculous deity Helioga- 
balus, which was only a black stone, 
temples were raised at Rome, and the 
altars of the gods plundered to deck 
those of the new divinity. He married 
four wives, and not satisfied with fol- 
lowing the plain laws of nature, he pro- 
fessed himself to be a woman, and gave 
himself up to one of his officers, called 
Hierocles. In this ridiculous farce he 
suffered the greatest indignities from 
his pretended husband. Such licentious- 
ness soon became detestable to the Ro- 
mans. At length, through terror of the 
soldiers, he hid himself in the filth and 
excrements of the camp, where he was 
found in the arms of his mother. His 
head was severed from his body the 
10th of March, A. D. 222, in the 18th 
year of his age. He was succeeded by 
Alexander Severus. His cruelties were 
as conspicuous as his licentiousness. He 
often tied some of his favorites on a 
large wheel, and was particularly de- 
lighted to see them whirled round like 
Ixions, and sometimes suspended in the 
air, or sunk beneath the water. 

Heliopolis, a famous city of 
Lower Egypt, in which was a temple 
sacred to the sun. The inhabitants wor- 
shipped a bull called Mnevis, with the 
same ceremonies as the Apis of Mem- 
phis. Apollo had an oracle there. Strab. 

Helius, a celebrated favorite 
of the emperor Nero, put to death by 
order of Galba, for his cruelties. 

Hellanice, sister to Clitus, 
and nurse to Alexander. 

Hell an icus,a celebrated 
Greek historian, born at Mitylene. He 
wrote a history of the ancient kings of 
the earth, with an account of the found- 
ers of the most famous towns in every 
kingdom, and died B. C. 411, in the 
85th year of his age. Pans. — There were 
others also of this name, but of inferior 
note. 



Hellas, an ancient name of 
Thessaly,more generally applied to the 
territories of Acarnania, Attica, ^to- 
lia, Doris, Locris, Boeotia, and Phocis, 
and also to all Greece. — A beautiful 
woman in the age of Horace, beloved of 
Marius : the lover killed her in a fit of 
of passion, and afterwards destroyed 
himself. Horat. 

Helle, a daughter of Atha- 
mas and Nephele, and sister to Phry- 
xus. \Vid. Phryxus.] She fled from her 
father with her brother, to avoid the 
oppression of her mother-in-law, Ino. 
According to some accounts she was car- 
ried through the air on a golden ram 
which her mother had received from 
Neptune, and in her par age she be- 
came giddy, and fell from ..A -seat into 
that part or* the sea, which from her re- 
ceived the name of Hellespont. Others 
say she was carried on a cloud, or rather 
upon a ship, from which she fell into 
the sea and was drowned. Ovid. 

Hellen, son of Deucalion 
and Pyrrha, reigned in Phthiotis about 
1495 years before the Christian arra, and 
gave the name of Hellenes to his sub- 
jects. The jEolians, Dorians, and Io- 
nians derive their names from his sons 
iEoius, Dorus, and his grandson Ion, 
son of Xuthus. The dialects in the 
Greek language arose from their ex- 
pression or pronunciation. Pavs. &c. 

Hellenes. [Vid. Hellen.] 
Hellespontias, the north- 
east wind. 

Helle spoNTus,now the Dar- 
danelles, a narrow strait between Asia 
and Europe, near the Propontis, re- 
ceived its name from Helle, who was 
drowned there in her voyage to Colchis. 
[Vid. Helle.] It is about 33 miles long, 
and in the broadest part about one mile 
and a half, and only half a mile in the 
narrowest. It is celebrated for the love 
and death of Leander \Vid. Hero], and 
for the bridge of boats which Xerxes 
built over it when he invaded Greece. 
The folly of this monarch is well known 
in beating and fettering the waves of 
the sea, whose impetuosity destroyed 
his ships, and rendered all his labours 
ineffectual. Strab. Herodot. Mela. &c, 
— The country along the Hellespont on 
the Asiatic coast bore the same name. 
Strab. Plin. 

Hellopia, the name of a 

country of Euboea, and sometimes used 
for the island itself. 

Hellotia, two festivals, one 

of which was observed in Crete in ho- 
nor of Europa, carried off by Jupiter in 
the shape of a bull. The other at Co- 
rinth, in honor of Minerva, surnamed 
Hellotis. 

Helnes, a king of Arcadia. 
Polyoen* 



HEM 



HER 



HelOris, a general of the 
people at Rhegium, sent to besiege 
Messana, which Dionysius the tyrant 
defended. He fell in" bactle, and his 
troops were defeated. Diod. 

Helorum and Helorus, a 
town and river of Sicily* whose swollen 
waters generally inundate the neigh- 
bouring country. Virg. Mn. — A river 
of Magna Graecia. 

Helos, a town of Laconia, de- 
stroyed by the Lacedaemonians under 
Agis the third, of the race of the Hera- 
elidae, because they refused to pay the 
tribute imposed upon them. The La- 
cedaemonians, not satisfied with the ruin 
cf the city, reduced the inhabitants to 
the most miserable slavery, and made a 
law which forbade their masters either 
giving them their liberty, or selling 
them in any other country. They were 
called Helotae. Not only the servile 
offices in which they were employed 
denoted their misery and slavery, but 
they were obliged to wear peculiar gar- 
ments, which exposed them to con- 
tempt and ridicule. They never were 
instructed in the liberal arts, and their 
cruel masters often obliged them to 
drink to excess, to show the free-born 
citizens of Sparta the beastliness and 
the disgrace of intoxication. In the 
Peloponnesian war, these miserable 
slaves behaved with uncommon brave- 
ry, and were rewarded with their li- 
berty by the Lacedaemonians, and ap- 
peared at public shows crowned with 
garlands, and with every mark of festi- 
vity and triumph. This exultation did 
not continue long, and the sudden dis- 
appearance of the 2000 manumitted 
slaves was attributed to the inhumanity 
of the Lacedaemonians. Thucyd. Plut. 
&e~ 

Helots and Helotes. 

[ Vid. Helos.] 

Helvetia, a vestal virgin, 
struck with lightning in the reign of 
Trajan. 

Helvetii, an ancient nation 
of Gaul, conquered by J. Caesar. Cces. 
Their country is the modern Switzer- 
land. 

Helvii, a people of Gaul, 
living along the Rhone. 

He L vina, a fountain of Aqui- 
num, where Ceres had a temple. Juv. 

Helvitjs Cinna, a Roman 

senator, who proposed a law to enable 
Julius Caesar to marry whom he pleased. 
— The proposition did not pass into a 
law. 

Hemathion, a son of Au- 
rora and Cephalus. 

He mi the a, a daughter of 
Cyenus and Proclea, so attached to her 
brother Tenes, that she refused to 
abandon him when his father Cyenus 



exposed him on the sea. They were 
carried by the wind to Tenedos, where 
Achilles, captivated by her charms, of- 
fered her violence. She was rescued 
from his embrace by Tenes, who was 
instantly slaughtered by Achilles. He- 
mnhia then entreated the assistance of 
the gods, and the earth opened and 
swallowed her. [Vid. Tenes.] Paux. 
Diod. 

Heniochi, a people near 

Colchis, descended from the charioteers 
of Castor and Pollux. 

HEPHiESTiA, the capital town 
of Lemnos. — A festival in honor of Vul- 
can, Upaig-o; a t Athens. There was 
then a race with torches between three 
young men. Each in his turn ran a 
race with a lighted torch in his hand, 
and whoever could carry it to the end 
of the course before it was extinguished, 
obtained the prize. 

He pkje st ii, mountains in Ly- 
cia, which are set on fire by the lightest 
touch of a burning torch. Their very 
stones burn in the middle of water ac- 
cording to Film/. 

Hephjestio, a Greek gram- 
marian of Alexandria, in the age of the 
emperor Verus. 

Hephjestion, a Macedonian, 
famous for his intimacy with Alexan- 
der : he accompanied him in his eastern 
expedition, and was so faithful to him, 
that Alexander observed that Craterus 
was the friend of the king, but Hephaes- 
tion the friend of x\lexander. He died 
at Ecbatana 325 years before the Chris- 
tian era. Alexander was inconsolable 
at his death, and honored his corpse 
with the most magnificent funeral at 
Babylon. Hephaestion was so like the 
king in features and stature, that he 
was often saluted by the name of Alex- 
ander. Curt. Plut. 

Heptapolis, a country of 
Egypt, which contained seven cities. 

Heptapylos, a surname of 

Thebes in Boeotia, from its seven gates. 

Heraclea, a name common 
to no less than 40 cities in different parts 
of the world, all built in honor of Her- 
cules, whence the name is derived. The 
most celebrated are the following. — An 
ancient town of Sicily, near Agrigen- 
tum. It was called Heraclea, after Her- 
cules, when he obtained a victory over 
Eryx. — Another in Pontus, celebrated 
for its naval power, and its consequence 
among the Asiatic states. The inhabit- 
ants conveyed home in their ships the 
ten thousand Greeks at their return. 

He k ac lei a, a festival cele- 
brated in many parts of Greece and the 
Egean islands in honor of Hercules. It 
was customary to offer sheep to the 
hero on the occasion, but the Thebans 
first offered apples. In some places they 



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were biennial, and at Athens quinquen- 
nial. 

Heracleotes, a surname of 
Dionysius the philosopher-— A stoic 
philosopher of Heraclea. He maintain- 
ed that pain was no evil. Being seized 
with an acute disorder, however, he re- 
renounced the stoic philosophy, and 
adopted the celebrated tenet of the Cy- 
renaic sect, that pleasure is the summum 
bonum. 

HeraclIdjs, the descendants 
of Hercules, greatly celebrated in an- 
cient history. After the death of Her- 
cules, Eurystheus obliged them to retire 
from Argos. They went first to Ceyx, 
king of Traehinia, and thence toAthens, 
where Theseus kindly received them. 
Eurystheus was some time after killed 
by Hyllus, the son of Hercules, and the 
Peloponnesus became the indisputable 
right of the Heraclidse, who madethree 
unsuccessful attempts to settle in their 
hereditary dominions. At length Aris- 
todemus, Temenus, and Chresphontes, 
the three sons of Aristomachus, encou- 
raged by an oracle, and desirous to re- 
venge the death of their progenitors, 
assembled a numerous force, and with 
a fleet invaded all Peloponnesus, and 
after some decisive battles they became 
masters of the peninsula, which they 
divided among themselves two years 
after. The recovery of the Peloponne- 
sus by the descendants of Hercules 
forms" an interesting epoch in ancient 
history. It is universally believed to 
have happened SO years after the Tro- 
jan war, and to have been achieved 
about 120 years after the first attempt of 
Hyllus. Apollod. Herodot. &c. 

He race ides. Ancient writers 
have made mention of many of this 
name, the most remarkable of whom is 
— A philosopher of Heraclea in Pontus, 
some time disciple of Seusippus and 
Aristotle. He wished it to be believed 
that he was carried into heaven the very 
day of his death, and the more firmly to 
render it credible, he begged one of his 
friends to put a serpent in his bed. The 
serpent disappointed him, and the noise 
which the number of visitors occasion- 
ed, frightened him from the bed, before 
the philosopher had expired : he lived 
about 335 years before the Christian 
era. Cic. Tit.sc. — A man who, after the 
retreat of Dionysius the younger from 
Sicily, raised cabals against Dion, in 
whose hands the sovereign power was 
lodged. He was put to death by Dion's 
order. C. Nep. 

Heraclitus, a celebrated 
Greek philosopher of Ephesus, who 
flourished about 500 years before the 
Christian era. Naturally of a melan- 
choly disposition, he passed his time in 
a solitary and unsocial manner, and re- 
ceived the appellation of the mourner, 
from his weeping at the follies of man- 
kind: he supported that there was a 



fatal necessity, and that the world was 
created from fire. His opinions about 
the origin of things were adopted by 
the Stoics. To remove himself totally 
from the society of mankind, he re- 
tired to the mountains, where, for some 
time, he fed on grass. Such a diet was 
soon productive of a dropsical com- 
plaint, and the philosopher revisited the 
town. The enigmatical manner in which 
he consulted the physicians made his 
applications unintelligible, and he was 
left to depend for cure only upon him- 
self. He fixed his residence on a dung- 
hill, in hopes that the continual warmth 
which proceeded from it might dissipate 
the watery accumulation, and restore 
™ *° the enjoyment of his former 
health. Such a remedy proved ineffec- 
tual, and the philosopher died in the 
60th year of his age. Some say that he 
was torn to pieces by dogs. Dio<r. in 
vita.— There were others also of^this 
name, but of inferior note. 

Her^ea, a town of Arcadia : 
also a name common to festivals cele- 
brated at Argos, Elis, Corinth, and Pal- 
lene. Some of them were instituted 
in honor of Juno the natroness of Ar- 
gos. 

Her^ei montes, a mountain- 
ous chain on the north of Sicily. 

^ HERiEUM, a temple and grove, 
of Juno, situate between Argos and My- 
cenae. — A town of Thrace. 

Herbessus, a town of Sicily, 
built by a colony of Carthaginians. 

Herculanetjm, a town of 
Campania, swallowed up by an earth- 
quake, produced from an eruption of 
mount Vesuvius, A. D. 79, in the reign 
of Titus. This famous city was dis- 
covered in the beginning of the present 
century, and from the ruins have been 
dug busts, statues, manuscripts, paint- 
ings, and utensils, which contribute 
much to enlarge our notions concerning 
the ancients. The town, buried inlavat 
was first discovered by laborers digging 
for a well, and the valuable antiquities, 
so miraculously recovered, are pre- 
served in the museum of Portici, a 
small town in the neighbourhood, and 
the engravings, &c. taken from them 
have been presented to the different 
learned bodies in Europe. 

Hercules. According to the 

ancients there were many persons of 
this name. Of all these the son of Ju- 
piter and Alcmena is the most celebra- 
ted, and to him the actions of the others 
have been generally attributed. The 
birth of Hercules was attended with 
many miraculous events : it is reported 
that Jupiter, who introduced himself to 
the bed of Alcmena, was employed 
three nights in forming a child, whom 
he intended to be the greatest hero the 
world ever beheld. [Vid. Alcmena.] He 
was brought up at Tirynthus, or at 



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Thebes; and before he had completed 
his eighth month, the jealousy of Juno, 
intent upon his destruction," sent two 
snakes to devour him. Not terrified at 
the sight of the serpents, he boldly 
seized them, and squeezed them to 
death, while his brother Iphielus alarm- 
ed the house with his frightful shrieks. 
[Vid. Iphielus.] He was early instruct- 
ed in the liberal arts, and soon became 
the pupil of the centaur Chiron, under 
whom he rendered himself the most 
valiant and accomplished of the age. 
In the isth year of his age he com- 
menced his arduous and glorious pur- 
suits : he subdued a huge lion that de- 
voured the flocks of his supposed father 
Amphitryon. After he had destroyed 
the lion, he delivered his country from 
the annual tribute of an hundred oxen 
which it paid to Erginus. [VUk Ergi- 
nus.] As Hercules by the will of Jupi- 
ter was subjected to the power of Eury- 
stheus, [Vid. Eurystheus,] and obliged 
to obey him in every respect, Eu- 
rystheus, jealous of his power, ordered 
him to appear at Myceme find perform 
the labors which, by priority of birth, 
he was empowered to imposeupon him. 
Hercules refused, but afterwards con- 
sulted the oracle of Apollo, and was told 
that he must be subservient for twelve 
years to the will of Eurystheus, in com- 
pliance with the commands of Jupiter; 
and that after he had achieved the most 
celebrated labors he should be reckoned 
in the number of the gods. So plain an 
answer determined him to go to My- 
cenae, and to bear with fortitude what- 
ever gods or men imposed upon him. 
Eurystheus, apprehensive of so power- 
ful an enemy, commanded him to 
achieve a number of enterprises the 
most difficult and arduous ever known, 
generally called the twelve labors of 
Hercules. Being furnished with com- 
plete armour by the gods, he boldly en- 
countered the imposed labors. He'sub- 
dued the Nema?an lion ; the Lerngean 
hydra ; took alive the stag famous for 
its swiftness, with golden horns and 
brazen feet ; the Erymanthian boar ; 
cleansed the stables of Augias ; killed 
the carnivorous birds which ravaged the 
country near the lake Stymphalis in Ar- 
cadia ; took alive the wild bull of Crete ; 
obtained the mares of Diomedes which 
fed on human flesh ; obtained the girdle 
cf the queen of the Amazons ; killed the 
monster Geryon, king of Gades, and 
brought away his flocks ; obtained the 
apples of the garden of the Hesperides ; 
and brought upon earth the three-head- 
ed dog Cerberus, guardian of the en- 
trance to the infernal regions. Besides 
these arduous labors, which the jealousy 
of Eurystheus imposed upon him, he 
also achieved others of his own accord, 
equally celebrated. [Vid. Cacus, An- 
ta?us, Busiris, Eryx, <&c.] Hp accom- 
panied the Argonauts to Colchis before 
he delivered himself up to the king of 



Mycena?. He assisted the gods in their 
wars against the giants, and it was 
through him alonetfiat Jupiter obtain- 
ed a victory, f Vid. Gigantes.] He con- 
quered Laomedon, and pillaged Troy. 
[ Vid. Laomedon.] Having at different 
times experienced three fits of insanity, 
in the second he slew the brother of his 
beloved Iole, in the third he attempted 
to carry away the sacred tripod from 
Apollo's temple at Delphi, for which the 
oracle told him he must be sold as a 
slave. He was sold accordingly for 
three years to Omphale, queen of Lycia, 
who restored him to liberty and mar- 
ried him. After he had completed his 
slaverv,he returned to Peloponnesus, 
where'he re-established on the throne of 
Sparta, Tyndarus, who had been ex- 
pelled by Hippocoon. He became one 
of Dejanira's suitors, and married her 
after he had overcome all his rivals. 
{Vid. Achelous.] He was obliged to 
leave Caiydon, his fathcr-in-law's king- 
dom, because he hadinadvertently kill- 
ed a man. He retired to the court of 
Ceyx, king of Trachinia. In his way he 
was stopped by the streams of the Eve- 
nus, where the centaur Nessus attempt- 
ed to offer violence to Dejanira, under 
the perfidious pretence of conveying 
her over the river. Hercules perceived 
the distress of Dejanira, and killed the 
centaur, who as he expired gave her a 
tunic, which, as he observed, had the 
power of recalling a husband from un- 
lawful love. [Vid, Dejanira.] Ceyx re- 
ceived him and his wife with friend- 
ship. Hercules was still mindful of Iole, 
who had now fallen into his hands after 
having murdered her father Eurytus, 
and three of his sons. This excited the 
jealousy of Dejanira, who sent him the 
tunic of Nessus as he was about to offer 
a sacrifice to Jupiter. The tunic was 
infected with poison, which penetrated 
his oones : he attempted to pull off the 
fatal dress, but it was too late. As the 
distemper was incurable, he implored 
the protection of Jupiter, gave his bow 
and arrows to Philoctetes, and erected 
a large burning pile on the top of mount 
CEta. He spread on the pile the skin of 
the Nemsean lion, and laid himself 
down upon it as on a bed, leaning his 
head on his club. Philoctetes set fire to 
the pile, and the hero saw himself on a 
sudden surrounded with the flames. 
The pile was suddenly surrounded with 
a dark smoke, and after the mortal parts 
of Hercules w r ere consumed, he was car- 
ried up to heaven in a chariot drawn by 
four horses. The white poplar, among 
numerous other things, was particularly 
dedicated to his service. Hercules is ge- 
nerally represented naked, with strong 
and well-proportioned limbs, sometimes 
covered with the skill of the Nemsan 
lion, and holds a knotted club in his 
hand, on which he often leans. The 
children of Hercules were as numerous 
as the labors he underwent, and they 



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became so powerful soon after his death, 
that- they alone had the courage to in- 
vade all Peloponnesus. [Vid. Hera- 
clidas.] He -w as father of Deicoon and 
Therimachus. by Megara; of Ctesip- 
pus, by Astydamia; of Palemon, by 
Autonoe; of'Everes, by Parthenope; 
of Glycisoiietes, Gyneus, and Odites, 
by Bejanira; of Thessalus, by Chal- 
eiope; of Thestalus, by Epicaste; of 
Tleopolemus, by Astyoche. Such are 
the most striking characteristics of the 
life of Hercules, who is said to have 
supported for a while the weight of the 
heavens upon his shoulders, \_Vid. At- 
las,] and to have separated by the force 
of his arm the celebrated mountains 
which were after wards called the boun- 
daries of his labors. [ Vid. Abyla and 
Calpe.] He is held out by the ancients 
as a true pattern of virtue and piety, 
and as his whole life had been employed 
for the common benefit of mankind, he 
was deservedly rewarded with immor- 
tality. His judicious choice of virtue in 
preference to pleasure, as described by 
Xenophon, is well known. Diod. Cic. 
Apoliod. Pans. Homer* Hesiod. Virg. 
Ovid. Ht/gin. &c. &c. 

Herculis Columm, two 

lefty mountains, reckoned the bounda- 
ries of the labors of Hercules, and ac- 
cording to ancient tradition joined to- 
gether, till they were severed by the 
arm of the hero, and a communication 
opened between the Mediterranean and 
Atlantic seas. Dionys. Perieg. They 
were called by the ancients Abyla and 
Calpe [which see J. Mela. Plin. — A small 
island on the coast cf Spain, called also 
Scombraria, from the tunny fish (Scom- 
bros) caught there. Strab. 

Hercyna, a river of Bceotia, 
so called from a nymph who travelled 
over the world with Ceres. 

Hercyinia, a forest of Ger- 
many, so extensive, that it required 
nine days to cross it in one direction ; 
and in others more than sixty. It com- 
prised the modern countries of Swit- 
zerland, Basil, Spires, Baden, Transil- 
vania, part of Hungary, and no incon- 
siderable part of Russia. 

He re a, a town of Arcadia, 
situated on an eminence at the bottom 
of which flowed the Alpheus. 

He rilus, king of Prgeneste, 
who is said to have had three lives. He 
was, in consequence, slain three times 
by Evander. Virg. 

Herm^e, two young men, who 
attended all those who went to consult 
the oracle of Trophonius. 

Heu3LEUM, the most northern 
point of Africa, now called cape Bon. 

HermafiirodTtus, son of 

Venus and Mercury. As he was one 
day bathing in a fountain, he was seen 
by Salmacis, the nymph, who presided 



over it. Hermaphroditus not listening 
to her passion, Salmacis preferred a 
prayer to the gods, that they might be- 
come one body. Her prayer was heard, 
and they became two in one. 

Herhesianax, an elegiac 
poet cf Colophon, son of Agoneus. He 
was publicly honored with a statue. He 
had written three books of elegies dedi- 
cated to Leontium, a woman celebrated 
for her learning as w r ell as her beauty. 
Pans. — A native of Cyprus, who wrote 
a history of Phrygia. " Pint. 

Herminius, a Roman, who 
defended a bridge with Codes against 
the army of Porsenna. Liv. 

He rm i one, a daughter of 
Mars and Venus, who married Cadmus. 
The gods, except Juno, honored her 
nuptials with their presence, and she 
received, as a present, a rich veil and a 
splendid necklace which had been made 
by Vulcan. She was changed into a 
serpent with her husband Cadmus, and 
placed in the Elysian fields. Apoliod. 
Ovid. Met. — A daughter of Menelaus 
and Helen. She was privately promised 
in marriage to Orestes, the son of Aga- 
memnon : but her father, ignorant of 
this pre-engagement, gave her hand to 
Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles. Pyrrhus, 
at his return from Troy, carried home 
Hermione, and married her. Hermi- 
one, tenderly attached to her cousin 
Orestes, looked upon Pyrrhus with 
horror and indignation. According to 
others, however, Hermione received 
the addresses of Pyrrhus with pleasure. 
Her jealousy for Andromache, accord- 
ing to some, induced her to unite her- 
self to Orestes, and to destroy Pyrrhus. 
She gave herself to Orestes after this 
murder, and received the kingdom of 
Sparta as a dowry. Homer. Ovid. &e. 
—4 town of Argolis, where Ceres had a 
famous temple. The descent to hell 
from this nlace was considered so short, 
that no money, according to the usual 
rite of burial, was put into the mouth 
of the dead, to be paid to Charon tor 
their passage over the Styx. Plin. &c. 

Hermocrates. The most re- 
markable of this name is a general of 
Syracuse, against Nicias the Athenian. 
His lenity towards the Athenian pri- 
soners was looked upon as treacherous, 
He* was banished from Sicily without 
even a trial, and he was murdered as he 
attempted to return back to his coun- 
try, B. C. 438. Plut. 

Hermodorus, a philosopher 
of Ephesus, who is said to have assist* 
ed as interpreter, the Roman decem- 
virs in the composition of the 10 tables 
of laws, which had been collected in 
Greece. Cic— A poet who wrote a book 
called No/u/xa. 

Hermogenes, an architect of 
Alabanda in Caria, employed in build- 



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ing the temple of Diana at Magnesia. 
Ke wrote a book upon his profession. — 
A rhetorician in the second century. 
He died A. D. 161, and it is said that 
his body was opened and his heart 
found hairy, and of an extraordinary 
size. At the age of 2.5, as is reported", 
fie totally lost his memory. 

Hermolatjs, a young Mace- 
donian among the attendants of Alex- 
ander. He conspired against Alexan- 
der's life, because he ordered him to be 
severely whipped for killing a boar 
when hunting with his master. The 
plot was discovered, and Hermolaus 
was ordered to be put to death. Cart. 

Hermotimes. a famous pro- 
phet of Clazomena?. It is said that his 
soul separated itself from his body, and 
wandered in every part of the earth to 
explainf uturity, after which it returned 
again and animated his frame. His 
wife, who was acquainted with the fre- 
quent absence of his soul, took advan- 
tage of it and burnt his body, as if to- 
tally dead, and deprived the soul of its 
natural receptacle. Hermotimus re- 
ceived divine honors in a temple at 
-€iazomen83, into which it was unlawful 
for women to enter. Plin. 

He emus, a river of Asia Mi- 
nor, now Sarabat, whose sands, accord- 
ing to the poets, were covered with 
gp$d; It flows near Sardes, and receives 
the waters of the Pactclus and H\-llus, 
after which it falls into the ^Egean sea. 
Virg. Martial. 

. Herxici, a people of Caropa* 

nia, celebrated for their inveterate en- 
mity to the rising power of Rome. Liv. 
&c. 

Hero, a beautiful priestess of 

Venus at Sestos, greatly enamoured of 
Leander of Abydos. These two lovers 
were so faithful to one another, that 
Leander in the night escaped from the 
vigilance of his family, and swam across 
the Hellespont, while Hero in Sestos 
directed his course by holding a burn- 
ing torch on the top of a high tower. 
After many interviews of mutual affec- 
tion, Leander was drowmed in a tem- 
pestuous night as he attempted Ms 
usual coursed and Hero in despair threw 
herself down frcm her tower and pe- 
rished i;i the sea. Ovid. Virg. 

H E r 6 d e s, surnamed the 

Great, was made king of Judaea by 
means of Antony, and after the battle 
of Actium was continued, in his power 
by his submission to Augustus. He 
rendered himself odious by' his cruelty. 
He ordered the most illustrious of his 
subjects to be confined and murdered 
the very moment that he expired, that 
every eye in the kingdom might shed 
tears" at the death of Herod. He died in 
the 70th year of his age, after a reign of 
40 years. Josephus.*— This name was 
common to many of the Jews. 



Herodiasxs. a Greek histo- 
rian who flourished A. D. 247, was bom 
at Alexandria, and was employed among 
the officers of the Roman emperors. 
He wrote a Roman history in eight 
books, from the death of Marcus Aure- 
lius to Maxirninus. His style is elegant, 
but it wants precision. He" is accused of 
being too partial to Maxirninus and too 
severe upon Alexander Severus. His 
book comprehends the history of 68 or 
TO years. 

Herodotus, a celebrated his- 
torian of Halicarnassus. He travelled 
over Egypt, Italy, and all Greece. He 
afterwards returned to Halicaniassus, 
and expelled the tyrant Lvgdamis; 
which deed, far from gaining the esteem 
of the populace, irritated them, so that 
Herodotus was obliged to fly into 
Greece. To procure a lasting fame, he 
publicly repeated at the Olympic games 
the history which he had composed, in 
his 39th year. B. C. 445- It was received 
with such universal applause that the 
names of the nine muses were unani- 
mously given to the nine books into 
which it is divided. This celebrated 
composition, which has procured its au- 
thor the title of father of history, is 
written in the Ionic dialect. Herodotus 
is among the historians what Homer is 
among the poets, and Demosthenes 
among the orators. His style abounds 
with elegance, case, and sweetness. The 
work is a history of the wars of the 
Persians against the Greeks, from the 
age cf Cyrus to the battle of Mycale in 
the reign of Xerxes ; and, besides this, 
it gives an account of the most celebra- 
ted nations in the world. Plutarch has 
accused him of malevolence tov/ards 
the Greeks. — A Theban wrestler of Me- 
gara, in the age of Demetrius, son of 
Antigonus. He was six feet and a half 
in height, and he ate generally twenty 
pounds of flesh, with bread in propor- 
tion, at each cf his meals. 

Heroes, a name which was 
given by the ancients to such as were 
born from a god, or to such as had sig- 
nalized themselves by their actions, and 
seemed to deserve immortality by the 
service they had rendered their country . 
The heroes which Homer describes, 
such as Ajax, Achilles, &c. were of such 
a prodigious strength, that they could 
lift up and throw stones, which the 
united force of four or five men of his 
age could not have moved. According 
to the notions of the Stoics, the ancient 
heroes inhabited a pure and serene 
climate above the moon. As the altars 
of the gods were crowded with sacrifices 
and libations, so the heroes were often 
honored with a funeral solemnity, in 
which their great exploits were enume- 
rated. Cic. de Nat. D. &c. 

Herois, a festival, celebrated 
everv ninth vear by the Delphians, in 
hono'r of a heroine. There were in the 




HES 



HES 



celebration a great number of myste- 
rious rites, with a representation of 
something like Semele's resurrection. 

Herophlla. [ Fid. Sibyllae.] 

Hero phil us, a Greek physi- 
cian, about 570 years before the Chris- 
tian era. He was one of the first who 
dissected bodies. Pliny, Cicero, and 
Plutarch, have greatly commended him. 

Herse, a daughter of Cecrops, 
king of Athens, beloved by Mercury. 
The god disclosed his love to Aglauros, 
Herse's sister, in hopes of procuring an 
easy admission to Herse ; but Aglauros, 
through jealousy, discovered the amour. 
Mercury was so offended at this, that 
he struck her with his caduceus, and 
changed her into a stone. Herse became 
mother of Cephalus by Mercury, and, 
after death, she received divine honors 
at Athens. Ovid. &c. 

Hersilia, one of the Sabines 
carried away by the Romans at the ce- 
lebration of* the Consualia. She was 
given and married to Romulus ; and, 
being presented with immortality by 
Juno, received divine honors under the 
name of Ora. Liv. 

Hertha and Herta, a god- 
dess among the Germans, supposed to 
be the same as the earth. She had a 
temple and covered chariot dedicated 
to her in a remote island. No person, 
except her ministers, w r as permitted to 
touch her sacred chariot ; but as soon as 
the priests declared that the goddess 
had entered it, chosen heifers were har- 
nessed to it, and it was conducted 
through the country with rejoicings and 
acclamations. Tacit. 

Heruli, a savage nation in 
the northern parts of Europe, who at- 
tacked the Roman power in its decline. 

Hes^enus, a mountain near 
Pceonia. 

Hesiod us, a celebrated poet, 
born at Ascra in Bceotia, son of Dius 
and Pycimede. He lived in the age of 
Homer, and even obtained a poetical 
prize in competition with him, accord- 
ing to Varro and Plutarch. Quintiiian 
and others maintain, that Hesiod lived 
before the age of Homer; but Val. Pa- 
terculus, &c. support that he flourished 
about 100 years after him. Hesiod is 
the first who wrote a poem on agricul- 
ture. This composition is called •« The 
Works and the Days." His " Theo- 
gony" is a miscellaneous narration exe- 
cuted without art or precision, and his 
" Shield of Hercules" but afragment of 
a larger poem. Hesiod, without being 
master of the fire and sublimity of Ho- 
mer, is admired for the elegance of his 
diction, and the sweetness of his poetry. 
Virgil, in hisGeor2ics, has imitated the 
compositions of Hesiod, and taken his 
opera and dies for model. The Greeks 
were so partial to his poetry and moral 



instructions, that they ordered their 
children to learn them all by heart. If 
Hesiod flourished in the age of Homer, 
he lived 907 B. C. 

Hesione, a daughter of Lao- 
medon, king of Troy. In order to ap- 
pease the resentment of Apollo and. 
Neptune, whom Laomedon had offend- 
ed, she was doomed to be exposed to a 
sea-monster. Hercules promised to de- 
liver her, provided he received as a re- 
ward six beautiful horses. Laomedon 
consented, and Hercules attacked the 
monster just as he w r as going to devour 
Hesione, and killed him with his club. 
Laomedon, however, refused to reward 
the hero's services, and Hercules, in- 
censed at his treachery, besieged Troy, 
and put the king and all his family to 
the sword, except Podarces, or Priam, 
who had advised his father to give the 
promised horses to his sister's deliverer. 
The conqueror gave Hesione in mar- 
riage to his friend Telamon, who had 
assisted him during the war, and he 
established Priam upoa his father's 
throne. The removal of Hesione to 
Greece may be considered as a remote 
cause of the Trojan war, as it furnished 
a pretext to the subsequent rape of He- 
len by Paris. 

Hesperia, a name common 

both to Italy and Spain. It is derived 
from Hesper or Vesper, the setting sun, 
or Hesperus, the son of Japetus, who 
arrived in Italy, and settled there, 
whence the Greeks called Italy Hes- 
peria, because it was situated at the 
setting sun, or in the west. The same 
name, for similar reasons, was applied 
to Spain by the Latins. Virg. &c. 

Hesperides, three celebrated 
nymphs, daughters of Hesperus. They 
were appointed to guard the golden 
apples which Juno gave to Jupiter on 
the day of their nuptials ; and the place 
of their residence, placed beyond the 
ocean by Hesiod, is more universally 
believed to be near mount Atlas in 
Africa, according to Apollodbrus. This 
celebrated garden abounded with fruits 
of the most delicious kind, and was 
carefully guarded by a dreadful dragon 
which never slept. It was one of the 
labors of Hercules to procure some of 
the golden apples of the Hesperides, 
which he did, as some mythologists 
assert, by having previously killed the 
watchful dragon that guarded the fruit. 
This monster was supposed to be the 
offspring of Typhon, and to have had a 
hundred heads and as many voices. 
Those that attempt to explain mytho- 
logy observe, that the Hesperides were 
certain persons who had an immense 
number of flocks, and that the ambigu- 
ous word /tflXov, which signifies an 
apple and a sheep, gave rise to the fable 
of the golden apples of the Hesperides. 
Hesiod. Ovid. Hyz'm, &c. 



HIE 

Hesperis. [Vid. Hesperus.] 

— A town of Cyrenaica, now Berate or 
Bengazi, where most authors have 
placed the garden of the Hesperides. 
[Vid. Hesperides.] 

Hesperitis, a country of 
Africa. 

Hesperus, a son of Japetus, 

brother to Atlas. He came to Italy, and 
the country received the name of Hes- 
peria from him, according to some ac- 
counts. [Vid. Hesperides.] Diod. — The 
name of Hesperus was also applied to 
the planet Venus, when it appeared 
after the setting of the sun. It was 
called Phosphorus or Lucifer when it 
preceded the sun. Cic. 

H e s ? i s, a deity among the 
Gauls, the same as the Mars of the Ro- 
mans. Luean. 

Hesychius, author of a valu- 
able Greek lexicon. 

Hetruria and Etruria, a 

celebrated country of Italy, at the west 
Gf the Tiber. It originally contained 
twelve different nations, which had each 
their respective monarch. They all 
proved powerful and resolute enemies 
to the rising empire of the Romans, 
and were conquered only after much 
eriusion of blood. The inhabitants were 
particularly famous for their supersti- 
tion, and great confidence in dreams, 
omens, auguries, <fce. Viva. Strab. 

Hiberxia and Hybernia, a 
large island at the west of Britain, now 
called Ireland. Some of the ancients 
have called it Ibemia., Juverna, &e. 
Strab. 

Hicetaost, son of Laome&on, 
brother to Priam, and father of Mena- 

lippus. 

Hicetas, a Syracusan philo- 
sopher, who taught that the earth 
moved, and the sun and stars were sta- 
tionary. 

Hiempsal, a king of Numi- 

dia, &c. Pint. 

Hi era, a woman who married 

Teiephus, king of Mysia, and who was 
said \o surpass Helen in beauty. — One 
of the Lipari islands, called also" There- 
sia* now Vulco.no. Paus. 

Hie R as, a youth who awoke 
Argus to inform him that Mercury was 
stealing lo. Mercury killed him, and 
changed him into a bird of prey. Apol- 
lod, — Antiochus, king of Syria, and bro- 
ther to Seleucus, received the surname 
of Hierax. Justin. 

Hierichus, a town famous for 
its dates : the same as Jericho. 

Hiero 1st, a king of Syracuse, 
who rendered himself odious in the be- 
rinning of his reign by his cruel -y and 
avarice. He made war against Theron, 
the tyrant of Agrigentum, and took 



HIL 

Himera. He died, after a reijn of is 
years, B. C. 467, leaving the crown to 
his brother Thrasybulus. Diod.— The 
2d of that name, king of Syracuse, was 
descended from Gelon : he was unani- 
mously elected king by all the states of 
the island of Sicily, and appointed to 
carry on the war against the Carthagi- 
nians. He joined his enemies in besieg- 
ing Messana; was beaten by Appius 
Claudius, the Roman consul, and ob- 
liged to retire to Syracuse, where he was 
soon blocked up. Seeing all hopes of 
victory lost, he made peace with the 
Romans, and proved faithful to all his 
engagements. He reigned 59 years, and 
died in the 94th year of his age, about 
225 years before the Christian era, uni- 
versally regretted. He liberally pa- 
tronized the learned, and employed the 
talents of Archimedes for the good of 
his country. He was succeeded by Hie- 
ronymus. Justin. Li v. 

Hierocles, The most re- 
markable of this name were— a great 
persecutor of the Christians under Dio- 
cletian, and — a Platonic philosopher, 
who taught at Alexandria, and wrote a 
book on providence and fate, fragments 
of which are preserved by Photius ; a 
commentary on the golden verses of Py- 
thagoras ; and facetious moral verses. 
He flourished A. D. 485. 

Hierodulum, a town of Li- 
bya. 

HieronyMus, a tyrant of Si- 
cily, who succeeded his father or grand- 
father Hiero, when only fifteen years 
old. He rendered himself odious by 
his cruelty, oppression, and debauchery. 
He abjured the alliance of Rome, which 
Hiero had enjoyed with so much honor 
and advantage." He was assassinated, 
and all his family was overwhelmed in 
his fall, and totally extirpated, B. C. 
214. — A Christian writer, commonly 
called St. Jerome, born in Pannonia, 
distinguished for his zeal against here- 
tics. He wrote commentaries on the 
pronhets, St. Matthew's Gospel, &e. 
Jerome died A. D. 420, in his 9lst year- 

Hiero so lyma, a celebrated 

city of Palestine, the capital of Juda?a, 
taken by Pompey, ^ho, on that ac- 
count, v>as surnamed ±Lierosolymarius. 
Cic. ad Attic. Titus also took it, and 
destroyed it the Sth of September, A. D. 
70, according to Josephus 2177 years 
after its foundation. In the siege by 
Titus, llOjOQO persons are said to have 
perished, and 97,000 to have been made 
prisoners, and afterwards either sold for 
slaves or wantonly exposed, for the 
sport of their insolent victors, to the 
fury of wild beasts. Joseph. Beil. J . 

Hilaria, festivals at Rome in 
honor of the mother of the gods. 

Hilarius, a bishop of Poicr 
tiers, wrote several treatises, the mos-t 



HIP 



KIP 



famous of which is on the Trinity, in 
twelve books. Hilary died A. D. 372, 
in his 80th year. 

Him era , a city of Sicily, built 
by the people of Zancie, and destroyed 
by the Carthaginians 240 years after. 
Strab. — There were two rivers of Sicily 
of the same name. 

Himilco, a Carthaginian, son 
cf Amilcar, who succeeded his father 
in the command of the Carthaginian 
armies in Sicily. He died, with his 
army, by a plague, B. C. 398. Justin. 

Hippagoras, author of an 
account of the Carthaginian republic. 

Hipfalcimus, one of the Ar- 
gonauts. 

Hipparchia, wife to Crates, 

the Cynic philosopher. 

Hipparchus. The most ce- 
lebrated of this name are the following : 
— A son of Pisistratus, who succeeded 
his father as tyrant of Athens, with his 
brother Hippias. The seduction of a 
sister of Harmodius raised him many 
enemies, and he was at last assassinated 
by a desperate band of conspirators, 
with Harmodius and Aristogitonat their 
head, 513 years before Christ. — A ma- 
thematician and astronomer of Nicasa, 
who published several treatises and ob- 
servations upon the stars, and was the 
first who, after Thales and Sulpicius 
Gallus, found out the exact time cf 
eclipses, of which he made a calculation 
for 600 years. He published an account 
of the stars, to which he gave a name, 
and which he numbered and ably divi- 
ded into different classes, and died B. C. 
125. He first discovered that the inter- 
val between the vernal and autumnal 
equinox is 1 86 days, seven days longer 
than between the autumnal and vernal, 
occasioned by the eccentricity of the 
earth's orbit. He divided the heavens 
into 49 constellations, 12 in the ecliptic, 
21 in the northern, and 16 in the south- 
ern hemisphere, and gave names to all 
the stars. He made no mention of 
comets. He also laid the first founda- 
tion of trigonometry. Voss. de Sc. Math. 
Plin. 

Hipparinus, a son of Diony- 

sius, who ejected Callipus from Syra- 
cuse, and seized the sovereign power 
for twenty-seven years. Poly can. — The 
father of Dion. 

Hippasus, a centaur, killed at 
the nuptials of Pirithous. Ovid. — One 
of the pupils of Pythagoras, who believ- 
ed every thing was produced from 
me. 

Hippeus, the eldest of the 
fefty daughters of Thestius. 

Hippias, a philosopher of Elis, 

who maintained that virtue consisted in 
not being in want of the assistance of 
men.— A son of Pisistratus, who became 



tyrant of Athens after the death of his 
father, with his brother Hipparchus. 
He was willing to revenge the death of 
his brother, who had been assassinated, 
and for this violent measure he was 
driven from his country. He fled to 
king Darius in Persia, and was killed at 
the battle of Marathon, fighting against/ 
the Athenians, B. C. 490. Herodot. 

Hippius, a surname of Nep- 
tune, from his having raised a horse 
(iTtnog) from the earth, in his contest 
with Minerva concerning giving aname 
to Athens. 

Hippo, a celebrated town of 
Africa, on the Mediterranean. Strabo 
says there are two of the same name in 
Africa, one cf which is called Regius by 
way of distinction. 

Hippocentauri. [Vid. Cen- 

tauri.] 

Hippocoon, a son of (Ebahis, 
brother to Tyndarus, was put to death 
by Hercules /because he had driven his 
brother from the kingdom of Lacedae- 
mon. Diod. Gvid. — A friend of ^Enea?, 
son of Hyrtacus, who distinguished 
himself in the funeral games in Sicily. 
Virfr. 

Hippocrates, a celebrated 

physician of Cos, one of the Cyeiades : 
he improved himself in physic by read- 
ing the tablets in the temples of the 
gods, where each individual had written 
down the diseases under which he had 
labored, and the means by which he 
had recovered: he delivered Athens 
from a dreadful pestilence in the begin- 
ning of the Peloponnesian war, and 
was publicly rewarded with a golden 
crown : he devoted all his time for the 
service of his country. From his judi- 
cious remarks and experiments, suc- 
ceeding physicians have received the 
most valuable advantages : he died in 
the 99th year of his age, B. C 361, free 
from all disorders of the mind and body. 
His writings, few of which remain, have 
procured him the epithet of divine, 
and show that he was the Homer of his 
profession. According to Galen, the 
opinion of Hippocrates was as respect- 
able as the voice of an oracle: his me- 
mory is still venerated at Cos, and the 
present inhabitants of the island show a 
small house, which Hippocrates, as they 
assert, once inhabited. 

HippocrEne, a fountain of 
Bceotia, near Mount Helicon, sacred to 
the muses. It first rose from the ground 
when struck by the feet of the horse 
Pegasus, whence the name ^^axf vr/, 
the horse's fountain. Ovid' 

Hippodame and HirpODA- 
MIA, a daughter of GEnomaus, king cf 
Pisa, in Elis, married Pelops, acn of 
Tantalus. Her father, according to an 
oracle, refused to marry her, except to 



HIP 



HIE, 



him who could overcome him in a 
chariot race. As the beauty of Hippo- 
damia was celebrated, many accepted 
her father's conditions. Thirteen had 
already been conquered, and laid down 
their lives, when Pelops came from Ly- 
dia. P elops previously bribed Myrtilus , 
the charioteer of (Enomaus, and en- 
sured himself the victor. (Enomaus, 
mounted on a broken chariot, was 
killed in the course, and Pelops married 
Hippodamia, who became mother of 
Atreus and Thyestes. Virg. Ovid. Hy- 
gin. — A daughter of Adrastus, king of 
Argos, She married Pirithous, theking 
Of the Lapithae. [Vid. Pirithous.] Ovid. 
Apollod. &c. — Ancient writers mention 
others of inferior note of this name. 

Hippolochus, a son of Belle- 
rophon, father to Glaucus. Homer. — 
A son of Antimachus, slain in the Tro- 
jan war. Id. 

Hippolyte. The most cele- 
brated of this name is a queen of the 
Amazons, given in marriage to Theseus 
by Hercules, who had conquered her, 
and taken away her girdle, by order of 
Eurystheus. [Vid. Hercules.] She had 
a son by Theseus, called Hippolytus. 
She was also called Antiope. Plut." Pro- 
pert. &c. — The wife of Acastus, who 
fell in love with Peleus, who was in 
exile at her husband's court. She ac- 
cused him of incontinence, and of at- 
tempts upon her virtue, before Acastus, 
only because he refused to gratify her 
desires. She is also called Astyochia. 
{Vid. Acastus.] 

Hippolytus. The most ce- 
lebrated of this name is a son of The- 
seus and Hippolyte, famous for his con- 
tinence : his step-mother Phaedra fell 
in love with him, and when he refused 
to pollute his father's bed, she accused 
him of offering violence to her person 
before Theseus, who believed the accu- 
sation, and entreated Neptune severely 
to punish the incontinence of his son. 
hippolytus fled from the resentment of 
His father, and as he pursued his way 
along the sea- shore, his horses were so 
frightened at the noise of sea-calves, 
which Neptune had purposely sent 
there, that they ran about the rocks till 
his chariot was broken, and his body 
torn to pieces. Accoi'ding to some ac- 
counts, Diana restored him to life, and 
he assumed the name of Virbius. Ovid. 
Virg. <fec. 

HippOMACHUS, a musician, 
who rebuked one of his pupils, because 
he had elicited applause from the mul- 
titude. 

Hippomedok, a son of Nisi- 

machus and Mythidice, who was one 
of the seven chiefs who went against 
Thebes : he was killed by Ismarus, son 
of Acastus. Apollod. &c. 

Hippomenes. Ancient writers 
mention three of this name, the most 



remarkable of whom is a son of Maca- 
reus and Merope, who married Atalanta 
[ Vid. Atalanta] with the assistance of 
Venus. These two fond lovers were 
changed into lions by Cybele, whose 
temple they had profaned in their im- 
patience to consummate their nuptials. 
Ovid. 

Hippo mol gi, a Scythian 

people, who drank the milk of mares. 

Htppona, a goddess who pre- 
sided over horses ; her statues were 
placed in horses' stables. J it v. 

Hipponax, a Greek poet, born 
at Ephesus, 540 years before the Chris- 
tian era : he cultivated the same satiri- 
cal poetry as Archilochus, and was not 
inferior to him in the beauty or vigor 
of his lines. Cic 

Hipponium, a city of Sicily, 
in which was a dock, made by Agatho- 
cles. 

Hipponous, the father of Pe- 

ribcea and Capaneus: he was killed by 
the thunderbolts of Jupiter before the 
walls of Thebes. Apollod. 

Hippotades, a patronymic of 
^Eolus, grandson of Hippotas, by Se- 
gesta, as also of Amastrus, his son, who 
was killed in the Rutulian war. Virg. 
Ovid. 

Hippotas, the father of JEo- 

lus. 

Hippothoe, a daughter of 

Mestor and Lysidice, carried away to 
the islands called Echinades by Nep- 
tune, by whcm she had a son named 
Taphius. This son distinguished him- 
self by his valor, and returned to Argos 
at the head of the Teleboans. Apollod. 
— One of the Nereides. Id. 

Hippothoon, a son of Nep- 
tune and A lope, exposed in the woods 
by his mother, that her amour with the 
god might be concealed from her father. 
Her shame was discovered, and her fa- 
ther ordered her to be put to death, 
Neptune changed her into a fountain, 
and the child was preserved by mares, 
whence his name. Hygin. 

Hippothous, a son of Le- 
thus, killed by Ajax in the Trojan war. 
Homer. 

Hippo t ion, a prince who as- 
sisted the Trojans, and was killed by 
Merlon. Homer. 

Hipp Oris, an island among 
the Cyclades. 

Hi iti , a seaport in the Pelo- 
ponnesus. 

Hirtia lex demagistratibus, 
by A. Hirtius. It required that none 
of Pompey's adherents should be raised 
to any office or dignity in the state. 

Hirtius , Aulus, a consul 

with Pansa, who assisted Brutus when 



HOM 



HON 



besieged at Mutitia by Antony. They 
defeated Antony, but were both killed 
in battle. Suet. — An historian,, to whom 
the 8 th book of Caesar's history of the 
Gallic wars, as also that of the Alexan- 
drian and Spanish wars, is attributed. 
The style is inferior to that of Caesar's 
Commentaries. 

Hispaxia or Hispanic, a 

large country of Europe, separated from 
Gaul by the Pyrenean mountains, and 
bounded on every other side by the 
Atlantic ocean and Mediterranean sea, 
long subject to the power of Carthage. 
The Romans became sole masters of it 
at the end of the second Punic war, 
and divided it first into exterior and ul- 
terior, which last was afterwards sepa- 
rated into Btstica and Lusitania, by 
Augustus. The Hispania citerior was 
also called Tarraconensis. Spain gave 
birth to Quintiiian, Lucan, Seneca, &c. 
It was called by the poets Iberia, Hes- 
peria, and Hesperia ultima. Its inha- 
bitants were naturally warlike, and they 
often destroyed a life which was be- 
come burdensome by its infirmities. 
Spain was famous for its rich mines of 
silver, ^vhich employed 40,000 workmen, 
and daily yielded to the Romans no less 
than 20,000 drachms. These, however, 
have long since failed. Strab. Mela. 
Plin. &c. 

HiSTiiEOTis, a country of 

Thessaly, situate below mount Olym- 
pus and mount Ossa, anciently called 
Doris, from Dorus, the son of Deuca- 
lion, and inhabited by the Pelasgi. Strab. 
Herodot. — A small country of Eubrea, 
of which Histiaea, or Estiaea, was the 
capitai. 

Hi stilus, a tyrant of Miletus, 
who excited the Greeks to take up arms 
against Persia. Herodot. 

Homerus, a celebrated Greek 
poet, the most ancient of all the profane 
writers. The age in which he lived is 
not known, though some suppose it to 
be about 1G8 years after the Trojan war, 
or, according' to others, 160 years before 
the foundation of Rome. According to 
Paterculus, he flourished 968 years be- 
fore the Christian era, or 884 according 
to Herodotus, who supposes him to be 
contemporary with Hesiod. The Arun- 
delian marbles fix his era 907 years be- 
fore Christ, and make him also contem- 
porary with Hesiod. The place of his 
birth is also unknown, and no less than 
seven illustrious cities laid claim to 
it, Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Salamis, 
RJiodes, Argos, Athena ; but the place 
of nativity, parentage, and connexions 
of a man, whom some have represented 
blind, have never been properly ascer- 
tained. In his two celebrated poems 
called the Iliad and Odyssey, Homer has 
displayed the most consummate know- 
lege of human nature, and rendered 
himself immortal by the sublimity, the 



fire, sweetness, and elegance of his 
poety. In his Iliad, Homer has describ- 
ed the resentment of Achilles, and its 
fatal consequences in the Grecian army 
before the walls of Troy. In the Odys- 
sey, the poet has for his subject the re- 
turn of Ulysses into his country, with 
the many misfortunes which attended 
his voyage after the fall of Troy. 
Though the Iliad claims an uncontest- 
ed superiority over the Odyssey, yet the 
same sublimity and elegance prevail, 
though divested of its more powerful 
fire ; and Longinus, the most refined of 
critics, compares the Iliad to the mid- 
day, and the Ody isey to the setting sun ; 
and observes that the latter still pre- 
serves its original splendor and majesty, 
though deprived of its meridian heat. 
The ancients had such veneration for 
Homer, that they not only raised tem- 
ples and altars to him, but offered sacri- 
fices, and worshipped him as a god. 
Alexander was so fond of Homer, that 
he generally placed his compositions 
under his pillow, with his sword. It is 
said, that Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens, 
was the first who collected and arranged 
the Iliad and Odyssey in the manner in 
which they now appear to us, and that 
it is to the" well-directed pursuits of Ly- 
curgus that we are indebted for their 
preservation. Besides the Iliad and 
Odyssey, Homer wrote, according to 
the opinion of some authors, a poem 
upon Amphiaraus's expedition against 
Thebes, besides the Phoceis, the Cer- 
copes, the small Iliad, the Epicichlides, 
and the Batrachomyomachia, and many 
hymns to some of the gods. Of the nu- 
merous commentaries published on Ho- 
mer, that of Eustathius, bishop of Thes- 
salonica, is by far the most extensive 
and erudite. Herodot. Aristot. Strab. 
&c— One of the Greek poets, called 
Pleiades, born at Hierapolis, B. C. 263 : 
he wrote 45 tragedies, all lost.— There 
were seven other poets, of inferior note, 
who bore the name of Homer. 

Hgmesomast ix, a name 
given to Zoilus for his hypercriticisms 
on Homer. 

Ho mole, a mountain in Thes- 
saly, where the Centaurs once lived. 

Ho mo lo ides, one of the seven 

gates of Thebes. 

Homonadenses, a people of 

Cilicia. 

Honor, a virtue that received 
divine honor among the Romans. Cic. 
&c. 

Honorius, an emperor of the 

western empire of Rome, succeeded his 
father Theodosius the Great, with his 
brother Arcadius : he was neither bold 
nor vicious, but of a modest and timid 
disposition, unfit for enterprise, and 
i fearful of danger: he died of a dropsy 
in the 39th year of his age, 15th ot Au- 



HOR 



HOR 



gust, A. D. 423. Under him and his 
brother the Roman power was divided 
into two different empires, the eastern 
and western. This division of power 
proved fatal to both empires, and they 
soon looked upon one another with in- 
difference and jealousy. 

Ho it a, a goddess at Rome, sup- 
posed to be Hersilia, who manied Ro- 
mulus. She was supposed to preside 
over beauty. Ovid. 

Hor^e, three sisters, daughters 
of Jupiter and Themis, according to 
Kesiod, called Eunomia, Dice/and 
Irene. They were represented by the 
poets as opening the gates of heaven and 
of Olympus, and yoking the horses of 
Phoebus. They were the same as the 
seasons, who presided over the spring, 
summer, &c. Homer. Hesiod. &c. 

Hoe-Apollo, a Greek writer, 
author of a work on hieroglyphics. 

Ho rat I A, the sister of the 
Horatii, who was killed by orie of her 
brothers, for lamenting the death of her 
lover, one of the Curiatii. 

HciiATIlTS COCLES. [Vid, 

Codes.] — Q. Flaecus, a celebrated poet, 
born at Venusia : his father was afreed- 
man. Though poor, he liberally edu- 
cated his son, and sent him to learn 
philosophy at Athens. Horace followed 
Brutus from Athens, but after the battle 
of Philippi he abandoned the profession 
of arms, and, at his return to Rome, he 
applied himself to cultivate poetry. Vir- 
gil and Varius recommended him to 
Maecenas and Augustus, the most cele- 
brated patrons of literature, in whose 
friendship he afterwards lived, and the 
hospitality of whose tables he enjoyed in 
the most unreserved manner : he adopt- 
ed the philosophical tenets of Epicurus, 
liberally indulged his appetites, but was 
heedless of popularity or public em- 
ployments : he was warm in his friend- 
ships, and if ever an ill-judged reflec- 
tion had caused offence, the poet im- 
mediately made every concession which 
could effect a reconciliation, and not 
destroy the good purposes of friendly 
society. Horace died in the 57th year 
of his age, B. C. 8. He left all his pos- 
sessions to Augustus, having survived 
his patron Maecenas only three weeks. 
The poetry of Horace, so much com- 
mended for its elegance and sweetness, 
is deservedly censured for the licentious 
expressions and indelicate thoughts 
which he too frequently introduces. In 
his odes he has imitated Pindar and 
Anacreon. In his satires and epistles, 
Horace displays much wit, and much 
satirical humor, without much poetry ; 
and his style, simple and unadorned, 
differs little from prosaical composition. 
In his Art of Poetry he has also shown 
much taste and judgment. Suet. Ovid. 
Trist. — Three brave Romans, bom at 
the same birth, who fought against the 



three Curiatii, about 667 years B. C. 
between the hostile camps of the people 
of Alba and Rome, and on their success 
depended the victory. In the first at- 
tack two of the Horatii were killed, and 
the only surviving one, by joining arti- 
fice to valor, obtained an honorable tro- 
phy. By pretending to fly from the 
field of battle, he separated his antago- 
nists, and in attacking them one by one, 
he was enabled to conquer them all. As 
he relumed victorious to Rome, his 
sister reproached him with the murder 
of one of the Curiatii, to whom she v/as 
promised in marriage : he was incensed 
at the rebuke, and killed his sister: he 
was tried, and capitally condemned for 
this violence, but, for his eminent ser- 
vices, the sentence of death was ex- 
changed for passing under the yoke. A 
trophy was raised in the Roman forum, 
on which he suspended the spoils of the 
conquered Curiatii. Liv. &c. 

Ho re st i, a people in Caledo- 
nia. 

HoRPtATUS, a Macedonian, 

whom Quintus Curtius describes as 
fighting with another soldier in sight of 
Alexander's army. 

Horta, a divinity among the 
Romans, who presided over youth, and 
patronized all exhortations to virtue and 
honorable deeds. She is the same as 
Hersilia. 

Horta, or Hoetinum, a 

town of the Sabines, on the confluence 
of the Nar arift*the Tiber. Virg. 

Hortexsia, a celebrated Ro- 
man lady, daughter of the orator Hor- 
tensius, whose eloquence she had in- 
herited in the most eminent degree. 
When the triumvirs had obliged 1400 
women to give, upon oath, an account 
of their possessions, to defray the ex- 
penses of the state, Hortensia undertook 
to plead their cause, and was so success- 
ful in her attempt, that 1000 of hex fe- 
male fellow-sufferers escaped from the 
avarice of the triumvirate. Vol. 21a?:. 

Q. Hortexsius, a celebrated 
orater, who began to distinguish him- 
self, by his eloquence in the Roman fo- 
rum, at the age of 19 : his friend and 
successor Cicero speaks with great eulo- 
gium of his oratorical powers, and men- 
tions the uncommon extent of his me- 
mory : he was praetor and consul, and 
died*50 years B. C. in his 63d year: his 
orations are not extant. — A rich Ro- 
man, who asked the elder Cato for his 
wife, to procreate children. Cato gave his 
wife to his friend, and took her again 
after his death. This behaviour of 
Cato was highly censured at Rome, and 
it v/as observed that Cato's wife had en- 
tered the house of Koitensius very 
poor, but that she returned to the bed 
of Cato in the greatest opulence. Plut. 
— This name was common to other Ro- 
mans of inferior note. 



HYA 



HYGr 



Horus, an Egyptian god. 
Hospitalis, one of the sur- 
names of Jupiter. 

Hunni, a people of Sarmatia, 

who invaded the empire of Rome in 
the fifth century, and settled in Panno- 
iria, to which they gave the name of 
Hungary. 

Hyacintkia, an annual so- 
lemnity at Amyelai, in Laconia, in ho- 
nor of Hyacinthus and Apollo. It con- 
tinued for three days, during which 
time the grief of the people was so great 
forth e death of Hyacinthus, that they 
didnot adorn their hair with garlands 
during their festivals, nor eat bread, 
but fed only on sweetmeats. Athen. 

Hyacinthus, a son of Amy- 
das and Diomede, greatly beloved by 
Apollo and Zephyrus : he returned the 
former's love, and Zephyrus, incensed 
at his coldness, resolved to punish his 
rival. As Apollo once played at quoit 
with Hyacinthus, Zephyrus blew the 
quoit, which, as soon as it was thrown 
by Apollo, fell upon the head of Hya- 
cinthus, and he was killed with the 
blow. Apollo was so disconsolate at his 
death, that he changed his blood into a 
flower, which bore his name, and placed 
-his body among the constellations. — 
The Spartans also established yearly fe- 
stivals in honor of the nephew of their 
king. [Vid. Ryacinthia.] Pans. Ovid. 

Hyades, five daughters of At- 
las, king of Mauritania, were so discon- 
solate at the death of their brother 
Hyas, killed by a wild boar, that they 
pined away and died. They became 
stars after death, and were placed near 
Taurus, one of the twelve signs of the 
zodiac. They received the name of 
Hyades, from their brother Hyas. Their 
names are Phaoia, Ambrosia, Eudora, 
Coronis, and Polyxo. To these some 
have added Thione and Prod ice. The 
ancients supposed that the rising and 
setting of the Hyades was always at- 
tended with much rain. Ovid. Hygin, 
&e. 

Hyagnis, a Phrygian, who, 
according to Plutarch, invented the 
tlute. 

Hyala, an Indian city, in 
which prevailed the same government, 
as at Lacedjemon. 

Hyampolis, a city of Phocis, 
on the river Cephisus. 

Hyanthes, the ancient name 
of the inhabitants of Bceotia, from king 
Hyas. Cadmus is sometimes called Hy- 
anthius, being king of Bceotia. Ovid. 

Hyas, a son of Atlas, of Mau- 
ritania, by yEthra. His extreme fond- 
ness for shooting proved fatal to him, 
and, in his attempts to rob a lioness of 
her whelps, he was killed by the en- 
raged animal. Some say that he died by 



the bite of a serpent, and others that he 
was killed by a wild boar. [ Fid. Hya- 
des.] Hygin. Ovid. 

Hybla, a mountain in Sicily, 
famous for the honey which it pro- 
duced. There is, at the foot of the 
mountain, a town of the same name. 
There is a] so another near mount /Etna, 
close to Catana. Paus. &c. 

Hyccaron, a Sicilian town, 
the birth-place of Lais. 

Hyba and Hyde, a town of 
Lydia, the same as Sardis, as some sup- 
pose. 

Hydarn"ES, one of the seven 
noble Persians who conspired to destroy 
the usurper Smerdis, &c. Hcrodot. 

Hydaspes, a river of Asia, 
flowing by Susa.— Another in India, the 
boundaries of Alexander's conquests in 
the East. It falls into the Indus. Curt, 
Strab. &c. 

Hydra, a huge monster, which 
infested the neighbourhood of the lake 
Lerna, in Peloponnesus, the fruit of 
Echidna's union with T?phon. It had 
a hundred heads , according to Diodo- 
rus; fifty, according to Sinwnid.es ; and 
nine, according to the more received 
opinion of Apollodorus, Hyginiis, &c. 
As soon as one was cut off, two imme- 
diately grew up, if the wound was not 
stopped by fire. It was one of the labors 
of Hercules to destroy this dreadful 
r: ouster, and this he easily effected with 
the assistance of Io.as, who applied a 
burning iron to the wound as soon as 
each head was cut off. The conqueror 
dipped his arrow in the gall of the 
hydra, and, from that circumstance, all 
the wounds which he gave proved in- 
curable and mortal. Hesiod. Virg. He- 
rat. &c. 

PIydrophORIA, a festival ob- 
served at Athens, called ctita tou ffff*? 
v§W£, from carrying water. It was ce- 
lebrated in commemoration of there 
who perished in the deluge. 

Hydruntun, a city of Cala- 
bria, distant from Greece not more than 
50 miles ; now Otranto. 

PI ye MP sal, a son of Micipsa, 
brother to Adherbal, murdered by .lu- 
gurtha, after the death of his father. 
Salh'st. 

Kyettus, a small town in 

Bceotia. 

Hygeia, the goddess cf health, 
daughter of /Esculapius, held in great 
veneration among the ancient. Ac- 
cording to some authors, Hygeia is the 
same as Minerva: her statues repre- 
sented her with a veil, and the rftatvbifS 
usually consecrated their locks ro her 
divinity. She was also represented on 
monuments like a young woman, hold- 
ing a serpent in one hand, and in ttie 



HYM 



other a cup, out of which the serpent 
sometimes drank. Plin. Plut. &c. 

C. Jul. Hyginus, a gram- 
marian, one of the freedmen of Augu- 
stus, was a native of Alexandria; or, 
according to some, he was a Spaniard, 
very intimate with Ovid. He was ap- 
pointed librarian to the library of mount 
Palatine: he wrote a mythological hi- 
story, which he called fables, and Poe- 
ticon Astronomicon, besides other trea- 
tises. Some of his writings are now lost. 
Sueton. 

Hylas, a son of Thiodamas, 
king of Mysia and Menodice, stolen 
away by Hercules, and carried on board 
the ship Argo to Colchis. On the Asia- 
tic coast the Argonauts landed to take 
fresh water, and Hylas went to the 
fountain with a pitcher, and fell into the 
water and was drowned. The poets say 
that the nymphs of the river, enamour- 
ed of the beautiful Hylas, carried him 
away ; and that Hercules, disconsolate 
at the loss of his favorite youth, aban- 
doned the Argonautic expedition to seek 
him. Apollod. Virg. &c. 

Hyl^eds, a name given to 
some centaurs, one of whom was killed 
by Hercules on mount Pholoe. VirgL 
— Another by Theseus, at the nuptials 

of Pirithous. Stat. Another killed 

by Bacchus. Virg. — A fourth killed 
by Atalanta. Apollod* — One of the hunt- 
ers of the Calydonian boar. Ovid. Met. 

Hyllaicus, a district near 
Messenia. 

Hyllus, a son of Hercules and 
Dejanira, who, soon after his father's 
death, married Iole : he was persecuted 
by the envy of Eurystheus, and obliged 
to fly to Athens from the Peloponnesus : 
he afterwards slew Eurystheus, and hav- 
ing made an unsuccessful attempt to re- 
cover the Peloponnesus with the Hera- 
clidss, was killed in single combat, by 
Echemus,king of Arcadia. [Vid. Hera'- 
ciida?, Hercules. J Herodot. &c 

Hylonome, the wife of Cyl- 
larus, who .slew herself at the time her 
husband was slain by the Lapithse. 

Hymmus and HY3IEN, the 
god of marriage among the Greeks, was 
son of Bacchus and Venus, or of Apollo 
and one of the Muse?. The people of 
Athens instituted festivals in his honor, 
and solemnly invoked him at their nup- 
tials, as the Latins did their Thalassius. 
Hymen was generally represented as 
crowned with flowers," holding a burn- 
ing torch iu one hand, and in the other 
a vest of a purple color. It was sup- 
posed that he always attended at nup- 
tials ; for, if not, matrimonial connec- 
tions were fatal, and ended in the most 
dreadful calamities; and hence people 
ran about, and called aloud, Hymen ! 
Hymen ! &c. Ovid. Virg. 

Hymettus, a mountain of 



HYP 



Attica, about two miles from Athens, 
famous for its bees and excellent honey. 
Jupiter had there a temple, whence he 
is called Hymettius. Strab. dec. 

Hyp^efa, or Ipep^e, a town 

of Lydia, sacred to Venus, between 
mount Tmolus and theCaystrus. Strab. 

Hypaxis, a river of European 
Scythia, now called Bog, which falls 
into the Borysthenes. Herodot. — A Tro- 
jan, who joined himself to .Eneas, and 
was killed by his own people, who took 
him for one'of the enemy, in the night 
that Troy was burned by the Greeks. 
Virg. 

Hyparixus, a son of Dion, 

who reigned at Svracuse for two years 
afcer his father.— The father of Dion. 

H y p a t i a, an Alexandrian 

lady of great beauty, virtue, and ac- 
complishments : assassinated A. D. 415. 
Hyperbius, one of the sons of 

iEgyptus. 

Hypeeb re i, a name given 

the inhabitants of the northern parts of 
Europe and Asia. The word signifies 
people who inhabit beyond the wind 
Boreas. Thrace was the residence of 
Boreas, according to the ancients. The 
name is generally applied to all those 
who inhabit any cold climate. Virg, 
Herodot. 

Hyperides, an Athenian ora- 
tor, son of Glaucippus, long the rival 
of Demosthenes : he distinguished him- 
self by his eloquence, ana the active 
part he took in the management of the 
Athenian republic. After the battle of 
Cranon, he was taken alive, and, that 
he might not be compelled to betray the 
secrets of his country, he cat off his 
tongue : he was put to death by order 
of Antipater, B. C. 322. Only "one of 
his numerous orations remains," admired 
for the sweetness and elegance of its- 
style. He once defended Phryue, riie 
courtezan, who was charged with im- 
piety : and when he found his eloquence 
ineffectual, he unveiled the bosom of 
his client, which disarmed her judges, 
and ensured her acquittal. 

Hyperion, a son of Ccelus 

and Terra, married Thea, by whom he 
had Aurora, the Sun, and the "Moon. 
Hyperion is often taken by the poets for 
the sun itself. Hesiod. Homer. 

Hypermxestra, one of the 

fifty daughters of Danaus, who spared 
the" life of her husband Lynceus, whom 
her father ordered her to- murder the 
first night of their marriage : her father 
summoned her to appear before a tribu- 
nal for her disobedience, but the people 
acquitted her, and Danaus was recon- 
ciled to her and her husband, to whom 
he left his kingdom at his death. [ Vid. 
Danaides.] Pans. Apollod. &c. 

HypseAj a Roman matron of 



IAC 



IAL 



the family of the Plautii. She wa s 
biind , according to Horace, or, perhaps, 
was partial to some lover, who was re- 
commended neither by personal nor 
mental excellence. 

Hypseus, a son of the river 
Peneus, father of Astyage> the wife of 
Periphas, and of Cvrene the mother of 
Arhtaeus. Bind. Find. Pyth* 

Hypsicrates. a Phoenician, 
who wrote a history of his country in 
the Phoenician language. This history 
was saved from the flames of Carthage", 
when that city was taken by Scipio, and 
translated into Greek. 

Hypsipyle, a queen of Lem- 
nos, daughter of Thoas, is remarkable 
for having spared the life of her father 
Thoas, when all the Lemnian women, 
in a fit of jealousy, inhumanly mur- 
dered all their male' relations. The Ar- 
gonauts, in their expedition to Colchis, 
landed on this island, and during their 
stay., rendered the Lemnian women mo- 
thers. Jason, the chief of the expedi- 
tion, left Hypsipyle pregnant at his 
departure, and promised her eternal 
fidelity. Hypsipyle brought twins, Eu- 
neus and Ncbrophonos. Jason forgot 
his vows to Hypsipyle, and the unfor- 
tunate queen was soon after forced to 
leave her kingdom. Hypsipyle, in her 
dight, was seized by pirates, ana sold to 
Lycurgus, king of Nemaea. She was 
entrusted with the care of Archemorus, 
\_quem vid.'] the son of Lycurgus ; and, 
when the Argives marched against 
Thebes, they met her, and obliged her 
to show them a fountain, where they 
might quench their thirst. To do this 
more expeditiously, she laid down the 
child on tl^e gvass, and in her absence, 
he was killed by a serpent. Lycurgus 
attempted to revenge the death of his 
son, but Hypsipyle was protected by 
Adrastus, the leader of the Argives. 
Oind. Strab. 

Hyrcania, a large mountain- 
ous country of Asia, at the north of 
Parthia, and at the west of Media, 
abounding in serpents, wild beasts, &c. . 



IAC 



Iacchus, a surname cf Bac- 
chus, ab <a^£JV, clamare, from the noise 
and shouts which the Bacchanals raised 
at the festivals of this deity. Virg. &c. 
— .Some suppose him. to be a son of 
Ceres ; because, in the celebration of the 
Eleusinian mysteries, the word Iacchus 
was frequently repeated. Herodot. 



— A town of A.sia, destroyed by a 
violent earthquake in the age of Tibe- 
rius. 

Hyrcanum mare. [ Vid. 

Caspium mare.] 

Hyrta, a country of Bceotia. 

It received its name from Hyrie, a wo- 
man, who wept so much for the loss of 
her son, that she was changed into a 
fountain. Ovid. Herodot. 

Hyreius and Hyreus. a 

peasant, or, as some sav, a prince of 
Tanagra, who kindly entertained Jupi- 
ter, Neptune, and Mercury, when tra- 
velling over Bceotia. Being childless, 
he asked of the gods to give him a son, ~~ 
without his marrying, as he promised 
his wife, who was lately dead, and whom 
he tenderly loved, that he never would 
marry again. The gods, to reward the 
hospitality of Hyreus, made water in 
the hide of a bull which had been sacri- 
ficed the preceding day to their divi- 
nity, and they ordered him to wrap it 
up, and bury it in the ground for nine 
months. At the expiration of that time 
Hyreus opened the earth, and found a 
beautiful child in the bull's hide, whom 
he called Orion. [Vid. Orion. J Ovid. 
Fast. Hygin. 

Hyrtacus, a Trojan of 
mount Ida, father to Nisus, one of the 
companions of yEneas. Virg. Hence 
the patronymic of Hyrtacides is applied 
to Nisus. It is also applied to Hippo- 
coon. Id. 

Hysia, the royal residence of 

the kings of Parthia.— There were also 
other places of inferior note of this 
name. 

Hystaspes, a noble Persian 

of the family of the Achaemenides. His 
son Darius reigned in Persia after the 
murder of the' usurper Smerdis. Hy- 
staspes was the first who introduced the 
mysteries of the Indian Brachmans into 
Persia, and to his researches in India 
the sciences were greatly indebted, par- 
ticularly in Persia. Herodot. 



IAL 



Ialemus, a son of the muse 

Calliope, whose name, from his melan- 
choly poems, and imperfect composi- 
tions, it is said, has been applied by the 
Greeks to such elegies as were expres- 
sive of sorrow and mourning, as were the 
Ntenice of the Latins. Athen. 

Ialmenus, a son of Mars and 



JAN 



IAS 



Astyojhe, who wenc to the Trojm vzsr, 
with 30 ships, with his brother Ascala- 
phus. Homer. 

Iaeysus, the name of a per- 
son, whom Protogeues was painting, at 
the time of the taking of Rhodes by 
Demetrius Polioreetes. 

lAMBE,.a servant maid of 3|e- 
tanira, wife of Celeus, king of Eleusis, 
who tried to exhilarate Ceres, when she 
travelled over Attica in quest of her 
daughter Proserpine. From the jokes 
and stories which she made use of, free 
and satirical verses have been called 
Iambics. Apolfad. 

Iamblicus, a Greek author, 
who wrote several works. He was a 
great favorite with the emperor Julian, 
and died A. D. 363. 

I a M id^e, certain prophets 
among the Greeks, descended from Ia- 
mus, a son of Apollo. 

Janiculum and Janicula- 
RIUS MONS, one of the seven hills at 
Rome, joined to the city by Ancus Mar- 
tins, and made a kind of citadel. It is 
famous for the burial of king Numa 
and the poet Italicus. Porsenna, king 
of Etruria, pitched his camp on mount 
Janiculum/and the senators took re- 
fuge there in the civil wars, to avoid the 
resentment of Octavms. Liu. &c 

Ianthe, a girl of Crete, who 
married Iphis. [Vid. Iphis.] Ovid, Met. 

Ian the a, one of the Nereides. 
—One of the Oceanides. 

Janus, the most ancient king 

\vho reigned in Italy, was a native of 
Thessaly, and son of Apollo. He came 
to Italy, where he built a small town on 
the Tiber, which he called Janieulura. 
Some authors make him son of Coelus 
and Hecate; and ethers a native of 
Athens. During his reign, Saturn, 
driven from heaven by his son Jupiter, 
came* to Italy, where Janus received 
him with hospitality, and made him his 
colleague on the throne. Janus is re- 
presented with two faces, because he 
was acquainted with the past and the 
future; or, according to others, because 
he was taken for the sun, who opens the 
day at his rising, and shuts it at his 
setting. Some statues represented Ja- 
nus With four heads. — Some suppose 
that he is the same as the world, or Cce- 
lus. He was chiefly worshipped among 
the Romans, where he had many tem- 
ples, some erected to Janus Bifrons, 
others to Janus Quadrifrons. Janus 
was generally represented 'in statues as a 
young man. After death, Janus was 
ranked among the gods for the civiliza- 
tion he had introduced among the wild 
inhabitants of Italy. His temple, which 
was always open in times of war, was 
shut only" three times during above 700 
years, under Numa, 234 B. C. and 
under Augustus ; and during that long 



period of time, the Romans were conti- 
nually employed in war. Odd. Fi/%-. 
&e.— A street in Rome, near the temple 
of Janus, generally frequented by usu- 
rers. 

Japetides, a musician who 

sung at the nuptials of Perseus and An- 
dromeda. 

Jape t us, a son of Coelus by 
Terra, married Asia, or, according to 
others, Clymene, by whom he had At- 
las, Menoetius, Prometheus, and Epi- 
metheus. The Greeks looked upon him 
as the father of all mankind. His sons 
received the patronymic of Iapetionides. 
Ovid. Keziod. ike. 

Japis, an /Etolian, who found- 
ed a city unon the banks of the Tima- 
vus. Virg, — A Trojan, favorite of 
Apollo, from whom he received the 
knowledge of the power of medicinal 
herbs. Id. 

Iapygia, a country on the con- 
fines of Italy, in the form of a penin- 
sula, between Tareutum, Barium, and 
Brundusium. It is called by some Mes- 
sapia, Peucetia, and Salentinum. Plin. 
Strab. 

Iapyx, a son of Daedalus, who 
conquered a part of Italy, which be 
cailed Iapygia. Ovid. — A wind which 
blows from" Apulia, and is favorable 
to such as sailed from Italy towards 
Greece. 

Iabbas, a son of Jupiter and 

Garamantis, king of G abulia, from 
whom Dido bought iand to build Car- 
thage. He courted Dido, but the rival- 
ship of ^Eiieas prevented his success. 
[Vid. Dido.] Virg.&c. 

Iarbitas, a rhetorician of 
Mauritania, very envious of the fame 
of rimagenes. Horat. 

Iabchas and Jabchas, a ce- 
lebrated Indian philosopher. His seven 
rings are famous for their power of re- 
storing old men to the bloom and vigor 
of youth, according to the tradition of 
PhUostr. in Apol. 

Iasides, a patronymic given 
to Palinurus as descended from a person 
of the name of Jasius. Virg. 

Iasion and Iastus, a son of 
Jupiter and Eiectra, one of the Atlan- 
tides, reigned over part of Arcadia, 
where he diligently applied himself to 
agriculture. He married the goddess 
Cybele or Ceres, by whom he had two 
sons, PhiJomelus and Plutus, to whom 
some have added a third, Corybas, who 
introduced the worship and "mysteries 
of his mother in Phrygia. He had also 
a daughter whom he exposed as soon as 
born, but the child was suckled by a she- 
bear, and rendered herself famous after- 
wards under the name of Atalanta. 
[Vid. Atalanta.] Iasion was killed with 
a thunderbolt of Jupiter, and ranked 



JAS 

among the gods after death by the in- 
habitants of Arcadia. Hesiod". Theog. 
Virsr. &c. 

JAsox, a celebrated hero, son 

of Msob.1 king of Iolehos, at whose 
death the throne was usurped by Pelias, 
on account of the tender youth of Jason, 
the lawful successor. In order to re- 
move him from his presence, Pelias en- 
trusted the education of Jason to Chi- 
ron the Centaur. After he had made 
the most rapid progress in every branch 
of science, Jason left the Centaur, and 
by his advice went to consult the oracle. 
He was ordered to go to Iolchos his na- 
tive country, whither he immediately 
repaired, and boldly demanded the king- 
dom which Pelia had unjustly usurped. 
The boldness and popularity of Jason 
intimidated Pelias, who, in order to re- 
move his immediate claims to the 
crown, reminded Jason, who was 
young and ambitious, that iEetesking of 
Colchis had severely treated, and in- 
humanly murdered their common rela- 
tion Phryxus. [Vid. Phryxus.] Ke added 
that the undertaking would be attended 
with much glory, and that if Jason 
would undertake it, he would resign to 
him the crown when he returned victo- 
rious. Jason readily accepted a pro- 
posal which promised such military 
fame. His intended expedition was 
made known in every part of Greece, 
and the youngest and bravest of the 
Greeks assembled to share his toils and 
glory. They embarked on board a ship 
called Argo, and after a series of adven- 
tures they arrived at Colchis. [Vid. Ar- 
gonautae.] iEetes promised to restore 
the golden fleece, which was the cause 
of the death of Phryxus, and of the 
voyage of the Argonauts, provided they 
submitted to his conditions. Jason was 
to tame bulls, and kill a monstrous dra- 
gon that watched the golden rleece, &c. 
but Juno watched over the safety of 
Jason. Medea, the king's daughter", fell 
in love with Jason, and as her know- 
ledge of herbs, enchantments, &c. was 
uncommon, she pledged herself to de- 
liver her lover from his dangers if he 
promised her eternal fidelity. Jason 
agreed to her proposal, and received 
from Medea whatever herbs, &c. could 
protect him. He then undertook the 
labors imposed on him, and performed 
them in the presence of .-Eetes and his 
people, who were all equally astonished 
at his boldness and success. After this 
celebrated conquest, Jason immediately 
set sail for Europe with Medea. .3ietes, 
desirous to revenge the perfidy of Me- 
dea, sent his son Absyrtus to pursue the 
fugitives. i Medea killed her brother, 
and strewed his limbs in her father's 
way, that she might more easily escape, 
while he was employed in collecting the 
mangled members of his son. {Vid. Ab- 
syrtus.] The Argonauts, after various 
adventures, at length arrived in Thes- 
saly, when Medea restored iEson \_Vid.~] 



ICA 



to the vigor of yotuh, and persuaded 
the daughters of Pelias to cut his body 
in pieces for the same purpose. The 
flesh, however, was consumed to the 
bones, and Pelias was never restored to 
life. This inhuman action drew the re- 
sentment of the populace upon Medea, 
and she fled to Corinth with her hus- 
band Jason, where they lived in perfect 
union during ten successive vears. Ja- 
son's partiality for Glauce afterwards 
disturbed their matrimonial happiness, 
and Medea was divorced. This infide- 
lity was severely revenged bv Medea, 
[Vid. Glauce,] who destroyed" her chil- 
dren in the presence of their father. 
[Vid. Medea.] After his separation from 
Medea, Jason lived a melancholv life. 
Reposing himself one day by the s'kle of 
the ship which had carried him to Col- 
chis, a beam fell upon his head, and he 
was crushed to death. Some say that 
he afterwards returned to Colchis; seized 
the kingdom, and reigned in great se- 
curity. Eurip. Ovid. Diod. Paits. &c. 
&e. — There were three others also of 
this name, but of inferior note. 

J ASUS, an island on the coast 
of Caria, the bay adjoining which was 
called Jasius Sinus. 

Jaxarbes, a river of Sogdia- 
na, which Alexander mistook for the 
Tanais.^ * 

Jaziges, a nation on the bor- 
ders of the Palus Maeotis. 

Iberia, a country of Asia, on 
the Caspian sea, between Colchis on the 
west and Albania on the east. It is now 
called Georgia. — An ancient name of 
Spain, derived from the river Iberus. 
Lwran- &c. 

Iberus, a river of Spain, now 

Ebro, wt <c 1 formerly separated the Ro- 
man froir. che Carthaginian possessions 
in that country. Lacan. — A river of 
Iberia in Asia, flowing from mount 
Caucasus into the Cyrus. Sit at* 

Ibi, a people of India. 

Ibis, a name common to two 
poems, one of Caliimachus, the other of 
Ovid. The Ibis of Ovid is written ki 
imitation of that of Caliimachus. The 
Ibis of Caliimachus bitterly satirizes the 
ingratitude of his pupil, the poet Apol- 
lonius ; and Ovidt according to seme, 
inveighs bitterly against Hyginus, the 
supposed hero of the composition. Sui- 
tias. 

Icaria, an island in the Mgem 
sea, xvhere the body of Icarus {Vid. 
Icarus] was thrown by the waves, and 
buried by Hercules. Mela. VtnL &e„ 
Icahitjm maRE.[ Vid. Icarus.] 
Icarius, an Athenian, father 

of Erigone. He gave wine to some pea- 
sants/ who drank it with the greatest 
avidity, ignorant of its intoxicating na- 
ture. They were soon deprived of their 



ICI 



IDO 



reason, and the fury of their friends was 
immediately turned upon him. After 
death he was honored with public festi- 
vals, and his daughter discovered the 
place of his burial by means of his faith- 
ful dog Mcera. Erigone hung herself in 
despair, and was changed into a constel- 
lation called Virgo. Icarius was changed 
into the star Bootes, and the dog Mcera 
into the star Canis. Hygin. Apollod. — 
A. son of (Ebalus of Lacedaemon, who 
gave his daughter Penelope in marriage 
to Ulysses king of Ithaca ; but he was so 
tenderly attached to her, that he wished 
her husband to settle at Lacedaemon. 
Ulysses refused, but her father impor- 
tuning with great earnestness, he told 
Penelope, that she might take her 
choice, to go with him, or return with 
her father, upon which Penelope blush- 
ed deeply, and threw a veil over her 
face. Upon this the father ceased his 
importuning, and scon after erected a 
temple to the goddess of modesty, on 
the spot where this affecting scene had 
passed. 

Icauus, a son of Daedalus, 

who with his father, fled with wings 
from Crete to escape the resentment of 
Minos. His flight being too high proved 
fatal to him, the sun melted the wax 
which cemented his wings, and he fell 
into that part of the iEgean sea which 
was called after his name. \_Vid. Das- 
dalus.] Ovid. &c— -A mountain of At- 
tica. 

Iccius, a lieutenant of Agrip- 

pa in Sicily. Horace writes to him, l 
Off. 29, and ridicules him for abandon- 
ing the pursuits of philosophy and the 
muses for military employments. 

Icelos, one of the sons of 
Somnus, who changed himself into all 
sorts of animals, whence the name 
(fjxeXo?, similis) Ovid. Mek 

Icexi, a people of Britain, 
who occupied the present counties of 
Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, &c. 

Icetas, a man who obtained 
the supreme power at Syracuse after 
the death of Dion. He attempted to 
assassinate Timoleon, for which he was 
conquered, &c. B. C. 340. C. Nep. 

Ichn^e, a town in Macedonia. 

Ichnonuphys, apriestofHe- 
liopolis, with whom Eudcxus resided, 
when with Plato he visited Egypt. 

Ichnusa, an ancient name of 
Sardinia, which it received from its 
likeness to a human foot. Paus. 

Ichth yophagi, a people of 
.(Ethiopia, who received this name from 
their eating fishes. There was also an 
Indian nation of the same name who 
made their houses with the bones of 
fishes, Diod. Strab. 

I j. Icilius, a name common to 
three Roman tribunes, the most re- 



markable of whom was he who took an 
active part in the management of af- 
fairs after the murder of Virginia, and 
showed himself an inveterate enemy of 
the Roman senate* 

Ictinus, a celebrated architect, 
430 years before Christ. He built a fa- 
mous temple to Minerva at Athens, and 
to Apollo Epicurius at Phigalia. The 
former was 100 feet on all sides, and was 
remarkable for its magnificence. Paus. 
Plut. 

Ida, a nymph of Crete who 

went into Phrygia, where she gave her 
name to a mountain of that country. 
Virg. — A celebrated mountain in Troas, 
near Troy. The abundance of its waters 
became the source of many rivers, and 
particularly of the Simois, Scamander, 
/Esepus, Granicus, &c. It was on 
mount Ida that the shepherd Paris ad- 
judged the prize of beauty to the god- 
dess Venus. From its great elevation 
the poets say that it was frequented by 
the gods during the Trojan war. Strab. 
Homer, Virg. &c. — A mountain of 
Crete, where it is reported that Jupiter 
was educated by the Corybantes, who, 
on that account, were called Idaei. 
Strab. 

Idjea, the surname of Cybele, 
because worshipped on mount Ida. 
Lucret. 

Id^eus, a surname of Jupiter. 

— An arm-bearer and charioteer of king 
Priam, killed during the Trojan war. 
Virg. 

Idaltjs, a mountain of Cyprus, 

at the foot of which i- Idalium, a town 
sacred to Venus, who was called Idalaea. 
Virg. JEn. &c. 

I D an thyrsus, a powerful 
king of Scythia, who refused to give 
his daughter in marriage to Darius the 
1st, king of Persia. This refusal was 
the cause of a war between the two na- 
tions, and Darius marched against 
Idanthyrsus, at" the head of 700,000 
men. He was defeated, and retired to 
Peisia, after an inglorious campaign. 
Strab. 

Idas, a son of Aphareus and 

Arane, famous for his valor and mili- 
tary glory , was among the Argonauts, 
and married Marpessa, the daughter of 
Evenus, king of zEtolia. Marpessa was 
carried away by Apollo, and Idas pur- 
sued his wife's ravisher with bows and 
arrows, and obliged him tp restore her. 
[Vid. Marpessa.] 

Idmon. The most remarkable 
of this name is — a son of Apollo and 
Asteria, who was the prophet of the 
Argonauts. He was killed in hunting a 
wild boar in Bithynia, where his body 
received a magnificent funeral. He had 
predicted the time and manner of his 
death. Apollod. Orpheus. 

Idomexe, a daughter of Phe- 



ILI 

res, who married Amythaori, by whom 
she had Bias king of Argos, and the 
soothsayer Melampus, {Vid. Melam- 
pus.] 

Idomeneus, king of Crete, 
succeeded his father Deucalion on the 
throne, and accompanied the Greeks to 
the Trojan war, with a fleet of 90 ships. 
During this war, he rendered himself 
famous by his valor. At his return he 
made a rash vow to Neptune in a dan- 
gerous tempest, that if he escaped, he 
would offer to the god whatever living 
creature first presented itself to his eye 
on the Cretan shore. This was his son, 
who came to congratulate his safe re- 
turn, ldomeneus performed his pro- 
mise, and the inhumanity of this sacri- 
fice rendered him so odious to his sub- 
jects, that he left Crete in quest of a 
new settlement. He came to Italy, and 
founded a city called Salentum. He 
died in an extreme old age, after he had 
had the satisfaction of seeing his new 
kingdom flourish, and his subjects 
happy. Ovid. Homer. Virg. &c. — A 
Greek historian of Lampsacus, in the 
age of Epicurus. 

Idothea, a daughter of Prce- 
tus, king of Argos. She was restored to 
her senses, with her sisters, by Melam- 
pus. \_Vid. PrGetides.] Homer. Od. 11. 
—A daughter of Proteus, the god who 
told Menelaus how he could return to 
his country in safety. Home): 

Idume, and Idumea, a coun- 
try of Syria. Gaza is its capital, where 
Cambyses deposited his riches as he was 
going to Egypt. Lucan. 

Idya, one of the Oceanides, 
who married iEetes, king of Colchis, by 
whom she had Medea, &c. Hygin, 
Hesiod. 

Jericho, a city of Palestine, 

besieged and taken by the Romans, un- 
der Vespasian and Titus. Plin. 

Jeromus and Jeronymus, 

a disciple of Aristotle, author of seve- 
ral histories ; some fragments of which 
still remain. 

Jerusalem, the capital of 

Judaea. [Vid. Hierosolyma.] 

I 6 I L I u M) an island on the 

coast of Tuscany, now Giglio. 

Ignatius, a bishop of Antioch, 

torn to pieces in the amphitheatre of 

Rome, by lions, during a persecution, 

A. D. 107. 

Ilerda, a town of Spain. 
Ilia or Rhea, a daughter of 

Nurnitor, king of Alba, consecrated a 
vestal virgin by her uncle Amulius, 
that she might not become a mother to 
dispossess him of his crown. He was, 
however, disappointed; violence was 
offered to Ilia, it is said, by the god 
Mars, in a wood, and she brought forth 
Romulus and Remus, who drove the 



ILL 

usurper from his throne, and restored 
the crown to their grandfather Nurni- 
tor. Ilia was buried alive by Amulius, 
for violating the laws of Vesta ; and be- 
cause her tomb was near the Tiber, 
some suppose that she married the god 
of that river. Horat. Virg. &e. 

Iliac i ltjdi, games instituted 

by Augustus, in commemoration of the 
victory he had obtained over Antony 
and Cleopatra. They are supposed to 
be the same as the Trojani ludi and the 
Actia ; and Virgil says they were cele- 
brated by JEneas. During these games 
were exhibited horse-races, and gym- 
nastic exercises. Virg. 

Iliacus, an epithet applied to 
such as belonged to Troy. Virg. 

Iliades, a surname given to 
Romulus, as son of Ilia. Ovid. — A name 
given to the Trojan women. Virg. 

Ilias, a celebrated epic poem 
composed by Homer upon the Trojan 
war. — It delineates the wrath of Achil- 
les, and all the calamities which befel 
the Greeks, from the refusal of that 
hero to appear in the field of battle. It 
finishes at the death of Hector, whom 
Achilles sacrificed to the shades of his 
friend Patroclus. [Vid. Homerus.] — A 
surname of Minerva, from a temple 
which she had at Dauiis in Phocis. 
Ilion. [ Vict. Ilium.] 
Ilione, the eldest daughter of 
Priam, who married Polymnestor, king 
of Thrace. Virg. 

Ilioneus, a Trojan, son of 
Phorbas. He came into Italy with 
iEneas. Virg. JEn.—Orie of Niobe's 
sons. Ovid. 

Ilissus, a river of Attica, on 
the banks of which was a temple dedi- 
cated to the muses. - 

Ilithyia, a goddess, called 
also Juno Lucina. Some suppose her 
to be the same as Diana. She presided 
over the travails of women. [Vid. Di- 
ana.] Hesiod. Homer. &c. 

Ilium or Ilicw, a citadel of 
Troy, built by Ilus, one of the Trojan 
kings, from whom it received its name. 
It is generally taken for Troy itself. 
[Vid. Troja.] Virg. &c. 

Illiberis, a town in Gaul. 

Illice, now Elche y & town of 
Spain in the Mediterranean, at the east 
of Carthagena, with a harbour and bay, 
Sinus et Portus Illicitanus, now Ali- 
cant. Plin. 

Illiturgis, a city of Spain, 

on the river Bcetis, which was destroy- 
ed by Scipio, for revolting to the power 
of Carthage. 

Illyricum, Illyris, and 
ILL YRIA, a country bordering on the 
Adriatic sea, opposite Italy, whose 
boundaries have been different at diffe- 



IND 



JNO 



rent times. It took its name from Illy- 
rius, a son of Cadmus, and became a 
Roman province, after Gentius its king 
had been conquered by the prsetor An- 
nicius. Strab. Pa us. 

Illyricus sinus, thai part 

of the Adriatic which is on the coast of 
Illyrieum. 

Ilua, an island in the Tyr- 
rhene sea, celebrated for its iron mines. 
The people are called Iluates. Liv. 
Virg. 

Ilus, the fourth king of Troy, 

son of Tros, by Callirhoe, built, or 
rather embellished, the city of Ilium, 
called also Troy, from his father Tros. 
Jupiter gave him the Palladium, a ce- 
lebrated statue of Minerva, and pro- 
mised that as long as it remained in 
Troy, so long would the town remain 
impregnable. When the temple of Mi- 
nerva was in flames, Ilius rushed into 
the middle of the fire to save the Palla- 
dium, for which action he was deprived 
of his sight by the goddess ; though he 
recovered it some time after. Homer. 
'Strab. &c. 

I ma us, a large mountain 
which divides Scythia, and is generally 
called Intra Imaum, and Extra Imaum. 
It extends, according to some, as far ,as 
the boundaries of the Eastern Ocean. 
Plin. Strab. 

Imbrasus, the father of Pirus, 
the leader of the Thracians during the 
Trojan war. Virg. Homer. 

Imbreus, one of the Centaurs, 
killed by Dryas, at the nuptials of Piri- 
thous. Ovid. 

I m br o s, an island of the 
.^Egeaii sea, near Thrace, 32 miles from 
Samothrace. Thuci/d. 

InaCHXA, a name given to Pe- 
loponnesus., fiornthe river Inachus. — A 
festival in Crete, in honor of Inachus ; 
or, according to others, of Ino's misfor- 
tunes. 

Inachus, a son of Oceanus 

and Tethys, who founded the kingdom 
of Argos, and was succeeded by his son 
Phoroneus, B. C. 1807, and gave his 
name to a river of Argos, of which he 
became the tutelar deity. He reigned 
sixty years. Apollod. Paus. — A river of 
Argos. — Another in Epirus. 

Inarime, an island near Cam- 
pania, with a mountain, under which 
Jupiter confined the giant Typhceus. It 
is now called Ischiz, and is remarkable 
for its fertility and population. There 
was formerly a volcano in the middle of 
the island. " Virg. 

Incit at us, a horse of the em- 
peror Caligula, made high priest. 

India, the most celebrated of 
all the countries of Asia, bounded on 
one side by the Indus, from which it 
derives its name. It is situate south of 



the kingdoms of Persia, Parthia, &c. 
along the coasts. It has always been 
famous for its riches. It contained 9QOO 
different nations, and 5000 remarkable 
cities, according to geographers. Bac- 
chus was the first who conquered it. In 
more recent ages, part of it was tribu- 
tary to the power of Persia. Alexander 
invaded it ; but his conquest was check- 
ed by the valor of Porus, one of the 
kings of the country. Semiramis also 
extended her empire far in India. The 
Romans knew little of it Yet their 
power was so universally dreaded, that 
the Indians paid homage by their am- 
bassadors to the emperors Antoninus, 
Trajan, &c. India is divided into se- 
veral provinces, namely, India extra 
Gangem, India intra Gangem, and In- 
dia propria ; but these divisions are not 
particuiariv noticed by the ancients. 
Strab. Plin. Curt. &c. 

ndigetes, a name given to 

deities worshipped only in some parti- 
cular places, or who became gods from 
men, as Hercules, Bacchus, &c. Some 
derive the word from inde § geniti, 
born at the same place where tfiey re- 
ceived their worship. Virg. Ovid. 

Indigeti, a nation of Spain. 

Indus, a large river of Asia, 
from which the adjacent country has re- 
ceived the name of India. It falls into 
the Indian ocean by two mouths. Strab. 
Plin. &c. Nov/ the Sinde. 

Inferum mare, the sea of 

Tuscany. 

Ino, a daughter of Cadmus 
and Harmonia, wno nursed Bacchus. 
She married Athamas, king of Thebes, 
after he had divorced Ncphele,by whom 
he had two children, Phryxus and 
Helle. I no became mother of Melicer- 
ta and Learchus, and soon coirceived 
an implacable hatred against the chil- 
dren of Nephele, because they were to 
ascend the throne in preference to her 
own. Phryxus and Helle were inform- 
ed of Ino's machinations, and they es- 
caped to Colchis on a golden ram. [ Vid. 
Phryxus,] Juno, jealous of Ino's pro- 
sperity, sent Tisiphone to the palace of 
Athamas, who filled it with such fury, 
that Athamas taking Ino to be a lioness, 
and her children whelps, pursued her, 
and dashed her son Learchus against a 
wall. Ino escaped his fury, but from a 
high rock threw herself into the sea, 
with Melicerta in her arms. The gods 
pitied her, and Neptune made her a sea 
deity, afterwards called Leucothoe. Me- 
licerta became also a sea god, known by 
the name of Palsemon. Hornet . Ovid\ 
Ht/gin. &c. 

Inoa, festivals in memory of 
Ino, celebrated yearly with sports and 
sacrifices at Corinth, Megara, and Laco- 
nia. 

Ino pus, a river of Delos, on 



IOB 



ION 



the banks of which were born Apollo 
and Diana. 

Inous, a patronymic given to 
the god Palemon, as son of Ino. Virg. 

Xm siJBB.ES, the inhabitants of 
Insubria, a country near the Po, sup- 
posed to be of Gallic origin. They were 
conquered by the Romans, and their 
country became a province. Strab, 

Intapeerk e s, one of the 
seven Persian noblemen who conspired 
against Smerdis, who usurped the crown 
of Persia. He was so disappointed for 
not obtaining the crown, that he fo- 
mented seditions against Darius, who 
had been raised to the throne after the 
death of the usurper. He was put to 
death by order of Darius. Herodot. 

Interamna, an ancient city 
of Umbria, the birth-place of the histo- 
rian Tacitus, and of the emperor of the 
same name. It is situate between two 
branches of the Nar (interamnes), 
whence its name. Varro.—A colony 
on the confines of Samnium, on the 
Liris. 

Intersex, a supreme magi- 
strate at Rome, entrusted with the care 
of the government after the death of a 
king, till the election of another. The 
first interrex mentioned in Roman hi- 
story is after the death of Romulus. 
There was sometimes an interrex dur- 
ing the consular government. Lev. 

I^ycus, a city of Sicily. 

Io, a daughter of Inachus, or, 
according to others, of Jasus or Pire- 
nes, was priestess of Juno at Argos. 
Jupiter became enamoured of her ; but 
Juno discovered him in the company of 
Io. Jupiter changed Io into a beauti- 
ful heifcr, and the goddess obtained 
from her husband the animal, whose 
beauty she had condescended to com- 
mend. Juno commanded the hundred- 
eyed Argus to watch the heifer; but 
Jupiter, anxious for the situation of Io, 
sent Mercury to destroy Argus, and to 
restore her to liberty. [Via. Argus.] Io 
was now persecuted by Juno, v/ho sent 
a malicious insect to torment her. She 
wandered over the earth, and crossed 
the sea, till at last she stopped on the 
banks of the Nile, still exposed to Ju- 
no's insect: here Jupiter changed her 
into a woman, and she brought forth 
Epaphus. Afterwards she married Te- 
legonus, king of Egypt, or Osiris. After 
death, she received divine honors, and 
was worshipped under the name of 
Isis. According to Herodotus, Io was 
carried away by Phoenician merchants, 
who wished to make reprisals for Eu- 
ropa, who had been stolen from them 
by the Greeks. Virg. Ovid. Paus. 

Iobates and Jobates, a king 

of Lycia, father of Stenobcea, the wife 
of Prcetus, king of Argos, was succeed- 



ed on the throne by his son-in-law Bel' 
lerophon. [Vid. Bellerophou.J 

Jobes, one of the sons of Her- 
cules, who died in his youth. 

Jo casta, a daughter of Me- 
noeeeus, who married Laius, king of 
Thebes, by whom she had CEdipus. 
She afterwards married her son (Edi- 
pus, without knowing who he was, and 
had by him Eteocles, Polynices, &c. 
[Vid. Laius, CEdipus. J When she dis- 
covered that she had married her own 
son, and had been guilty of incest, she 
hanged herself in despair. She is called 
Epicasta by some mythologists. Stat. 
Sopkort. &c. 

Iolaia, a festival, which con» 
tinned for several days at Thebes, the 
same as that called Heracleia. It was 
instituted in honor of Hercules and his 
friend Iolas, who assisted him in con- 
quering the hydra. [Vid. Iolas. J 

Iolas or Iolaus. The most 
celebrated of this name'is a son of Iphi- 
clus, king of Thessaly, who assisted 
Hercules in conquering the hydra, and 
burnt with a hot iron the place where 
the heads had been cut off, to prevent 
the growth of others : he was restored 
to his youth and vigor by Hebe, at the 
request of Hercules. Some time after- 
wards Iolas assisted the Heraclidee 
against Eurystheus, and killed the ty- 
rant with his own hand. Iolas died and 
was buried, in Sardinia, according to 
Diodorus. — A grove in Sicily was parti- 
cularly devoted to the honor of Idas by 
Hercules himself, and not only festivals 
were' celebrated in his honor, but "the 
inhabitants of Argyrium suffered their 
hair to grow till it became a suitable 
offering to their favorite hero. Diod. 
Hygin. Ovid. 

Iolchos, a town of Magnesia, 
above Demetrias, where Jason was 
born. 

I 6le, a daughter of Eurytus, 
king of CEchalia. Her father Eurytus 
promised her in marriage to Hercules, 
but he refused to perform his engage- 
ments, and Iole was carried away by 
force. [Vid. Eurytus.] It was to ex- 
tinguish the love of Hercules for Iole, 
that Dejanira sent him the poisoned 
tunic which caused his death. [Vid. 
Hercules and Dejanira.] After the 
death of Hercules, Iole married his son 
Hyllus, by Dejanira. Apollod. Ovid. 

Ion. The most remarkable of 
this name is a son of Xuthus and Creu- 
sa, daughter of Erechtheus, who mar- 
ried Helice, the daughter of Selinus, 
king of JEgiale : he succeeded on the 
throne of his father-in-law, and built a 
city, which he called Helice, on account 
of his wife: his subjects from him re- 
ceived the name of lonians, and the 
country that of Ionia. [Vid. Iones and 
Ionia.] Strab. Herodot. &c. 



JOS 



IPH 



Iones, a name originally given 
to the subjects of Ion, who dwelt at 
Helice. Some supposed that Ion passed 
into Asia Minor, at the head of a colo- 
ny. The migration of the Ionians from 
Greece to Asia Minor was about 60 
years after the return of the Heraelidae, 

B. C._1044. 

Ionia, a country of Asia 

Minor, bounded on the north by .Eolia, 
on the west by the ./Egean and Icarian 
seas, on the south by Caria, and on the 
east by Lydia and part of Caria. It was 
founded by colonies from Greece, by 
the Ionians, or subjects of Ion, king c£ 
yEgiale. Ionia was divided into 12 small 
states, which formed a celebrated con- 
federacy, often mentioned by the an- 
cients. After they had enjoyed for some 
time their freedom, they were made tri- 
butary to Croesus. The Athenians as- 
sisted them to shake off the slavery of 
the Asiatic monarehs; but they after- 
wards joined Xerxes when he invaded 
Greece. They were delivered from the 
Persian yoke by Alexander, and re- 
stored to their original independence ; 
and next reduced by the Romans under 
the dictator Sylla. " Ionia has been al- 
ways celebrated for the genius of its in- 
habitants. Herodot. <fcc — A name some- 
times given to Achaia. for its having 
been_once the residence of the Ionians. 

Ionium mare, a part of the 
Mediterranean sea, at the bottom of the 
Adriatic, lying between Sicily and 
Greece. That part of the jEgean sea 
which lies on the coasts of Ionia, in 
Asia, is called the sea of Ionia, and not 
the Ionian sea. Strab.. 

Iopas, a king of Africa, among 
the suitors of Dido : he was an excellent 
musician, poet, and philosopher, and 
he exhibited his superior abilities at the 
entertainment which Dido gave .Eneas. 
Virg. Mn. 

IdpE and Joppa, a famous 
town of Phoenicia, more ancient than 
the deluge, according to some tradi- 
tions. Strab. &c. Now Jafa. 

Jophon, one of the sons of 

Sophocles^ who accused his father of 
not being able to manage his affairs. 

Joiidanes, a river of Judea. 
Strab. 

Jornandes, an historian, who 
wrote on the Goths, among which na- 
tion he was born : his work de rebus Go- 
thicis was translated by Maupertuis : he 
died A. D. 552. 

Ios, an island in the Myrtoan 
sea, celebrated, as some say, for the 
tomb of Homer, and the birth of his 
mother. Plin. 

Joseph us Flavius, a cele- 
brated Jew, who supported a siege of 
forty-seven days against Vespasian and 
Titus, in a small town of Judea. When 



the city surrendered there were found 
not less than 40,000 Jews slain, and the 
number of captives amounted to 1,200. 
Josephus saved his life by flying into a 
cave, where 40 of his countrymen had 
also taken refuge : he dissuaded them 
from committing suicide, and, when 
they had all drawn lots to kill one an- 
other, Josephus fortunately remained 
the last, and surrendered himself to 
Vespasian: he afterwards gained the 
conqueror's esteem. Josephus was pre- 
sent at the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, 
with whom he came to Rome, where he 
was honored with the privileges of a 
Roman citizen. During his residence in 
Rome, he dedicated his time to study, 
and wrote the history of the wars of the 
Jews, first in Syriac, and afterwards 
translated it into Greek : he also wrote 
two books tc defend the Jews against 
Apion, besides an account of his own 
life, &c. His style was lively and ani- 
mated, and he has been called the Livy 
of the Greeks. Though, in some cases, 
inimical to the Christians, yet St. Je- 
rome calls him a Christian writer : he 
died A. D. 93, in the 56 Lh year of his 
age. 

Jovianus Flavius Clau- 
dius, a native of Pannonia, elected 
emperor of Rome by the soldiers after 
the death of Julian : he at first refused 
to be invested with the imperial purple, 
but when his subjects assured him that 
they were warm for Christianity, he ac- 
cepted the crown. Seven months and 
twenty days after his ascension, he was 
found in his bed suffocated by the vapors 
of charcoal, which had been lighted in 
his room, A. D. 364. 

I phi an ass a, a daughter of 
Prcetus, king of Argos. \_Vid. Prcetides.] 
— Iphigenia is also called Iphianassa. 
[Vid. Iphigenia.] Lucr. 

Iphiclus, or Iphicles, a son 

of Amphitryon and Alcmena, born at 
the same birth with Hercules. Apcllod. 
Theocrit.—A king of Phylace,in Phthio- 
tis,son of Phylaeus : he had bulls famous 
for their bigness, and the monster which 
kept them. Melampus [Vid. Melam- 
pus] attempted to steal them aw r ay, but 
he was caught in the fact and imprison- 
ed. Iphicles, who was childless, learned 
from the soothsayer Melampus how to 
become a father, and thereupon restored 
him to liberty : he had married Auto- 
medusa, and "afterwards a daughter of 
Creon, king of Thebes : he was father to 
Podarce and Protesilaus. Homer. &c. 

Iphicrates. The most ce- 
lebrated of this name is a general of 
Athens, who, though son of a shoe- 
maker, rose to the highest offices in the 
state : he made war against the Thra- 
cians, obtained some victories over the 
Spartans, and assisted the Persian king 
against Egypt: he died 380 B. C. When 
once reproached of the meanness of his 
origin, he observed that he would be the 



IPH 



IRI 



first of his family, but that his detractor 
would be the last of his own. C. Nep. 

Ipjiidamus, son of Anterior 
and Ipeano, killed by Agamemnon. 

I PHI GEN I A, a daughter of Aga- 
memnon and Clytemnestra. When the 
Greeks, going to the Trojan war, were 
detained by contrary winds at Aulis, 
they were informed" by Calchas, the 
soothsayer, that, to appease the gods, 
they must sacrifice Iphigenia to Diana, 
[Vid. Agamemnon], because her father 
had killed the favorite stag of the god- 
dess : he heard this with the greatest 
horror and indignation, and rather than 
shed the blood of his daughter, he com- 
manded one of his heralds, as chief of 
the Grecian forces, to order all the as- 
sembly to depart. Agamemnon, how- 
ever, after much solicitation of other 
chiefs, consented to immolate his daugh- 
ter for the common cause of Greece ; 
but as soon as Calchas took the knife, 
and was going to strike the fatal blow, 
Iphigenia suddenly disappeared, and a 
goat of uncommon size was found in her 
place. This supernatural change ani- 
mated the Greeks, the wind suddenly 
became favorable, and the combined 
fleet set sail from AuHs. Iphigenia' s in- 
nocence had raised the compassion of 
the goddess on whose altar she was going 
to be sacrificed, and the goddess then 
carried Iphigenia to Taurica, where she 
entrusted her with the care of her tem- 
ple, whence she afterwards fled with her 
brother Orestes, and his friend Pylades. 
\_Yid. Pylades and Orestes.] Virg. Odd. 
die. 

Iphimedia, a daughter of 
Triopas, who married the giant Aloeus. 
She fled from her husband, and had two 
sons, Otus and Ephialtes, by Neptune, 
her father's father. Homer. 

IphImedlJsa, daughter of Da- 
naus, and wife to Euchenor. 

Iphinoe, one of the daughters 
of Prcetus. She died of a disease while 
under the care of Melampus. [Vid. 
Prcetides.] 

IPHixous,one of the Centaurs. 

I p h I s , son of A lector, succeeded 
his father on the throne of Argos. 
Apollod. — A beautiful youth of Salamis, 
of ignoble birth : he became enamoured 
of Anaxarete, and the coldness and con- 
tempt he met with rendered him so de- 
sperate that he hung himself. Anaxarete 
saw him carried to his grave without 
emotion, and was instantly changed into 
a stone. Ovid. — A daughter of Ligdus 
and Teiethusa, of Crete, was, in conse- 
quence of her sex, ordered by her father 
to be put to death, but Isis commanded 
her mother in a dream to spare the life 
of her child, and to educate her as if she 
was a boy. Ligdus continued ignorant 
of the deceit, and when Iphis was ar- 
rived to puberty, her father resolved to 



give her in marriage to Ianthe. daughter 
of Telestes. This involved Teiethusa 
and her daughter in some perplexity, 
when Isis, on their entreaties, changed 
the sex of Iphis, and, on the morrow, 
the nuptials were consummated with 
the greatest rejoicings. Ovid. 

Iphition, an ally of the Tro- 
jans, slain by Achilles. 

IppiiTus,a son of Eurytus,king 
of (Eehalia, was killed by Hercules, be- 
cause his father Eurytus had refused 
him his daughter lole, after he had gain- 
ed her, by overcoming him and his sons 
in drawing the bow. Homer. Apollod. — 
A king of Elis, who re-established the 
Olympic games 33S years after their in- 
stitution by Hercules, or about 884 years 
before the Christian era. This epoch 
is famous in chronological history, as 
every thing previous to it seems in- 
volved in fabulous obscurity. Patera. 
Pa us. 

Iphthime, a sister of Pene- 
lope, who married Eumelus. She ap- 
peared to her sister in a dream, to com- 
fort her in the absence of her son Tele- 
machus. Homer. 

Ipstjs, a place of Phrygia, ce- 
lebrated for a battle fought there about 
301 years B. C. between Antigonus and 
his son, and Seleueus, Ptolemy, Lysi- 
maehus, and Cassander. The former 
led into the field an army of above 
70,000 foot and 10,000 horse, with 75 
elephants. The latter's forces consisted 
of 64,000 infantry, besides 10,500 horse, 
400 elephants, and 120 armed chariots. 
Antigonus and his son were defeated. 
Plut. 

Ira, a city of Messenia, famous 

in history as having supported a siege 
of eleven years against the Lacedsemo- 
nians. Its capture, B. C. 671, put an 
end to the second Messenian war. Horn. 
St rah. 

Irex^eus, a native of Greece, 

bishop of Lyons, wrote on different sub- 
jects, but, as what remains is in Latin, 
some suppose he composed in that lan- 
guage, and not in Greek : his opinions 
concerning the soul are curious. He 
suffered_martyrdom, A. D. 202. 

Irene, one of the Seasons 
among the Greeks, called by the mo- 
derns Horas : her two sisters were Dia 
and Eunomia, daughters of Jupiter and 
Themis. Apollod. 

Iresus; a spot in Lybia, 

near Cyrene, on which Battus took up 
his residence. 

Iris, a daughter of Thaumas 

and Electra, one of the Oceanides, mes- 
senger of the gods, but more particu- 
larly of Juno : her office was to cut the 
thread which seemed to detain the soul 
in the body of thqse that were expiring. 
She is the same as the rainbow, and 
therefore is represented with all the 



1ST 



ISM 



beautiful colors of that phsenomenon. 
She is likewise described as supplying 
the clouds with water to deluge the 
world. Ovid. Virg. Hesiod. — A river of 
Asia Minor, falling into the Euxine sea. 

Irus, a beggar of Ithaca, who 
executed the commissions of Penelope's 
suitors. When Ulysses returned home, 
disguised in a beggar's dress, Irus hin- 
dered him from entering the gates, and 
even challenged him. Ulysses brought 
him to the ground with a blow, and ex- 
pelled him the house. From his poverty 
originates the proverb Iro pauperior. 

Is, a river, abounding in bitu- 
men, falling into the Euphrates. 

Is Adas, a Lacedemonian, who 
stripped himself naked, and with a spear 
and sword flew against the Thebans, 
who were entering the city. For which 
gallant action he was rewarded with a 
crown. 

Isjeus, an orator of Chalcis, 

who came to Athens, and became the 
pupil of Lysias, and soon after the 
master of Demosthenes. Demosthenes 
imitated him in preference to Isoerates, 
because he studied force and energy of 
expression rather than fioridness of 
style. Ten of his sixty-four orations 
are extant. Juv. &c. — Another Greek 
orator, who came to Rome A. D. 17, 
greatly recommended by Pliny the 
younger. 

Is and Eli, a son of Bellerophon, 

killed in the war which his father made 
against the Solymi. Homer. 

Isau and Isara, a river of 
Gaul, where Fabius routed the Allo- 
broges. 

Ischenia, an annual festival 

at Olympia, in honor of Ischenus, the 
grandson of Mercury and Hierea, who, 
in a time of famine, devoted himself for 
his country, and was honored with a 
monument near Olympia. 

Is i a, certain festivals instituted 
by the Romans, and observed in honor 
of Isis, which continued nine days. It 
was usual to carry vessels full of wheat 
and barley, as the goddess was supposed 
to be the "first who taught mankind the 
use of corn. They soon degenerated 
into licentiousness, "and were abolished 
by a decree of the senate, A. U. C. 696, 
and were introduced again by Corn- 
modus. 

Isiaci, the priests of Isis in 
Egypt, whose life was tinctured with 
the greatest austerity of manners. 

IsidOrus, a name common to 
three different ancient writers of di- 
stinction. 

Isis, a celebrated deity of the 
Egyptians ^laughter of Saturn andRhea, 
according to Diodbrus of Sicily. Some 
suppose her to be the same as Io, who 
was changed into a cow by her lover 



Jupiter, and restored to her human 
form in Egypt, where she taught agri- 
culture, and received divine honors 
after death. Isis was the Venus 6f Cy- 
prus, the Minerva of Athens, theCybele 
of the Phrygians, the Ceres of Eleusis, 
the Proserpine of Sieilv, the Diana of 
Crete, the Belloua of the Romans, &c. 
Osiris and Isis reigned conjointly in 
Egypt ; but the rebellion of Typhon,the 
bro'ther of Osiris, proved fatal to this 
sovereign. [Yid. Osiris and Tvphon.l 
The ox and cow were the svmbols of 
Osiris and Isis, because these deities, 
while on earth, had diligently aoplied 
themselves to cultivating the earth. 
[_Vid. Apis.] Isis was also supposed to 
be the moon, and Osiris the sun. The 
Egyptians believed that the inundations 
of "the Nile proceeded from the tears 
which Isis shed for the loss of Osiris, 
whom Typhon had murdered. The 
worship of Isis was universal in Egypt; 
Cleopatra, the beautiful queen of Egypt, 
was went to dress herself like this god- 
dess, and affected to be called a second 
Isis. The word Isis, according to some, 
signifies ancient, and on that account 
the inscriptions on the statues of the 
goddess were often in these words; I 
am all that has been, that shall be, and 
none among mortals has hitherto taken 
off my veil. Cic. Plut. Herodot. &c. 

Ismartjs and Is M ah A,a rugged 

mountain of Thrace, covered with vines 
and olives, near the Hebrus : its wines 
are excellent. Horn. Virg. — A Lydian 
who accom panied ./Eneas into Italy, and 
fought with great vigor against the Ru- 
tuli. Virg. 

Ismene, a daughter of CEdipus 
and Jocasta, who wished to share the 
fate of her sister Antigone, condemned 
to be buried alive by Creon, for giving 
burial to her brother Polynices. Sophocl. 
— A daughter of the river Asopus, who 
married the hundred-eyed Argus* by 
whom she had Jasus. Apollod. 

Ismenias, a river of Bceotia 
falling into the Euripus, whsre Apollo 
had a temple, from which he was called 
Ismenius. A youth was yearly chosen 
by the Boeotians, to be the priest of the 
god, an office to which Hercules was 
once appointed. — A celebrated musician 
of Thebes. When he was taken pri- 
soner by the Scythians, Atheas, the 
king of the country, observed, that he 
liked the music of ismenias better than 
the braying of an ass. Plut. in Apoph. — 
A general of Thebes,who was sent upon 
an embassy by the king of Persia. None 
were admitted to thatrnonareh without 
prostrating at his feet. Ismenias, to 
avoid an act so humiliating, dropped 
his ring, and his stooping to pick it up 
was construed into the act of homage ; 
and Ismenias had an audience of the 
king, which finished satisfactorily. 

Ismenides, an epithet applied 



1ST 



ITH 



to the Theban women, as being near 
the Ismenus, a river of Bceotia. Ovid. 

Is men us. The most remark- 
able of this name is a son of Apoilo and 
Melia, one of the Nereides, who gave 
his name to a river of Bceotia. Paus. 

fsocRATES. The most con- 
spicuous of this name is an orator, son 
of a rich musical instrument-maker at 
Athens. Ke has always been much ad- 
mired for the sweetness and graceful 
simplicity of his style, for the harmony 
of his expressions, and the dignity of 
his language. The remains of his ora- 
tions extant inspire the world with the 
highest veneration for his abiities as a 
moralist, an orator, and above all, as a 
man. About thirty-one of his orations 
are extant. The defeat of the Athenians 
at Cheronsea, by Philip of Macedon, 
had such an effect on his spirits, that 
he died, after he had been four days 
without aliment, in the 99th year of his 
age, about 338 B. C. Pint. Cic. &c. 

Isse, a daughter of Macareus, 
the son of Lycaon. She was beloved 
by Apollo,whoto obtain her con fidence, 
changed himself into the form of a shep- 
herd to whom she was attached. This 
metamorphosis of Apollo was repre- 
sented on the web of Araehne. Ovid. 

Issus, a town of Cilicia, on the 
confines of Syria, famous for a battle 
fought there between Alexander the 
Great and the Persians under Darius 
their king, in October, B. C. 333. In 
this battle the Persians lost 100,000 foot, 
and 10,000 horse, and the Macedonians 
only 300 foot, and 150 horse, according 
to Diodorus Siculus. ThePersian army, 
according to Justin, consisted of 400,000 
foot, and 100,000 horse, and 61 ,000 of 
the former, and 10,000 of the latter, 
were left dead upon the spot, and 40,000 
were taken prisoners, The loss of the 
Macedonians, as he farther adds, was no 
more than 130 foot and 150 horse. Ac- 
cording to Curtius, the Persians slain 
amounted to 100,000 foot, and 10,000 
horse, and those of Alexander to 32 
foot, and 150 horse, killed, and 504 
wounded. This spot is likewise famous 
for the defeat of Niger by Severus, 
A. D. 194. 

Ister andlsTRus. [Vid.Dz- 
nubius.] 

Isthmia, sacred games among 
the Greeks, instituted B. C. 1326. They 
received their name from the isthmus 
of Corinth, where they were observed. 
They were celebrated in commemora- 
tion of Melicerta, who was changed into 
a sea deity, when his mother Ino had 
thrown herself into the sea with him. 
They were for some time interrupted, 
but Theseus at last re-instituted them 
in honor of Neptune, whom he publicly 
called his father. These games were 
observed every third, or rather fifth 
year. Combats of every kind were ex- 



hibited, and the victors were rewarded 
with garlands of pine leaves. Some 
time after the victor received a crown 
of withered parsley. The years were 
reckoned by the celebration of the Isth- 
mian game". 

Isthmus, a neck of land, di- 
viding two seas, and joining one coim try- 
to another. The most celebrated is that 
of Corinth, now called Hexamili. 

1st hi A, a province at the west 
of IUyricum, not subjected to Rome 
till six centuries after its foundation, 
Strab. &c. The inhabitants were ori- 
ginally pirates. 

Istropolis, a city of Thrace, 
near the mouth of the Ister. 

Xsus and Antiphus, sons of 
Priam, were seized by Achilles, as they 
fed their father's flocks on mount Ida; 
they were afterwards redeemed by Priam, 
and fought against the Greeks. They 
were both killed by Agamemnon. Hem. 

Italia, a celebrated country of 
Europe, compared, with some simili- 
tude, to a man's leg : it is bounded on 
the east by the Adriatic and Tuscan 
seas, and by the Alps, and has borne 
the different names of Saturnia, (Eix>- 
tria, Hesperia, Ausonia,and Tyrrhenia ; 
and it_ received the name of Italy either 
from Italus, a king of the country, who 
came from Arcadia, or from Italos, a 
Greek word, which signifies an o,r, an 
animal very common in that part of 
Europe. The ancient inhabitants called 
themselves Aborigines, offspring of the 
soil, and the country was soon after 
peopled by colonies from Greece. Italy 
originally was divided into as many dif- 
ferent governments as there were towns, 
till the rapid increase of the Roman 
power [Vid. Rome] changed the face of 
it. Italy has been the mother of arts 
as well as of arms. It was divided into 
11 small provinces by Augustus, though 
sometimes known under the three 
greater divisions of Cisalpine Gaul, Italy, 
properly so called, and Magna Grcecia. 
The sea above was called Super urn, and 
that at the south Inferum. 

Italic a, a town in Spain, 

built by Scipio for his wounded soldier;?. 
Several eminent persons were born there. 
lTALicus,apoet. [Vid. Silms.] 
Italus. The most remarkable 
of this name is an Arcadian prinee,who 
came to Italy, where he established a 
kingdom, called after him. He received 
divine honors after death, as iEneas 
calls upon him among the deities to 
whom he paid his adorations when he 
entered Italy. Virg. 

Ithaca, an island in the Ionian 
sea, with a city of the same name, fa- 
mous for being part of the kingdom of 
Ulysses : it is very rocky, and measures 
about 25 miles in circumference. Ho- 
mer. Strab* 



JUG 



JUL 



Ithome, a town of Phthiotis. 

Horn. — Another of Messenia, which sur- 
rendered after ten years' siege to Lace- 
dasmon, 724 years B. C. Pans. &c. 

Itkomaia, afestival, in which 
musicians contended, observed at 
Ithome, in honor of Jupiter, who had 
been nursed by the nymphs Ithome 
and Neda. 

It onus, a king of Thessaly, 
son of Deucalion, who first invented 
the manner of polishing metals. Lucan. 

Iturjea, a country of Pales- 
tine, whose inhabitants were very skil- 
ful in drawing the bow. Virg. 

Itys, a son of Tereus, king of 

Thrace, by Procne, daughter of Pan- 
dion, king of Athens, was killed by his 
mother, when about six years old, and 
served up before his father. He was 
changed into a pheasant, his mother 
iuto a swallow, and his father into an 
owl. iVid. Philomela.] Ovid. — A Tro- 
jan, who came to Italy with j£neas, and 
was killed by Turn us. Virg. 

Juba, a king of Numidia and 
Mauritania, who succeeded his father 
Hiempsal, and favored the cause of 
Pompey against J. Caesar. He defeated 
Curio, whom Caesar had sent to Africa, 
and after the battle of Pharsalia, he 
joined his forces to those of Schrio. He 
was conquered in a battle at Thapsus, 
and totally abandoned by his subjects. 
He killed himself with Petreius, who 
had shared his good fortune and his 
adversity. His kingdom became -a Ro- 
man province, of which Sallust was the 
first governor. Pint. Cos. &c. — The 
second of that name was the son of 
Juba the first: he was led among the 
captives to Rome, to adorn the triumph 
of Caesar, but was afterwards, in conse- 
quence of his courteousness and fidelity, 
restored by Augustus to his father's do- 
minions, and received in marriage Cle- 
opatra, the daughter of Antony. Juba 
wrote a history of Rome in Greek, and 
also the history of Arabia, and the an- 
tiquities of Syria, &c. Strab. FHn. &c. 

JuD-ssa, a famous country of 
Syria, bounded by Arabia, Egypt, Phoe- 
nicia, the Mediterranean sea," and part 
of Syria. The inhabitants, whose hi- 
story is best collected from the Holy 
Scriptures, were chiefly governed, after 
the Babylonish captivity, by the high- 
priests, who raised themselves to the 
rank of princes, B. C. 153, and continued 
in the enjoyment of regal power till the 
age of Augustus. Plut. Strab. 

Jugalis, a surname of Juno, 
because she presided over marriage, in 
the celebration of which it was usual 
for the husband and wife to pass under 
the yoke, jugum. 

Jug antes, a people of Britain. 

JuGURTHA,the illegitimate son 
of Manastabal, the brother of Micipsa. 



Micipsa and Manastabal were the sons 
of Masinissa, king of Numidin. Mi- 
cipsa, who had inherited his father's 
kingdom, educated his nephew with his 
two sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal ; but, 
as he was of an aspiring disposition" he 
sent him with a body of troops to the 
assistance of Scipio, who was besieging 
Numantia, hoping to lose a youth whose 
ambition seemed to threaten the tran- 
quillity of his children. His hopes were 
frustrated ; Jugurtha showed himself 
brave and active, and endeared himself 
to the Roman general. Micipsa ap- 
pointed him successor to his kingdom 
with his two sons, but this kindness of 
the father proved fatal to the children. 
Jugurtha destroyed Hiempsal, stripped 
Adherbal of his possessions, and obliged 
him to fly to Rome. The Romans list- 
ened to the complaints of Adherbal,but 
Jugurtha's gold prevailed among the 
senators. Ccecilius Metellus was at last 
sent against Jugurtha, and his firmness 
soon obliged him to fly among his savage 
neighbours for support. Marius and 
Sylla succeeded Metellus, and fought 
with equal success. Jugurtha was at 
last betrayed by his father-in-law Boc- 
chus, and was delivered into the hands 
of Sylla, after a war of five years. He 
was exposed to the view of the Roman 
people, and dragged in chains to adorn 
the triumph of Marius. He was after- 
wards put in a prison, where he died six 
days after of hunger, B. C. 106. Sallust. 
&c. 

Julia. A name common to 

many Roman women of family and di- 
stinction, the most celebrated of whom 
are the following : — A daughter of J . 
Caesar, by Cornelia, famous for her per- 
sonal charms and for her virtues : she 
married Corn. Carpio, whom her father 
obliged her to divorce, to marry Pompey 
the Great. Her amiable disposition 
more strongly cemented the friendship 
of the father and the son-in-law ; but 
her sudden death in child-bed, B. C. 
53, broke all ties of intimacy and rela- 
tionship, and soon produced a civil war. 
Plut. —The mother of M. Antony.— An 
aunt of J. Caesar, who married C. Ma- 
rius. — The only daughter of the emperor 
Augustus, remarkable for her beauty, 
genius, and debaucheries. She was 
starved to death, A. D. 14, by order of 
Tiberius, who had succeeded to Augus- 
tus as emperor of Rome. Plut.— A 
daughter of the emperor Titus, who 
prostituted herself to her brother Do- 
mitian. — A daughter of Gerraanicus and 
Agrippina, born in the island of Lesbos, 
A. D. 17. She enjoyed the most un- 
bounded favors in the court of her bro- 
ther Caligula, who is accused of being 
her first seducer, and who afterwards 
banished her, on suspicion of conspi- 
racy. Being recalled by the emperor 
Claudius, she was put to death by the 
intrigues of Messalina, about the 24th 
year of her age. She was no stranger 



JUL 



JUN 



to the debaucheries of the age, and she 
prostituted herself as freely to the 
meanest of the people as to the nobler 
companions of her brother's extrava- 
gance. — A celebrated woman, born in 
Phoenicia, also called Domna. She ap- 
plied herself to the study of geometry 
and philosophy, &c. and rendered her- 
self conspicuous, as much by her mental 
as by her personal charms. She came 
to Rome, where her learning recom- 
mended her to all the literati of the age. 
She married Septimius Severus, who 
was,20 years afterwards, made emperor, 
and had by him Geta and Caracalla,who 
succeeded to the imperial purple. The 
former was murdered by Caracalla, in 
the arms of his mother. According to 
some, Julia committed incest with her 
son Caracalla,and publicly married him. 
She starved herself when her ambitious 
views were defeated by Macrinus, who 
aspired to the empire in preference to 
her, after the death of Caracalla. 

JuLiACUM,atown in Germany; 
now Juliers. 

JuliaisTUS. There were many- 
eminent Romans of this name : the 
most celebrated of whom is a son of 
Julius Constantius, the brother of Con- 
stantine the Great, born at Constan- 
tinople. The massacre which attended 
the elevation of the sons of Ccnstantine 
the Great to the throne nearly proved 
fatal to Julian and to his brother Gallus. 
The two brothers were privately edu- 
cated together, and taught the doctrines 
of the Christian religion. Gallus re- 
ceived the instructions of his teachers 
with submission, but Julian secretly 
cherished a desire to become one of the 
votaries of Paganism. He went to 
Athens in the 24th year of his age, 
where he applied himself to the study 
of magic and astrology. He was some 
time after appointed "over Gaul, by 
Constant, and there displayed his pru- 
dence and valor by the numerous vic- 
tories he obtained. Juliau became sus- 
pected by Constans, who ordered him 
to send him part of his forces to go into 
the East, but the army immediately 
mutinied, and promised "immortal fide- 
lity to their leader, and intreated him 
to accept of the title of independent 
emperor and of Augustus. The death 
of Constans, which soon after happened, 
left him sole master of the Roman em- 
pire, A. D. 36J. Julian then publicly 
disavowed the doctrines of Christianity, 
and offered solemn sacrifices to all the 
gods of ancient Rome. This change of 
religious opinion was attributed to the 
austerity with which he received the 
precepts of Christianity, or, according 
to others, to the literary conversation 
and peisuasive eloquence of some of the 
Athenian philosophers ; and from this 
circumstance he has been called Apostate. 
He then marched from Constantinople 
against the Persians, and gave, in the 
prosecution of that war, many instances 



both of his prudence and military cour- 
age. An engagement with Sapor, king 
of Persia, at last proved fatal to him ; he 
received a mortal wound, and expired 
on the following night, the 27th of June, 
A. D. 363, in the 32d year of his age. 
He was buried at Tarsus, and afterwards 
his body was conveyed toConstantinople. 
His last moments were spent in a conver- 
sation with a philosopher about the im- 
mortality of the soul. Julian's charac- 
ter has been admired by some, and cen- 
sured by others ; but the malevolence of 
his enemies arises from his apostasy. As 
a man and a monarch he demands our 
warmest commendations. He was mo- 
derate in his successes, merciful to his 
enemies, and amiable in his character. 
He distinguished himself by his writings, 
as well as by his military character. Be- 
sides his humorous work called Misopo- 
gun, or Beard-hater, he also wrote his 
Caesars, a satire upon all the Roman 
emperors, from Julius Caesar to Con- 
stantine, a history of Gaul, letters, &c. 
It has been observed of Julian, that, 
like Caesar, he could employ at the same 
time his hand to write, his ear to listen, 
his eyes to read, and his mind to dic- 
tate. 

Julii, an illustrious family of 

Alba, said to be descended from JEneas. 
Julius Caesar and Augustus were of this 
family. 

Julio magus, a town in Gaul, 

now Angers in Anjou. 

Juliopolis, a town in Bithi- 

nia, sometimes called Tarsus. 

Julis, a town in the island of 

Cos, the birth-place of Simonides, Hip- 
pccrates,and other celebrated characters. 

Julius Cjesar. [ Vid. Csesar.] 
— Agricola ,a governor of Britain, A.U.C 
80, who first discovered that Britain 
was an island by sailing round it. His 
son-in-law, the historian Tacitus, has 
written an account of his life. Tacit, vn 
Agric — Titianus, a writer in the age of 
Diocletian. His son became famous for 
his oratorical powers, and was made pre- 
ceptor in the family of Maximinus. Ju- 
lius wrote a history of all the provinces 
of the Roman empire, greatly com- 
mended by the ancients. He also wrote 
some letters, in w hich he happily imi- 
tated the style and elegance of Cicero, 
for which he was called the ape of his 
age. — Maximinus, a Thracian, who, 
from a shepherd, became an emperor of 
Rome. [Vid. Maximinus.] This name 
was common to many other Romans in 
whose live.-,, &c. there is nothing very 
remarkable. 

IijLUs, the name of Ascanius, 
the son of yEneas. [Vid. Ascanius.] — 
A son of Antony and Fulvia. 

Junia lex Sacrata, by L. Ju- 
nius Brutus, the first tribune of the peo- 
ple, A. U. C. 260. It ordained that, the 
person cf the tribune should be held 



JUN 



JUP 



sacred and inviolable ; that an appeal 
might he made from the consuls to the 
tribunes ; and that no senator should be 
able to exercise the office of a tribune. 

Junia, a niece of Cato of Utica, 
who married Cassius, and died 64 years 
after her husband had killed himself at 
the battl e cf Philippi. — Calvina,abeauti- 
ful Roman lady, accused of incest with 
her brother Silanus. She was descended 
from Augustus. She was banished by 
Claudius, and recalled by Nero. Tacit. 

Junius D. Silanus, a Roman, 

who committed adultery with Julia, the 
grand-daughter of Augustus. Tacit. Ann. 
—Brutus. [Vid. Brutus.]— Lupus, who 
accused Vitellius of aspiring to the 
throne. 

Juno, a daughter of Saturn and 
Ops, was sister to Jupiter, Pluto, Nep- 
tune, Vesta, Ceres, &c. She was born 
at Argos, or, according to others, in Sa- 
Ynos, and was entrusted to the care of 
the Seasons,or,as Komer and Ovid men- 
tion, to Oceanus and Tethys. Juno was 
devoured by Saturn, according to some 
mythologists ; and, according to Apollo- 
rlurus, she was again restored to the 
world by means of a potion which Metis 
gave to Saturn. [Vid. Saturnus.] Ju- 
piter was not insensible to her charms : 
he, therefore, took occasion to enjoy her 
by artifice, under the form of a cuckoo. 
When he had obtained his desire, he 
proposed to marry her, and the nuptials 
of Jupiter and Juno were celebrated 
with the greatest solemnity ; the gods, 
all mankind, and all the brute creation 
attended. By her marriage with Ju- 
piter, Juno became the queen of all the 
gods, and mistress of heaven and earth. 
Her conjugal happiness, however, was 
frequently disturbed by the numerous 
amours of her husband, and she showed 
herself jealous and inexorable in the 
highest degree. Her severities toAlc- 
mena, Ino, Athamas, Semele, &e. are 
well known. Juno had some children 
by Jupiter. According to Kesiod, she 
was mother of Mars, Hebe,and Ilithyia, 
or Lueina; and, besides these, she 
brought forth Vulcan, without having 
any commerce with the other sex. Ac- 
cording to others, it was not Vulcan, 
but Mars, or Hebe, that she brought 
forth in this manner. The repeated 
debaucheries of Jupiter at last provoked 
Juno to such a degree, that she retired 
to Eubcea, and resolved for ever to for- 
sake his bed. Jupiter, however, pro- 
duced a reconciliation. This reconcilia- 
tion was soon dissolved by new offences, 
and Jupiter had often recourse to blows. 
He punished the cruelties which she had 
exercised upon Hercules, by suspending 
her from the heavens by a golden chain, 
and Vulcan was kicked" down from hea- 
ven by his father, for assisting his mo- 
ther ; ^ his leg was broken by the fall. 
The worship of Juno was universal,and 
even more so than that of Jupiter, ac- 



cording to some authors. Her sacrifices 
were offered with the greatest solemnity. 
She was particularly worshipped at Ar- 
gos, Samos, Carthage, and afterwards at 
Rome. Among the birds, the hawk, the 
goose, and particularly the peacock, 
often called Junonia avis, [Vid. Argus,3 
were sacred to her ; and the dittany, the 
poppy, and the lily, were her favorite 
flowers. As Juno's power was extended 
over all the gods, she had the privilege 
cf hurling the thunder of Jupiter when 
she pleased. Her temples were nu- 
merous, the most famous of which were 
at Argos, Olympia, &c. The surnames 
of Juno are" various ; they are derived 
either from the function or things over 
which she presided, or from the places 
where her worship was established. She 
was the goddess of all power and empire, 
and she was also the patroness of riches. 
She is represented sitting on a throne, 
with a diadem on her head, and a golden 
sceptre in her right hand. Some pea- 
cocks generally sat by her, and a cuckoo 
often perched on her sceptre, while Iris 
behind displayed the thousand colors of 
her beautiful rainbow. The Roman 
consuls, when they entered upon office, 
were always obliged to offer her a solemn 
sacrifice. The Juno of the Romans was 
called Matrona, or Romana. Cic. Paus. 
Apnllod. Home?-. Virg. &c. 

Jtjnonalia, and Junonia, 

festivals at Rome in honor of Juno, the 
same as the Heraea of the Greeks. 

Junones, a name of the pro- 
tecting genii of the women among the 
Roman s._ Plin. 

Junonia, a name which Grac- 
chus gave to Carthage, when he went 
with 6000 Romans to rebuild it. — Two 
islands, supposed to be the Fortunate 
Islands. 

Jupiter, the most powerful 

of all the gods, according to the mytho- 
logists, was the son of Saturn and Ops. 
He was saved from destruction by his 
mother, and entrusted to the care of the 
Corybantes. Saturn, who had received 
the kingdom of the world from his bro- 
ther Titan, on condition of not raising 
male children, devoured all his sons as 
soon as bom ; but Ops secreted Jupiter, 
and gave a stone to Saturn, which he 
devoured on the supposition that it was 
a male child. Jupiter was educated in 
a cave on mount Ida, in Crete, and fed 
upon the milk of the goat Amaltheea. 
He received the name of Jupiter, quasi 
juvans pater. As soon as he was a year 
old, Jupiter found himself sufficiently 
strong to make war against the Titans, 
who had imprisoned his father, because 
he had brought up male children. The 
Titans were conquered, and Saturn set 
at liberty by the hands of his son. Sa- 
turn, however, soon after, apprehensive 
of the power cf Jupiter, conspired against 
his life, and was, for this treachery, 
driven from his kingdom, and obliged 



to rly into Latium. Jupiter, now be- 
-ecme the sole master cf the empire of 
the world, divided it with his brothers. 
He reserved fcr himself the kingdom of 
heaven, and gave the empire cf the sea 
to Neptune, and that of the infernal re- 
gions to Pluto, i. he peaceful beginning 
of his reign was soon interrupted by the 
rebellion 01 the giants, whom he subdued 
by the assistance of Hercules. [ Vid. Gi- 
gantes.] Jupiter now gave himself up 
to pleasure s, He married Metis, The- 
mis, Euronyme, Ceres, Mnemosyne, 
Latona, ana Juno, [Vid. Jimo.] He 
became a Proteus to gratify his passions. 
His intrigues with Danae, Antiope, 
Leda, Europa, A.gina, Calisto,and Ale- 
mena, are eli well known. His children 
were also numerous as well as his mis- 



Africans, the Belus of Babylon, the Osi- 
ris of Egypt, (fee. His surnames were 
numerous, many of which he received 
from the place or functions over which 
he presided. He was delighted with the 
sacrifice of goats, sheep,, and white bulls. 
The oak was sacred to him, because he 
first taught mankind to live upon acorns. 
Heis generally represented sitting upona 
golden throne, holding in one hand 
thunderbolts just ready to be hurled, in 
the other a sceptre, and the eagle stands 
with expanded wings at his feet. Ju- 
piter had several oracles, the most cele- 
brated of which were at Dodona, and 
Ammon, in Libya. As Jupiter was the 
king and father of gods and men, his 
power was extended over the deities, 
and every tiling was subservient to his 
will, except the Fates. From him man- 
kind received their blessings and their 
miseries, and they looked upon him as 
acquainted v. ith everything past, pre- 
sent, or to come. It is said that Mi- 
nerva came completely armed from his 
brains, when he ordere"d Vulcan to open 
his head. Hoftter. Kesiod. Vir~g. &c. 

Jura, a ridge of mountains 
•separating the Helvc-tii from the Se- 
-< faani, ©r Switzerland from Burgundy. 
Cam. Bel. G. 

Justiniaxus, emperor of the 
east, succeeded ids uncle Justin the first, 
August 1st, 527. The military abilities 
cf the great Belisarius happily "seconded 
bis efforts to support the tottering power 
of the imperial throne of Cons' antinople. 
His name is immortalized in history by 
the code of laws, which under his direc- 
tions was selected by the ablest lawyers, 
and to which the name of Justinian's 
Pandects and Digests are given. The 
church of St. Sophia at Constantinople, 
so much admired for its beauty, and 
the magnificence of its architecture, 
was erected under his patronage. This 
has since been converted into a Turkish 
mosque. Justinian died in his 83d year, 
after a reign of 39 years. 



JUY 

JUSTIXUS M. JUXIANUS, & 
Latin historian in the age of Antoninus, 
who epitomized the history of Trogus 
Fompeius. It comprehends the history 
of the Assyrian, Persian, Grecian, Ma- 
cedonian, and Reman empires, &c. in a 
neat and elegant style. The indecency 
of many of his expressions is deservedly 
censured. — Martyr, a Greek father, for- 
merly a Platonic philosopher, born in 
Palestine. — An emperor cf the east,who 
reigned nine years, and died A. D. 526. 
—Another, who died A. D. 5G4, after a 
reign Gf 38 years.— Another, who died 
aZd. 577, after a reign of 13 years. 

Juttjrxa, a sister of Turnus, 
king of the Rutuli. She heard with con- 
tempt the addresses of Jupiter, or, ac- 
cording to others, she was ravished by 
him and made immortal. She was after- 
wards changed into a fountain near the 
Xumicus. The waters of that fountain 
had,it is said, the power to heal diseases* 
Ovid. Virg. 

Juvexalis, Decius Junius, 

a celebrated poet, born at Aquiiuim in 
Italy. He came early to Rome, and 
passed some time in declaiming, after 
which he applied himself to write satires , 
1 G of which are extant. He spoke with vi- 
rulence against the partiality of Nero for 
the pantomime Paris, and though all his 
satire was pointed against this favorite, 
yet Juvenal lived in security during the 
reign of Nero. After the death of Nero, 
he was sent by Domitian as governor, or 
rather in exile, on the frontiers of Egypt, 
in the 80th year of his age. He returned , 
however, to Rome, after the death of 
Paris, and died in the reign of Trsjan, 
A. D. 128. His writings are fiery and ani- 
mated. He is particularly severe upon 
the dissipation of the age he lived in : 
but the gross manner in which lie ex- 
poses to ridicule the follies of mankind, 
rather encourages than disarms the licen- 
tious. J u venal was far more correct than 
his contemporaries, a circumstance at- 
tributed to his mature judgment and ex- 
perience. He may be called, and with 
reason perhaps, rife last of the Roman 
poets. After hirn poetry decayed, and 
nothing more claims attention as a per- 
fect poetical composition. 

Juvenetjs, a Spaniard, wha 
distinguishedhimself in thereignof Con- 
stantius and Constans, as a champion cf 
Christianity. He turned the four Go- 
spels into heroic verse, if not with great 
elegance or superior genius, yet with 
great fidelity. He also wrote hymns. 

JUVENTAS, or JUVENTUS, a 
goddess at Rome, who presided over 
youth and vigor. She is the same as the 
Hebe of the Greeks, and represented as 
a beautiful nymph, arrayed in varie- 
gated garments. 

JuVERNA,Or HlBERXIA, all 
island at the west of Britain, now called 
Ireland. Juv* 



LAB 



LAB 



Ixion, a king of Thessaly, son 
of Phlegyas, married Dia, daughter of 
Eioneus, or Deioneus, and promised his 
father-in-law a present for choosing him 
as a son-in-law. Kis unwillingness to 
fulfil his promises obliged Deioneus to 
steal away some of his horses. Ixion con- 
cealed his resentment ; he invited his 
fr.ther-in-law to a feast at Larissa, and 
when Deioneus came, he threw him into 
a pit, which he had previously filled with 
burning coals. This treachery so irritated 
the neighbouring princes, that all shun- 
ned and despised Ixicn. Jupiter taking 
compassion upon him, carried him to 
heaven, and placed him at the tables of 
the gods. Here he became enamoured 
of Juno j and attempted to seduce her. 



Juno informed Jupiter of Jxion's at- 
tempt, and Jupiter made a cloud in the 
shape of Juno, and carried it to the place 
where Ixion had appointed to meet Juno. 
Ixion was caught in the snare, and from 
his embrace with the cloud, he had the 
Centaurs. [Vid. Centauri.] Jupiter, dis- 
pleased with the insolence of Ixion, 
banished him from heaven , but when he 
heard that he had the rashness to boast 
that he had seduced Juno, the god struck 
him with his thunder, and ordeied Mer- 
cury to tie him to a wheel in hell, which 
continually whirls round. The wheel 
was perpetually in motion, therefore the 
punishment oflxion was eternal. Diod. 
Hygin . Virg. &e. — One of the Heraciids?, 
who reigned at Corinth for 57 cr 37 years. 



LAB 



Laaxder, brother to Nicocra- 

tes, tyrant of Cyrene. 

Laarchus, guardian to 
Battus, king of Cyrene, who usurped 
the sovereignty, and, with a view of 
consolidating his power, desired to 
marry the mother : the queen appeared 
to consent, but caused him to be assas- 
sinated, and restored the sovereignty to 
her sen. 

Labaris, a king of Egypt, 

after the reign of Sesostris. 

Lab da, a daughter of Am- 
phion, one of the Bacchiadse,born lame. 
She married Eeticn, by whom she had 
a son whom she called Cypselus, because 
she saved his life in a coffer. [Vid. 
Cypselus.] This coffer was preserved 
at Olympia. Herodot. &c. 

Laedacides, a title given to 
(Edipus and other kings of Thebes, 
because descended from Labdacus. 

Labdactjs, a son of Polydorus, 

by Nycteis, the daughter of Nycteus, 
king of Thebes. His father arid mo- 
ther died during his childhood, and he 
was left to the care of Nycteus, who, 
at his death, left his kingdom in the 
hands of Lycus. He was father to 
Laius : it is unknown whether he ever 
sat on the throne of Thebes. His de- 
scendants were called Labdacides. Stat. 
Apollod. 

Lab dal on, a promontory near 

Syracuse. 

' Laeealis, a lake in Dalmatia, 

now Scutari, of which the neighbouring 
inhabitants were called Labeates. Liv. 

Laeeo, Antistius, a celebrated 
lawyer in the age of Augustus, whose 



LAB 



views he opposed, and whose offers of 
the consulship he refused. Horace, 2 
Sat. has unjustly taxed him with in- 
sanity, because, no doubt, he inveighed 
against his patrons.— A tribune of the 
people at Rome, who condemned the 
censor Metellus to be thrown downfrorn 
the Tarpeian rock, because he had ex- 
pelled him from the senate. — Q. Fabius, 
a Roman consul, A. U. C. 571, who ob- 
tained a navai victory over the fleet of 
the Cretans. He assisted Terence in 
composing his comedies, according to 
some. 

Labeeius, J. Decimus, a Re- 
man knight, famous for his poetical 
talents in writing pantomimes. By 
appearing on the stage he lost the rank 
of knight, but was' restored to it by 
Julius "Cgesar ; and when he went to 
take his seat among the knights, no one 
offered to make room for him, and 
Cicero said, Recepissem te nisi angunte 
sederem. Laberius, offended at the af- 
fectation of Cicero, reflected upon his 
pusillanimous behaviour during the ci- 
vil wars of Caesar and Pompey, by the 
reply of Mirum si angusie sedes, qui 
soles' duabus seilis seder e. Laberius died 
ten months after the murder of J. Cse- 
sar. Hot at. Seneca, &c. 

Labi cum, now Colonna, a town 

of Italy, called also Lavieum, between 
Gabii and Tusculum, vhich became a 
Roman colony about four centuries B.C. 
Virg. Liv. 

Labientjs. The most remark- 
able of this name is Titus, an historian 
and orator at Rome, in the age of Au- 
gustus. The senate orde red his papers 
to be burnt, on account of their seditious 
contents ; and Labienus, unable to sur- 



LAC 



LAC 



vive the loss of his -writings, destroyed 
'himself. Suet. Seneca. 

Labotas, a river in Syria, near 
Antioch. 

Lab r abe us, a surname of J u- 
piter in Caria. The word is derived 
from labry-s, which, in the language of 
the country, signifies a hatchet, which 
Jupiter's statue held in its hand. Plut. 

Labhon, a town of Italy ; now 
Leghorn. 

Labyrinthus, a building 
■whose perplexing windings, &c. render 
the way from it almost impracticable. 
There were four very famous among the 
ancients ; one near the city of Arsinoe, 
in Egypt, another in Crete, a third at 
Lemnos, and a fourth in Italy, built by 
Porsenna. That of Egypt was the most 
ancient, and, according to Herodotus, 
who saw it, superbly magnificent : it 
was built by 12 kings of Egypt, who 
reigned together, and was intended as 
the place of their burial, The labyrinth 
of Crete was built by Daedalus, in imi- 
tation of that of Egypt, and it is the 
most famous in classical history : it was 
the place of confinement for Dsedalus 
himself, and the prison of the Minotaur. 
According to Pliny, the labyrinth of 
Lemnos surpassed "the others in gran- 
deur and magnificence : it was supported 
by forty columns of uncommon height 
and thickness, and equally admirable 
for their beauty and splendor. Modern 
travellers are still astonished at the noble 
and magnificent ruins which appear of 
the Egyptian labyrinth, at the south of 
the lake Maeris. Virg. Mela. Strab. &c. 

Lacuna, an epithet applied to 
a female native of Laconia, and, among 
others, to Helen. Virg, 

Lace daemon, a son of Jupiter 
and- Taygeta, the daughter of Atlas, 
who married Sparta, the daughter of 
Eurotas, by whom he had Amyelasand 
Eurydice, the wife of Aerisius. From 
Laeedsemon and his wife, the capital 
of Laconia was called Laeedamion and 
Sparta. Apoliod. &c. — A noble city of 
Peloponnesus, the capital of Laconia, 
called also Sparta, and now Misitra. 
It has been severally known by the 
names of Lelegia,CEbalia, and Hecatom- 
polis. Lelex is supposed to have been 
the first king, from whom it has been 
called Lelegia. Twelve of the descend- 
ants of Lelex enjoyed the crown before 
the succession of the Heraclidas in Pro- 
files and Eurysthenes. These two bro- 
thers began to reign B. C. 1102, their 
successors in the family of Procles were 
called Proclidae, and afterwards Eury- 
pontidae, and those of Eurysthenes, Eu- 
rysthenidae, and afterwards A gidae. This 
succession continued until the year 219 
B. C. when, under the kings Lycurgus 
and Agesipolis, the monarchical power 
was abolished. In 191 B. C. Laeedamion 
joined the Achaean league, and in 147 



B. C. Lacotiia was conquered by Mum- 
mius, and converted into a Roman pro- 
vince. The inhabitants of Lacedaemon 
have rendered themselves illustrious for 
their courage, their }ove of liberty, and 
for their aversion to sloth and luxury. 
They were inured from their youth to 
labor, and their laws commanded them 
to make war their profession. They 
hardened their bodies by stripes and 
other manly exercises, and accustomed 
themselves to undergo hardships, and 
even to die without fear or regret. They 
were forbidden by the laws of their 
country \_Vid. Lycurgus] to visit foreign 
countries, lest their morals should be 
corrupted by an intercourse with effe- 
minate nations. The austere manner 
in which their children were educated, 
rendered them undaunted in the field of 
battle. Even the women were as cou- 
rageous as the men. In the affairs of 
Greece, the interest of the Lacedaemoni- 
ans was often powerful, and obtained 
the superiority for 500 years. The au- 
thority of their monarchs was checked 
by the Ephori,who had the power of 
imprisoning the kings themselves, if 
guilty of misdemeanors. [Vid. Ephori.J 
The Lacedaemonians are remarkable for 
the honor and reverence which they 
paid to old age. Strab. Thucyd. mic- 
rodot. 

Lacedsemon ii and Laced^e- 

MONES, the inhabitants of Lacedae- 
rnon. [Fid. Laeedemon.] 

LACEDEMONius,son of Cimon ; 
so called from the regard his father had 
for the Lacedaemonians. 

Lacerta, a rich soothsayer in 
the reign of Diocletian. Juv. 

Lachabes, an /Egyptian, 
buried in the labyrinth, near Arsinoe. — 
There were several of this name. 

Laches, an Athenian admiral, 
sent with Carias against Sicily.— The 
artist who completed the colossus of 
Rhodes. 

Lachesis, one of the Pares?. 
Her name is derived from Kafetv, to 
measure out by lot. She presided over 
futurity, and was represented as spin- 
ning the thread of life, or, according to 
others, holding the spindle. [Fid. Par- 
es?.] Stc.t. Theb. 

Lac i das, a Greek philosopher 
of Cyrenc, who flourished B. C. 241. He 
was disciple of Arcesilaus, whom he 
succeeded in the government of the se- 
cond academy. He taught his disciples 
to suspend their judgment, and never 
speak decisively. He disgraced himself 
by the magnificent funeral with which 
he honored a favorite goose. He died 
through excess of drinking. Diog. 

Lacides, a village near Athens, 
in which were temples dedicated to 
Ceres and Proserpine. 

LacInia, a surname cf Juno. 



hJEV 



from her temple at Lacinium, a pro- 
montory of Magna Grsecia, in Italy, 
which the Crotonians held in great ve- 
neration, Strab. Ovid. &c. 

Lacinium, a promontory of 

Magna Grascia, now Cape Colonna, 
Xvhich, with the promontory of Salen- 
tum, forms the entrance of the Taren- 
tine Gulf, about 7a, or, according to 
some, 100 miles wide. Juno Lacinia 
had a temple there held in great vene- 
ration. 

Lacobriga, a city of Spain, 
where Sertorius was besieged by Me- 
tellus. 

La c o n i a, L a c o x i' c a, and La- 

CEDy£MON,a country on the southern 
parts of Peloponnessus, having Argos 
and Arcadia on the north, Messenia on 
the west, the Mediterranean on the 
south, and the bay of Argos at the east. 
Its extent, from north to south, was 
about 50 miles. It is watered by the 
river Eurotas. The capital is called 
Sparta or Lacedaemon. [Vid. Lacedas- 
mon.] The epithet laconic is taken 
from the brief manner in which the in- 
habitants expressed their ideas. Strab. 
Ptol. &c. 

Lac t ant in s, a celebrated 

Christian writer, whose principal works 
are de ira divina, de Dei operibus, and 
his divine institutions, in seven books, 
in which he proves the truth of the 
Christian religion, refutes objections, 
and attacks the illusions and absiirdities 
of paganism. The expressive purity, 
elegance, and energy of his style, have 
gained him the name of the Christian 
Cicero. He died A. D. 325. 

Lad as, a celebrated courier of 
Alexander, born at Sicyon. He was 
honored with a brazen statue, and ob- 
tained a crown at Olympia. Martial. 
Juv. 

Lade, an island of the iEgean 
sea, on the coast of Asia Minor, where 
was a naval battle between the Persians 
and lonians. 

Lad on, a river of Arcadia, 
falling into the Alpheus. The meta- 
morphosis of Daphne into a laurel, and 
of Syrinx into a reed, happened near its 
banks. Strab. Ooid. &c. — An Arcadian, 
who followed /Eneas into Italy, where 
he was killed by Halesus. Virg. 

Ljelianus, a general, pro- 
claimed emperor in Gaul by his soldiers , 
A. D. 268, after the death of Gallienus. 
His triumph was short ; he was con- 
quered and put to death, after a few 
months' reign, by another general called 
Posthumous. 

C. L.elius. The most remark- 
able of this name is a Roman consul, 
A.U. C. 614, surnamed Sapiensyso inti- 
mate with Afrieanus the younger, that 
Cicero represents him, in his treatise De 
Amieitidj as explaining the real nature 



of friendship, with its attendant plea- 
sures. It is said that he assisted Terence 
in the composition of his comedies. His 
modesty, humanity, and the manner in 
which he patronised letters, are as cele- 
brated as his greatness of mind and in- 
tegrity in the character of a statesman, 
Cic. 

LjENa and Lejena, the mis- 
tress of Harmodius and Aiistogiton. 
Being tortured because she refused to 
discover the conspirators, she bit off her 
tongue, totally to frustrate the efforts of 
her executioners. 

LiENEiis, a river of Crete, 
whither Jupiter brought Europa, 

Laertes, a king of Ithaca, 
son of Arcesius, who married Anticlea, 
the daughter of Autolycus. Anticlea 
w r as pregnant by Sisyphus when she 
married "Laertes, and eight months after 
her union with the king of Ithaca she 
brought forth a son called Ulysses. -[Vid, 
Anticlea.] Ulysses was treated with pa- 
ternal care by Laertes, though not his 
son, and Laertes ceded him his crown 
more than 20 years .before his death, 
and survived the return of Ulysses from 
the Trojan war. Laertes was one of the 
Argonauts, according to Apollodorus, 
Homer, &c. — A city of Cihcia, which 
gave birth to Diogenes, surnamed Laer- 
tius from the place of his birth. 

Laertius Diogenes, a writer 
born at Laertes. [ Vid. Diogenes.] 

LiESTRYGONEs, the most an- 
cient inhabitants of Sicily. Some sup- 
pose them to be the same as the people 
of Leontium, and to have been neigh- 
bours to the Cyclops. They fed on 
human flesh, and when Ulysses came 
on their coasts, they sunk his ships and 
devoured his companions. [ Vid, Anti- 
phates.] They were of a gigantic sta- 
ture, according to Komer's description* 
A colony of them, as was supposed, 
passed over into Italy, with Lamus at 
their head, where they built the town, 
of Formiee, whence the epithet of Lcs- 
strygonia is often used for that of Fcr- 
miana. 

LiETA, the emperor Gratian's 
wife, much celebrated for her humanity 
and generous sentiments. 

Lje TU8. The most remarkable 
of this name is a Roman, whom Com- 
modus condemned to be put to death. 
This violence raised Lsctus against 
Commodus; he conspired against him, 
and raised Pertinax to the throne. — 
Another Roman, put to death by Seve- 
rus. 

L^evinus, a Roman consul sent 
against Pyrrhus, A. U. C. 474. He in- 
formed the monarch that the Romans 
would not accept him as an arbitrator 
in the war with Tarentum, and feared 
him not as an enemy. He was defeated 
by Pyrrhus.— Marcus, a Roman general 



LAI 



in the second Punic war. He behaved 
with great valor, and drove the Cartha- 
ginians from Sicily. Liu. 

Lagia, a name of the island 
Delos. [Vict. Delos.] 

Lagus, a Macedonian of mean 
extraction, married Arsinoe, the daugh- 
ter of Meleager, then pregnant by king 
Philip, and being willing to hide the 
disgrace of his wife, he exposed the 
child in the woods. An eagle preserved 
the life of the infant, and fed him with 
her prey. This uncommon preservation 
was divulged by Lagus, who adopted 
the child, and called him Ptolemy,con- 
jecturing that as his life had been so 
miraculously preserved, his days would 
be spent in grandeur and affluence. 
This Ptolemy became king of Egypt 
after the death of Alexander. The first 
of the Ptolemies is called Lagus, to di- 
stinguish him from his successors of the 
same name. Ptolemy, the first of the 
Macedonian kings of" Egypt, wished it 
to be believed that he was "the legitimate 
son of Lagus, and he preferred the ap- 
pellation of Lagides to all other appella- 
tions. The surname of Lagides was 
transmitted to all his descendants on the 
Egyptian throne till the reign of Cleo- 
patra, Antonv's mistress. Plut. Justin. 

Lais, a celebrated courtezan, 
daughter of Timandra, the mistress of 
Alcibiades, born at Hyceara in Sicily, 
was carried into Greece, when Nicias, 
the Athenian general, invaded Sicilv. 
She first resided at Corinth, where she 
sold her favors for 10,000 drachmas, and 
was visited by princes, noblemen, phi- 
losophers, orators, &c. The expenses 
which attended her pleasures gave rise 
to the proverb of Nonouivis homini con- 
ting it adire Corinthian. She next went 
to Thessaly, where the women, jealous 
of her personal charms, and apprehen- 
sive of her corrupting the fidelity of 
their husbands, assassinated her in the 
temple of Venus, about 340 years before 
the Christian era. Diogenes, the cynic, 
was one of her warmest admirers ; and 
though filthy in his dress and manners, 
he gained her heart, and enjoyed her 
most unbounded favors. Ovid. Plut. 

Lai us, a son of Labdacus, suc- 
ceeded to the throne of Thebes, which 
his grandfather Nycteus had left to the 
care of his brother Lycus, till his grand- 
son came of age. He was driven from 
his kingdom by Amphion and Zethus, 
but was afterwards restored, and mar- 
ried Jocasta, the daughter of Creon. 
An oracle informed him that he should 
perish by the hand of his son. Jocasta, 
some time after, brought forth a son. 
The child, as soon as born, was given 
to a servant, with orders to put him to 
death. The servant only exposed him 
on mount Cithaeron, where his life was 
preserved by a shepherd. The child, 



LAM 



called CEdipus, was educated in the court 
of Polybus, and unfortunately meeting 
with his father in a narrow "road, he 
killed him. {Vid. CEdipus.] Sophoc. Hy- 
gin. &c. 

Lalage, one of Horace's favo- 
rite mistresses. Horat. 

La3iachus, a son ofXenopha- 
nes, sent into Sicily with Nicias and Al- 
cibiades. He was killed B. C. 414, be- 
fore Syracuse, where he displayed much 
courage and intrepidity. Plut. 

Lamalmox, a mountain in 
^Ethiopia. 

Lambrus, a river falling into 

the Eridanus or Po. 

Lamia, a town of Thessaly, 

famous for a siege it supported after 
Alexander's death, under Antipater, go- 
vernor of Macedonia. — A daughter of 
Neptune, mother of Hierophile, an an- 
cient Sibyl, by Jupiter. Pans. 

Lamia and Auxesia, two dei- 
ties of Crete, whose worship was the 
same as at Eleusis. The Epidaurians 
made them two statues of an olive tree 
given them by the Athenians, provided 
they came to offer a sacrifice to Minerva 
at Athens. Paus. Herodot. 

Lamije, small islands before 
Troas. Plin. — Certain monsters of 
Africa, which had the face and breast of 
a woman, and the rest of the body like 
that of a serpent. They allured stran- 
gers to come to them, that they might 
devour them. Some believed them to 
be witches, or rather evil spirits, who, 
under the form of a beautiful woman, 
enticed young children and devoured 
them. They are also called Lemures. 
[Vid. Lemures.] Horat. Plut. czc. 

Lamias jElius. The most re- 
markable of this name is — A governor 
of Syria under Tiberius, who was ho- 
nored with a public funeral by the se- 
nate ; and as having been a respectable 
and useful citizen, Horace has dedicated 
his 26 Ode, lib. 1. to his praises, as also 
3 Od. 17. 

Lamtedo, a woman of Lace- 

dasmcn, who was daughter, wife, sister, 
and mother of a king. She lived in the 
age of Alcibiades. Agrippina, the mo- 
ther of Claudius, could boast the same 
honors. Tacit. 

Lampet i A,a daughter of Apollo 
and Nesera. She, with her sister Phae- 
tusa, guarded her father's flocks in Si- 
cily, when Ulysses arrived on that island. 
They fed by night as well as by day, and 
it was deemed unlawful and sacrilegious 
to touch them. The companions of 
Ulysses, impelled by hunger, paid no re- 
gard to their sanctity, but carried away 
and killed some of the oxen. The keep- 
ers complained to their father, and Ju- 
piter, at the request of Apollo, punished 
the offence of the Greeks. The hides 



LAM 



LAO 



appeared to walk, and the flesh roasting 
by the fire began to bellow, and nothing 
was heard but dreadful bowlings. The 
companions of Ulysses embarked, but 
the resentment of Jupiiei followed them. 
A storm arose, and all perished, except 
Ulysses, who saved himself on the bro- 
ken piece of a mast. Homer, &c. — Ac- 
cording to Ovid, Lampetia is one of the 
Heliades, who was changed into a pop- 
lar tree at the death of her brother Phae- 
ton. 

Lampeto and Lampedo, a 

queen of the Amazons, who boasted 
herself to be the daughter of Mars. She 
gained many conquests in Asia, where 
she founded several cities. She was sur- 
prised afterwards bya band of barbarians, 
and destroyed with her female attend- 
ants. Justin. 

Lam feus, a mountain of Ar- 
cadia. 

Lampoxia, an island on the 
coast of Thrace. — A city of Troas. 

La mp on i us, a general sent by 
the Athenians to attempt the conquest 
cf Sicily. 

Lampridius ./Elius, a Latin 
historian in the fourth century, who 
wrote the lives of some of the Roman 
emperors. His style is inelegant, and 
his arrangement injudicious. His life 
of Coramodus, Heliogabalus, Alexander 
Severus, &c. is still extant, and to be 
foun3 in the works of the Histories Au- 
gusfitB Scriptores. 

Lampsacus andLAMPSACUM» 

a town of Asia Minor, on the borders of 
the Propontis, at the north of Abydos. 
It took its name from Lampsaoes, a 
daughter of Mandron, king of Phrygia. 
Priapus was the chief deity of the place, 
cf which he was reckoned by some as 
the founder. It was formerly called Pi- 
ty u?a. The wine of Lampsacus was 
famous, and therefore a tribute of wine 
was granted from the city by Xerxes to 
maintain the table of Theinistocies. 
Strab. C Nep- 

Lampteria, a festival at Pel- 
lene, in Achaia, in honor of Bacchus, 
who was surnamed Lampter from Kc/.ju- 
Tray, to shine, because during this so- 
lemnity, which was observed in the 
night, the worshippers went to the tem- 
ple of Bacchus with lighted torches in 
their hands. It was also customary to 
place vessels full cf wine in several parts 
of every street in the city. Paus. 

Lamus. The most remarkable 
of this name is — A king of the Laestry- 
gones, who is supposed by some to have 
founded Formiae in Italy. The family 
of the Lamise at Rome was, according to 
the opinion of some, descended from 
him. Horat. 

Lamyrus, liijfoon, a surname 
of one of the Ptolemies. 



Lanassa, a daughter of Cleo- 

dseus, and wife to Pyrrhus, son of 
Achilles, by whom she had eight chil- 
dren. — A daughter of Agathocles, mar- 
ried to Pyrrhus, whom she forsook to 
follow the'fortunes of Demetrius. 

Landi, a people of Germany, 
conquered by Csstar. 

Langoeardi, a warlike nation 
of Germany, called i nnproperly Lombards 
by some. Tacit. Ami. 

Langobriga, a town in Lusi- 
tania. 

Lanuvium, a town of Latium, 

about 16 miles from Rome on the Ap- 
pian road. Juno had there a celebrated 
temple, which was frequented by the in- 
habitants of Italy, and particularly by 
the Romans, whose consuls, on first en- 
tering upon office, offered sacrifices to 
the goddess. Cic. Li v. 

Laobotas or Labotas, a 

Spartan king, of the family of the Agidse, 
who succeeded his father Echestratus, 
B. C. 1023. Paus. 

Lao coon, a son of Priam and 

Hecuba, or according to others, of An- 
tenor, or of Capys, was priest of Apollc. 
When sacrificing a bullock to Neptune;, 
two enormous serpents issued from the 
sea, and attacked Laocoous two sons, 
who stood next to the altar. The father 
immediately attempted to defend his 
sons, but the serpents seizing him, 
squeezed him in their complicated 
wreaths, and he died in the greatest 
agonies. This punishment was inflicted 
for his temerity in dissuading the Tro- 
jans to bring into the city the fatal 
wooden horse consecrated to Minerva, 
as also for his impiety in hurling a ja- 
velin against the sides Of the horse as it 
entered within the walls. Virg. Hygirt. 
Hyginus attributes this to his marriage 
against the consent of Apollo, or accord- 
ing to others, for his polluting the tem- 
ple by his commerce with his wife An- 
tiope, before the statue of the god. 

Laouamas, a son of Alcinous, 
king of the Phasacians, who offered to 
wrestle with Ulysses, while a- his father's 
court. TJ lysses", mindful of the hospita- 
lity of Alcinous, refused the challenge of 
Laodamas. Homer. Odt/ss.—A son cf 
Eteocles, king of Thebes. 

Laodamia, adaughterof Acas- 
tusand Astydamia, married Protesilaus, 
the son of Iphiclus, king of a part of 
Thessaly. The departure of her hus- 
band for the Trojan war, and his death 
from the hand of Hector, was the source 
of great grief to her. To keep alive the 
memory of her husband, she ordered a 
wooden statue to be made, and regularly 
placed in her bed. This was seen by one 
of her servants, who informed Iphiclus, 
that his daughter's bed was daily defiled 
by an unknown stranger. Iphiclus watch- 
ed his daughter, and when he found that 



LAO 



LAO 



the intelligence was false, he ordered the 
wooden image to be burned, in hopes of 
dissipating his daughter's grief. He did 
not succeed. Laodamia "threw herself 
into the dames with the image, and pe- 
rished. This circumstance has given oc- 
casion to the fabulous tradition that Pro- 
tesilaus was restored to life, and to Lao- 
damia for three hours, and that wheu he 
was obliged to return to the infernal re- 
gions, he persuaded his wife to accom- 
pany him. Virg, — A daughter of Beile- 
rophon by Achemone the daughter of 
king lobates. She had a son by Jupiter, 
called Sarpedon. She dedicated herself 
to the service of Diana, and hunted 
with her, but her haughtiness proved 
fatal to her, and she perished by the ar- 
rows of Diana. Homer. — A daughter of 
Alexander, king of Epirus, by Olympia 
the daughter of Pyrrhus. She was as- 
sassinated in the temple of Diana ; whi- 
ther she had fled for safety during a 
sedition, 

Laodice. There are many il- 
lustrious women of this name recorded 
in ancient history, the most remarkable 
of whom are the following. — A daughter 
cf Priam and Hecuba, who became ena- 
moured of Acarnas ,son of Thes eus , when 
he came with Diomedes from the Greeks 
to Troy, with an embassy to demand the 
restoration of Helen. She had a son by 
Aeamas, whom she called Munitus. She 
afterwards married Helaicon, son of An- 
tenor, and Telephus, king of Mysia. 
Some call her Astyoche. Laodice threw 
herself down from the top of a tower, 
and was killed when Troy was sacked by 
the Greeks. Dictys Cret, Pans. Homer. 
— A sister of Mithridates, who married 
Ariarathes, king of Cappadoeia, and af- 
terwards her own brother Mithridates. 
During the secret absence of Mithrida- 
tes, she prostituted herself to her ser- 
vants, in hopes that her husband was 
dead ; but when she saw her expectations 
frustrated, she attempted to poison Mi- 
thridates ,f or which she was put to death. 
— The mother of Seleucus. Nine months 
before she brought forth, she dreamt 
that Apollo had introduced himself into 
her bed, and had presented her with a 
precious stone, on which was engraved 
the figure of an anchor, commanding 
her to deliver it to her son as soon as 
born. This dream appeared the more 
wonderful, when in the morning she dis- 
covered in her bed a ring answering the 
same description. Not only the son that 
she brought forth, called Seleucus, but 
also all his successors of the house of 
the Seleueidse, had the mark of an an- 
chor upon their thigh. Justin, Appian. 
in Sffr, mentions this anchor, though in 
a different manner. 

Laodicea, a name common to 
four cities in Asia, the most remarkable 
of which is that situate on the borders 
of Caria, Phrygia, and Lydia, so called 
from Laodice, the wife of Antiochus. 



It was celebrated for its commerce, and 
the fine wool of its sheep. It was ori- 
ginally called Diospolis, and afterwards 
Rhoas.^ Strab. Mela. 

Laodicene, a province of Sy- 
ria, which receives its name from Lao- 
dicea, its capital. 

Laodochus, a son of Antenor. 
whose form Minerva borrowed to advise 
Pandarus to break the treaty between 
the Greeks and Trojans. Homer. 

LaogOjtus, a priest of Jupiter 
slain by Merion. Horn. — Brother to Dar- 
danus, killed by Achilles. Horn. 

Laogoras, king of the Dry- 
opes, who plundered the temple of 
Apollo at Delphi, and whom Hercules 
slew. 

Laogqse, daughter of Cinyras 
and Metharrne, daughter of Delphi. 
Laomedon, son of Ilus, king 

of Troy, v/as father to Podarces, after- 
wards known by the name of Priam, and 
Hesione. He built the walls of Troy, 
assisted by Apollo and Neptune. When 
the walls "were finished, Laomedon re- 
fused to reward the labors of the gods , 
and soon after his territories were laid 
waste by the sea, and his subjects were 
visited by a pestilence. Sacrifices were 
offered to the offended divinities, but 
nothing could appease the gods, accord- 
ing to the oracle, but annually to expose 
to a sea monster a Trojan virgin. This 
victim was decided by lot, and when 
the calamity had continued for five or 
six years, the lot fell upon Hesione, 
Laomedon's daughter. In the midst of 
Laomedon's fears for the fall of his 
daughter, Hercules came and offered to 
deliver the Trojans from this calamity, 
if Laomedon promised to reward him 
with a number of fine horses. The king 
consented, but when the monster was 
destroyed, he refused them. Hercules 
was obliged to besiege Troy, and take 
it by force of arms. Laomedon was put 
to death, after a reign of twenty-nine 
years. \_Vid. Hesione and Priamus.] 
Homer. Virg. &c According to Hy- 
ginus, the wrath of Neptune and A polio 
was kindled against Laomedon, because 
he refused to offer on their altars, as a 
sacrifice, all the first born of his cattle, 
according to a vow which he had 
made. 

Laomebontiadje, a patrony- 
mic given to the Trojans from Laome- 
don their king. Virg. 

Lao 6 me, wife of Polyphemus 

one of the Argonauts. 

Laonomene, a daughter of 
Thespius, by whom Hercules had two 
sons, Teles "and Menippides, and two 
daughters, Lysidice and Stendedice. 
Apollod. 

Laothoe, a daughter of Altes, 
a king of the Leleges, who married 



LAR 



LAR 



Priam, and became mother of Lycaon 
and Polydorus. Homer. 

Lapathus, a city of Cyprus. 
Lafhria, a surname of Diana 
at Patrse in Achaia, where she had a 
temple. This name was given to the 
goddess from Laphrius, the son of Del- 
phus. There was a festival of the god- 
dess there, called alsojLaphria, of which 
Pans, gives an account. 

Laphystium, a mountain in 
Bceotia, where Jupiter had a temple, 
whence he was called Layhystius. It 
was here that Athamas prepared to im- 
molate Phryxus and Helle, whom Ju- 
piter saved by sending them a golden 
km, whence the surname and the ho- 
mage paid to the god. — Bacchus was 
aiso called L r ;phi/stiu8, from the temple 
he had on mount Laphystium, and his 
priestesses were, in consequence, often 
called Laphystides. Pans. 

Lapitios, a people of Thes- 
saly. [Vid. Lapithus.] 

Lapithus, a son of Apollo, by 
Stilbia. He was brother to Centaurus, 
and married Orsinome, daughter of Eu- 
ronymus, by whom he had Phorbas and 
Periphas. The name of Lapirhae was 
given to the numerous children of 
Phorbas and Periphas. The cliief of 
the Lapithas assembled to celebrate the 
nuptials of Pirithous, one of their num- 
ber. The Centaurs were invited to par- 
take of the festivity, one of whom being 
intoxicated, offered violence to Hippo- 
damia, the bride of Pirithous. A ge- 
neral quarrel ensued, in which many of 
the Centaurs were slain, and they at last 
were obliged to retire- Theseus among 
the Lapitha? showed himself brave and 
intrepid in supporting the cause of his 
friends, and Nestor also was not less 
active hi the protection of chastity and 
innocence. [Vid. Centauri.] The in- 
vention of bits and bridles for horses is 
attributed to the Lapithas. Virg. Ovld.&LQ. 

La ha or Liaranda, one of 
the Naiads, daughter of the river Almou 
in Latium, famous foi her beauty and 
loquacity. She revealed to Juno the 
amours of her husband Jupiter with Ju- 
turna, for which the god cut out her 
tongue, and ordered Mercury to conduct 
her to the infernal regions. The mes- 
senger fell in love with her by the way, 
and gratified his passion. Lara became 
mother of two children, to whom the 
Romans have paid divine honors ac- 
cording to the opinion of some, under 
the name of Lares. Ovid. 

Lares, gods of inferior power 
at Rome, who presided over houses and 
families. They were two in. number, 
sons of Mercury by Lara. [Vid. Lara.] 
In process of time their power was ex- 
tended not only over houses, but also 
over the country and the sea. The sta- 
tues of the Lares resembling monkeys, 



and covered with the skin of a dog, 
were placed in a niche behind the doors 
of the houses, or around the hearths. 
Incense was burnt on their altars, and a 
sow was offered on particular days. The 
word Lares seems to have been derive', 
from the Etruscan word Lars, which sig- 
nifies conductor, or leader. At the feet 
of the Lares was the figure of a dog 
barking, to intimate their care and vi- 
gilance. Ovid. Plat. Herat. &c. 

Larga, a well known prosti- 
tute in Juvenal's age. 

Lar&us, a Latin poet, author 
of a poem on the arrival of Antenor in 
Italy, where he founded Padua. 

Larides, a son of Daucus, or 
Daunus, who assisted Turnus against 
.Eneas, and had his hand cut off with 
one blow by Palias, the son of Evander. 
Virg. 

Larixa, a virgin of Italy, who 

accompanied Camilla in her war against 
iEneas. Virg. 

Larjnum, a town on the Ti- 

pernus, in Italy, now Latino. 

Larissa, a daughter of Pelasu 
gus, who gave her name to some cities 
in Greece. — Also a name common to six 
different cities in Asia and Greece, the 
most famous of which is that on the bor- 
ders of the Peneus, in Thessaly. It was 
here that Acrisius was inadvertently 
killed by his grandson Perseus. Jupiter 
had there a famous temple, on account 
of which he is called Larissaous. The 
same epithet is also applied to Achilles, 
who reigned there. It is still extant, 
and bears the same name. Ovid. Virg. 
&c. 

Larius, a large lake in Italy. 

Virg. 

Lars Tolumnius, a king of 

the Veientes, conquered by the Ro- 
mans, arid put to death, A. U. C. 329. 
Lie. 

Lartius Flores. This name 

is common to many Romans, the most 
celebrated of whom are the following : 
— A consul, who appeased a sedition 
raised by the poorer citizens, and was 
the first dictator ever chosen at Rome, 
B. C. 49S. He made Spurius Cassius 
his master of horse. Liv.— One of the 
three Romans who alone withstood the 
fury of Porsenna's army at the head of 
a bridge while the communication was 
cutting down behind them. His com- 
panions were Coeles and Hermmiys. 
[ Vid. Codes.] 

L art ol^e taxi, u nation of 

Spain. 

Larvae, from larva, a mask, a 
name given to the wicked spirits and 
apparitions which, according to the no- 
tions of the Romans, issued from their 
graves in the night, and came to terrify 
the world. Some call them Lemures. 



LAT 



LAV 



[Vid. Lemures.] As the word larva 
signifies a mask, whose horrid appear- 
ance often serves to frighten children, 
that name has been given to the ghosts 
and spectres which superstition believes 
to hover around the graves of the dead. 

Larysium, a mountain of La- 
ccaiia. 

Lasstjs or Lasus, a dithyram- 
bic poet, born at Hermione, in Pelo- 
ponnesus, about five hundred years 
before Christ, and reckoned by some 
among the wise men of Greece. Some 
fragments of his poetry may be found in 
AtJienceus. 

Las theses, a minister, re- 
markable for his cruelty at tiie court of 
Seleueus, king of Syria. 

Late ran us Plautus, a Ro- 
man consul elect A. D. 65. A conspiracy 
with Piso against the emperor Nero 
proved fatal to him. Being ordered to 
execution, he refused to confess his as- 
sociates, and did not even frown at the 
executioner, who was as guilty as him- 
self: and when a first blow could' not 
sever his head from his body, he looked 
at the executioner, and shaking his 
head he returned it to the hatchet with 
the greatest eomnosure, and it was cut 
off. 

Latialis, a surname of Ju- 
piter, who was worshipped by the in- 
habitants of Latium, upon mount Al- 
banus, at stated times. 

Latini, the inhabitants of La- 
tium. [Vid. Latium.] 

Latinus, a son of Faunus by 
Marica, king of the Aborigines in Italy, 
who from him were called Latini, mar- 
ried Amata, by whom he had a daugh- 
ter, called Lavinia, who was secretly 
promised in marriage by her mother to 
Turnus, king of the Rutuli. The gods 
apposed this union, and the oracles de- 
clared that Lavinia must become the 
wife of a foreign prince. The arrival of 
jEneas seemed favorable to this predic- 
tion, and Latinus, by offering his daugh- 
ter to him, seemed to have fulfilled the 
commands of the oracle. Turnus, how- 
ever, claimed Lavinia as his lawful wife, 
and prepared to support his cause by 
arms. iEneas then took up arms in his 
own defence, and after mutual losses it 
was agreed, that the quarrel should be 
decided by the two rivals. iEneas ob- 
tained the victory, and married Lavinia. 
Latinus soon after died, and was suc- 
ceeded by his son-in-law. Virg. Liv. 
&c. &c— A son of Sylvius iEneas, sur- 
named also Sylvius, fifth king of the 
Latins. 

Latium, a country of Italy, 
near the river Tiber. The first inha- 
bitants were called Aborigines, and re- 
ceived the name of Latini from Latinus, 
their king. According to others, the 
word is derived from lateo, to conceal, 



because Saturn concealed himself there 
when flying the resentment of his son 
Jupiter. Laurentum was the capital of 
the country in the reign of Latinus. 
Virg. Strab. &c. 

Latius, a surname of Jupiter. 

Latmus, a mountain of Caria 
near Miletus, famous for the residence 
of Endymion, whom the Moon regular- 
ly visited in the night, whence he is 
often called Latmius Heros. [Vid. En- 
dymion.] Mela. Ovid. 

Latobius, the god of health, 
worshipped at Corinth. 

Latots, a name of Diana, as 
being the_daughter of Latona. 

La ton a, a daughter of Coeus, 
the Titan, or, according to Homer, of 
Saturn. She is celebrated for the favors 
which she granted to Jupiter. Juno, 
always jealous of her husband, sent the 
serpent Python to persecute her. La- 
tona wandered from place to place in 
time of pregnancy, continually alarmed 
for fear of Python. She was driven from 
heaven, and Terra refused to give her 
a place where she might rest and bring 
forth. Neptune, moved with compas- 
sion, struck with his trident, and made 
immoveable, the island of Delos, which 
before wandered in the JEgean sea. La- 
tona, changed into a quail by Jupiter, 
came to Delos, where she resumed her 
original shape, and gave birth to Apollo 
and Diana. Juno obliged her to fly 
from Delos. After having wandered 
over the greatest part of the earth, and 
experienced the violence of Niobe and 
Tityus [Vid. Niobe and Tityus], she at 
length, though exposed to the resent- 
ment of Juno, became a powerful deity, 
and saw her children receive divine 
honors. Her worship was generally 
established where her children received, 
adoration, particularly at Argos, Delos, 
&c. where she had temples. She had 
an oracle in Egypt, celebrated for the 
true decisive answers which it gave. 
Herodoi. Homer. 

Latous, a name given to 

Apollo as son of Latona. Ovid. 

Latreus, one of the Centaurs, 
who, after having killed Halesus, was 
himself slain by Cseneus. Ovid. Met. 

Laudamia, a daughter of 
Alexander, king of Epirus, and Olym- 
pias, daughter of Pyrrhus, killed in a 
temple of Diana, by the enraged popu- 
lace. JusUn. 

Lave rn A,the goddess of thieves 
and dishonest persons at Rome. The 
Romans raised her an altar near one 
of the gates of the city, which, from 
that circumstance, was called the gate 
of Laverna. She did not only preside 
over robbers, called from her Laver- 
niones, but she protected such as de- 
ceived others, or formed their secret 
machinations in obscurity and silence* 
L6 



LEB 



LEGr 



She was generally represented by a head 
without a body. Horat. Van 

Laviaxa, a province in Arme- 
nia Minor. 

LavIxia, a daughter of king 
Latinus and Amata, was betrothed to 
her relation king Turnus ; but because 
the oracle ordered her father to marry 
her tr- a foreign prince, she was given 
to /Eneas after the death of Turnus. 
[Vid. Latinus. | At her husband's death 
she was left pregnant, and being fearful 
of the tyranny of As-anius, her step- 
son, she fled into the woods, where she 
broughi forth a son called ^Eneas Syl- 
vius. Virg. Liv. &c. 

Lavjkium, or Lavixum, a 

town of Italy, built by /Eneas, and 
called by that name in honor of Lavinia, 
the founder's wife. It was the capital 
of Latiuni during the reign of /Eneas.- 
Virg. Strab. 

Laura, a spot near Alexandria. 

Laurextalia, certain festi- 
vals celebrated at Rome in honor of 
Lauren tia, in the calends of January. 

Laure x t i a. [ Vid. Acca."] 

Laurextixi, the inhabitants 
of Latiura,so cailedfrom laurus^a laurel, 
because king Latinus found one of un- 
common largeness and beauty when he 
was going to build a temple to Apollo. 
The tree was consecrated to the god. 

Laurextum, the capital of 

the kingdom of Latium in the reign of 
Latinus. It is now called Paterno, and 
is situated on the sea coast, a few miles 
east from the mouth of the Tiber. Strab. 
Mela. 

Laurox, a town of Spain, 
where Pompey's son was conquered by 
Caesar's army. 

Laus, a town in Lucania; now 
Laino. 

Laus Poimpeta, a town in 

Italy ; so called in honour of Pompey, 
who sent a colony thither. 

Laus us, son of Numitor, and 
brother of Ilia. He was put to death 
by his uncle Amul-ius, who usurped his 
father's throne. Ovid. — A son of Me- 
zentius, king of the Tyrrhenians, killed 
by /Eneas in the war which his father 
and Turnus made against the Trojans. 
Virg. 

Le.exa, an Athenian harlot, 
who bit off her tongue, not to betray 
the associates in the conspiracy of Ari- 
stogiton and Harmodius against the Pi- 
s stratidce. 

Leaxder. [Vid. Hero.] 
Le arch us, a son of Athamas 
and Ino, crushed to death against a wall 
by his father, in a fit of madness. [ Vid. 
Athamas.] 

Lebadea ? a town of Bceotia, 



near mount Helicon. It received this* 
name from the mother of Aspledon, and 
became famous for the oracle and cave 
of Trophouius. Strab. &c. 

Lebebos, or LEBEDus,a town 

of Ionia, at the north of Colophon, 
where festivals were yearly observed is 
honor of Bacchus. Lysimachus de- 
stroyed it, and carried part of the in- 
habitants to Ephesus. It had been 
founded by an Athenian colony, under 
one of the sons of Codrus. Strab. Ho- 
rat. 

Lebexa, a town m Crete* 

having a temple, dedicated to /Escula- 
pius. 

Lebixthos, or Lebtxthos? 

an island near Patmos. 

Le c t i s t e r x i a, festivals at 
Rome, observed in times of public ca- 
lamity. The gods were solemnly in- 
vited^ and their images were placed on 
beds round the tables,whence their name. 
During the celebration, the citizens kept 
open table, each according to his ability, 
and in the temples of the invited deities 
a profusion of meats was served up at 
the expense of the republic, for the 
ministers and officers of the godsr 

Lectum, a promontory which 
separates Troas from /Eolia, now called 
cape Baba. 

Leda, a daughter of king Thes- 
pius and Eurythemis, married Tynda- 
rus, king of Sparta, Being seen bathing 
in the river Eurotas by Jupiter, when a 
few days a dvanced hi her pregnancy, the 
god, struck with her beauty, resolved to 
deceive he:-. He persuaded Venus to 
change herself into an eagle, while he 
assumed the form of a swan, and, after 
this metamorphosis, Jupiter, as if fear- 
ful of the cruelty of the bird of prey, 
fled into the arms" of Leda, who willingly 
sheltered the trembling swan. The ca- 
resses with which Leda received the 
swan, enabled Jupiter to avail himself* 
of his situation, and in nine months 
after, she brought forth two eggs, from 
one of which sprang Pollux and Helena* 
and from the other Castor and Clyte- 
mnestra. The two former were deemed 
the offspring of Jupiter, and the others 
claimed Tyndarus for their father. Ho- 
mer and Hesiod make no mention of the 
metamorphosis of Jupiter into a swan. 
Apollod. Ovid. &e. 

L/EDUS, a river in Gaul ; now 
called Lez. 

Legio, a corps of soldiers in 

the Roman armies, whose numbers were 
different at different times. The legion 
under Romulus consisted of 3000 foot 
and §00 horse, and was soon after aug- 
mented to 490O, after the admission of 
the Sabines into the city. When Anni- 
bal was in Italy it consisted of 5000 sol- 
diers, and afterwards it decreased to 
4000, or 4500. Marius made it consist 
of 6200, besides 700 horse. This was 



LE3I 



LEO 



the period of its greatness in numbers. 
Livy speaks of ten, and even eighteen, 
legions kept at Rome. Each legion was 
divided into ten cohorts, each cohort 
into three manrpuli, and every manipu- 
lus into three centuries or ordines. The 
chief commander of the legion was called 
legatus, lieutenant. For a more minute 
description of the Legio, the student is 
referred to Lempriere's Dictionary, or 
Kennst's Antiquities. 

Leitus, or Let us, a com- 
mander of the Boeotians at the siege of 
Troy. He was saved from the victorious 
hand of Hector, .and from death, by 
Idomeueus. Homer. II. 

Lelaps, a dog that never failed 
to seize and conquer whatever animal he 
was ordered to pursue. He was given 
to Procris by Diana, and Procris recon- 
ciled herself to her husband by present- 
ing him with that valuable present Ac- 
cording to some, Procris had received 
him from Minos, as a reward foi the 
dangerous wound of which she had 
cured him. Hi/gin. Ovid. &c. 

Leleges, \a Xeyw, to gather) a 
wandering people, composed of different 
unconnected nations. They were ori- 
ginally inhabitants of Caria, and went 
to the Trojan war with Altes, their 
king. The inhabitants of Laconia and 
Megara bore this name for some time, 
from Lelex, one of their kinsrs. Homer. 
Virg. &c. 

Lelex, an Egyptian, who came 

with a colony to Megara, where he 
reigned about 200 years before the Tro- 
jan war. His subjects were called from 
him Leleges. Fans. — A Greek, who was 
the firstling of Laconia, in Pelopon- 
nesus. His subjects were also called 
Leleges, and the country where he 
reigned Lelegia. I^. 

Lemanis, the place in Britain 
where Csesar is supposed to have landed. 

Le maxxus, a lake in the coun- 
try of the Allobroges, now called the 
lake of Geneva or Lausanne, situated 
between the Paysde Vaud, Switzerland, 
and Savoy. 

Lemxos, an island in the 
iEgean sea, now Stalimene, sacred to 
Vulcan, called Lamnius pater, who fell 
there when kicked down from heaven 
by Jupiter. [Vid* Vulcanus.] Lemnos 
is" about 112 miles in circumference, ac- 
cording to Pliny, who says, that it is 
often shadowed by mount Athcs, though 
at the distance of eighty-seven mi'.es. 
It has been called Hypsipyle.from queen 
Hypsipyle. [Fid. Hypsipyle.] As the 
inhabitants were blacksmiths, the poets 
have taken occasion to fix the forges of 
Vulcan in that island, and to consecrate 
the whole country to his dhinity. Lem- 
nos is also celebrated for a labyrinth, 
which, according to some traditions, 
surpassed these of Crete and Egypt. 
Virg. Homer. <kc. 



Le mures, the manes of the 
dead. The ancients supposed that the 
souls, after death, wandered over the 
world, and disturbed the peace of its in- 
habitants. The good spirits were called 
Lares familiares, and the evil ones were 
known by the name cf Larvae, or Lemu- 
res. They terrified the good, and con- 
tinually haunted the impious. The Ro- 
mans celebrated festivals in their honor, 
called Lemuria or Lemuralia, in the 
month of May. They were first insti- 
tuted by Romulus to appease the manes 
of his brother Remus, from whom they 
were called Remuria, and by corruption, 
Lemuria. These solemnities continued 
three nights, during which period the 
temples of the gods were shut, and mar- 
riages prohibited. Ovid. 

Lemuria and Lemuralia, 

festivals celebrated bv the Romans in 
honor of the Lemures. \_Vid. Lemures.j 
Lex^sus. a surnameof Bacchus, 
from XiffOfj a wine-press. There was a 
festhal, called Lensea, celebrated in his 
honor, in which the ceremonies observed 
at the other festivals of the god chiefly 
prevailed. There were, besides, poeti- 
cal contentions, &c. Pans. Virg. &c 

Lextulus. A name common 
to many celebrated characters in the 
commonwealth of Rome, the most re- 
markable cf whom are the two follow- 
ing: — Com. Lentulus, surnamed Sura. 
He joined in Catiline's conspiracy, and 
assisted in corrupting the Allobroges. 
He was convicted in full senate by Ci- 
cero, and put in prison, and afterwards 
executed. — Cn. Lentulus, surnamed Ga?- 
tulicus, was made consul, A. D. 26, and 
was some time after put to death by Ti- 
berius, who was jealous of his great po- 
pularity.— Cneus Corn, a tribune at the 
battle of Canna:. After that fatal ren- 
contre he observed in his flight the con- 
sul P. iEmilius, sitting on a stone, 
covered with blood, and he offered him 
his horse, which that illustrious warrior 
refused, enjoining him to hasten his re- 
turn to Rome, and charge the senators 
to make a vigorous resistance against 
the victorious enemy. Liv. 

Leo. The most celebrated of 
this name is a native of Byzantium, who 
flourished about 350 years before the 
Christian era. His philosophical and po- 
litical talencs endeared him to his coun- 
trymen, and he was sent upon every 
important occasion as ambassador to 
Athens, or to the court of Philip, king 
of Macedonia, who perfidiously forged 
a letter, purporting that Leo had made 
solemn promises of betraying Byzan- 
tium to the king of Macedonia for mo- 
ney. This was no sooner known, than 
the people ran enraged to the house of 
Leo, who, to avoid their fury, and,with- 
out attempting his justification, stran- 
gled himself.— Also an emperor of the 
east, surnamed the Thracian. He reigned 



LEO 



LEP 



IT years, and died A. D, 474-, being suc- 
ceeded by Leo the Second for 10 months. 

Leo co in on, a monument 
erected by the Atlunims to Pasithea, 
Theope,and Eubule, daughters of Leo.?, 
who immolated themselves when an 
oracle had ordered that, to stop the 
raging pestilence, some of the blood of 
the citizetis must be shed. 

Leocjiates, an Athenian ge- 
neral. Diodoi us Sic*. 

Leodamas, a son of Eteocles, 
one of the seven Theban chiefs who de- 
fended the city against the Argives. He 
killed TEgialeus, and was himself killed 
by Alemaeon. 

Leodocus, one of the Argo- 
nauts. 

Leon, a Sicilian town, near 

Syracuse. — A king of Lacedemon. 
" Leo nat us, one of Alexander's 

generals, distinguished himself in Alex- 
ander's conquest of Asia, and once saved 
the king's life in a dangerous battle. 
After the death of Alexander, at the ge- 
neral division of the provinces, he re- 
ceived for his portion that part of Phry- 
gia which borders on the Hellespont. 
Like the rest of the generals of Alexan- 
der, he Was ambitious of power and do- 
minion, and aspired to the sovereignly 
of Macedonia. He passed from Asia 
into Europe to assist Antipater against 
the Athenians, and was killed in a battle 
which was fought soon after his arrival. 
Curt. Plut. &e. He procured a quantity 
of earth from Egypt to wrestle upon : 
esteeming the sand'of that country the 
best suited- for that exercise. 

Leon Idas, a celebrated king of 
Lacedsemon, of the family of the Eury- 
sthenidae,op posed Xerxcs,king of Persia, 
"Who had invaded Greece with about live 
millions of^ souls. He was o tiered the 
kingdom oT Greece by the enemy, if he 
would not oppose his views^c'bttt Leoni- 
das heard the proposal wjth indignation, 
and observed, that he inferred death 
for his country, to an unjust, though 
extensi v e dom ini on over it. Tiie p*ait 1 e 
was fought at Thermopylse, and thp'300 



Spartans, who alone had refused to aban- 
don the action, \vJ;h*sEoad*^the enemy 
during three Successive days* till Ephial- 
tes,aTrachiuian, perfidiously conducted 
a detachment of Persians by a secret 
path up the mountains, which suddenly 
fell upon the rear of the Spartans, and 



crushed them to pieces. Only one in- 
gloriously escaped of the 300; he re- 
turned home, where he was treated with 
insult and reproaches. This celebrated 
battle taught the Greeks to despise the 
numbers of the Persians, and to rely 
upon their own intrepidity. Temples 
were raised to the fallen hero, and fes- 
tivals, called Leoiridca, yearly celebrated 
at Sparta, in which free-born youths 
contended. Kerodot. Justin. &c. — There 
were other Greeks of this name, but of 



inferior note, one of whom was also king 
of Laced rem on, 257 years B. C. 

Leontium and LeontIni, a 

town of Sicily, about five miles distant 
from the sea shore. It was built by a 
colony from Chalcis, in Eubcea. The 
people of Leontium implored the assist- 
ance of the Athenians against the Syra- 
cusans, B. C. 427. Thuci/h. Pobjb. 

Leontium, a celebrated cour- 
tezan of Athens, who studied philosophy 
under Epicurus, and became one of his 
warmest pupils. She prostituted her- 
self to tiie philosopher's scholars, and as- 
some have asserted, even to Epicurus 
himself. [Vid. Epicurus.] Leontium 
nor. only professed herself a warm ad- 
mirer and follower of ihe doctrines of 
Epicurus, but she even wrote a book in 
support of them against Theophrastus, 
This book was valuable, if we believe 
the testimony and criticism of Cicero^ 
who praised the purity and elegance of 
its style, and the truly Attic' turn of 
the expressions. Leontium had also a 
daughter called Danae, who married 
Sophron. Cic. 

Leon ton, a town in Egypt, 

the inhabitants of which worshipped 
lions. Plin. 

Leos, a son of Orpheus, who 

immolated his three daughters for the 
good of Athens. J[Vid. Leocorion.] 

Leosthenes, an Athenian 

general, who, after Alexanders death, 
drove Antipater to Thessaly, where he 
besieged him in the town of Lamia.. 
The success which for a while attended 
his arms, was soon changed by a fatal 
blow, which he received from a stone 
thrown by the besieged, B. C. 323. The 
orator Ryperides pronounced the fune- 
ral oration over his body at Athens. 
Diod, Strab.— Another Athenian gene- 
ral, condemned for the bad success 
which attended his arms. 

Le ot ychide s,a king of Spar- 
ta, son of Menares, of the family of the 
Prociidae. He was set over the Grecian 
fleet, and, by his courage and valor, he 
put an end to the Persian war at the fa- 
mous battle of Mycale. The battle of 
Platrea, in which the Greeks obtained a 
signal victory, was fought on the same 
day that the Persian fleet was destroyed 
at Mycale. Leotychides was accused of 
a capital crime by the Ephori, and to 
avoid the punishment which his guilt 
seemed to deserve, he fled to the temple 
of Minerva at Tegea, where he perished, 
B. C. 489, after a reign of 22 years. He 
was succeeded by his grandson Archida- 
mus. Paus. Diod. — A son of Agis, king 
of Sparta, by Timasa. The legitimacy 
of his birth was disputed, and Agesilaus 
was appointed in his place. C- Nep. &c. 

Lepida. The most celebrated 
of this name are the two following :— A 
noble woman, accused of attempts to 
poison her husband. She was con- 



LEP 



LET 



demited under Tiberius. Tacit.— Do- 
mitia, aunt to the emperor Nero, de- 
scribed by Tacitus as a common prosti- 
tute, infamous kfher manners, violent 
in her temper, and yet celebrated for her 
beauty. She was put to death by means 
of her rival Agrippina, Nero's mother. 
Tacit. 

Let id us, M. J^milius, an 

illustrious Roman, celebrated as being 
one of the triumvirs with Augustus and 
t\ nton v. He was remarkable for his am- 
bition," to which was added a narrowness 
of mind, and a great deficiency of mili- 
tary abilities. When his influence and 
power among the soldiers had made him 
one of the triumvirs, he showed his 
cruelty by his proscriptions, and even 
suffered his own brother to be sacrificed 
to the dagger of the triumvirate. He 
received Africa as his portion of the di- 
vision of the empire ; but his indolence 
soon rendered him despicable in the eyes 
of his colleagues : Augustus went to his 
camp, and obliged him to resign the 
power to which he was entitled as being 
a triumvir. After this he sunk into ob- 
scurity, and retired to Cerceli, where he 
died, B. C. 13. Plut. Flor. — A consul of 
Rome, who was sent to be guardian to 
Ptolemy Epiphanes, who had been left 
by his father to the care of the Romans. 
This name was common also to some 
other eminent Romans,themost remark- 
able of whom is a son of Julia, the grand- 
daughter of Augustus. He was intended 
by Caius as his successor in the Roman 
empire. He committed adultery with 
Agrippina when young. 

Lepinus, a mountain in Italy. 

Le pont ii, a people at the 
source of the Rhine, between the Alps 
and the Po. Plin. 

Lepreos, a son of Pyrgeus, 
who built a town in Elis, which he called 
after his own name. He laid a wager 
that he would eat as much as Hercules ; 
upon which he killed an ox and ate it 
up. He afterwards challenged Hercules 
to a trial of strength, and was killed. 
Pans. 

Lepreos, a town in Elis. 

Leptines. The most remark- 
able of this name is a son of Hermocra- 
tes, of Syracuse, brother to Dionysius. 
He was sent by his brother against the 
Carthaginians, and experienced so much 
success, that he sunk fifty of their ships. 
He was afterwards defeated by Mago, 
and banished by Dionysius. Diod. He 
always continued a faithful friend to the 
interestsof his brother, though naturally 
an avowed eiwmy to tyranny and op- 
pression. He was killed in an engage- 
ment with the Carthaginians There 

were others of this name, but of inferior 
note. 

Leptis, the name of two cities 
of Africa j one of which, called Major, 



was near the Syrtes, and had been built 
by a Tyrian or Sidonian colony. The 
other, called Minor, was about 18 Ro- 
man miles from Adrumetum. It paid 
every day a talent to the republic of 
Carthage, by way of tribute. Strab. 
Sallust. 

Leria, an island of the JEgetm 
sea, on the coast of Caria, about 18 miies 
in circumference. Its inhabitants were 
very dishonest. Stiab. 

Lerina, or Pl anasia, a small 
island in the Mediterranean, on the 
coast of Gaul, at the east of the Rhone. 
Tacit. Ann. 

Lerna, a country of Argolis,, 
celebrated for a grove and a lake, where, 
according to the poets, the Danaides 
threw the heads of their murdered hus- 
bands. It was there also that Hercules 
killed the famous hydra. Virg. Strab. 
&c. — There was a festival, called Ler- 
nsea, celebrated there in honor of Bac- 
chus, Proserpine, and Ceres. 

Lero, an island on the coast of 
Gaul. 

Lesbos, a large island in the 

JEgeaici sea, now Metelin, 168 miles in 
circumference. It was originally go- 
verned by kings, and its chief towns 
were Methymna and Mitylene. The 
wine which it produced was greatly 
esteemed by the ancients, and still is in 
the same repute among the moderns. 
Lesbos is remarkable for having given 
birth to Arion, Aleasus, and Sappho; 
hence the best verses, were, by way of 
eminence, called Lesborum carmen. The 
Lesbians were celebrated among the 
ancients for their skill in music, and 
the women for their beauty ; but the 
general character of the people was so 
debauched and dissipated, that the epi- 
thet of Lesbian was often used to signify 
debauchery and extravagance. Strab. 
Hot at. &c. 

Lesbus, or Lesbos, a son of 

Lapithas, grandson of /Eolus, who mar- 
ried Methymna, daughter of Macareus. 
He succeeded his father-in-law, and 
gave his name to the island over which 
he reigned. 

Lesches, a Greek poet of 
Lesbos, who flourished B. C. 600. Some 
suppose him to be the author of the 
little Iliad, of which only a few verses 
remain, quoted by Paus. 

Lethe, one of the rivers of hell, 

whose waters the souls of the dead drank 
after they had been confined for a cer- 
tain space of time in Tartarus. The 
draught caused them to forget whatever 
they had done, seen, or heard before, as 
the name implies, A*}^, oblivion.— 
Letheisariver of Africa.near the Syrtes, 
which runs under the ground, and some 
time after rises again, whence the origin 
of the fable of the Lethean streams of 



LEU 



LEU 



oblivion.— There are also two other 
rivers of this name, one in Spain, the 
other in Boeotia. Ovid. Virg. &c. 
Let us, a mountain of Liguria. 

Levana, a goddess at Rome, 
who presided over the action of the 
person who took up from the ground a 
newly-born child, after it had been 
place-d there by the midwife. Hence 
"tollere liberos. 

Leuca, a town of Ionia; — of 
Crete;— of Ionia; — of Italy, near the 
cape Leuca. 

Leu cas or Leucadia, an 

island of the Ionian sea, now called St. 
Maura, near the coast of Epirus,famous 
for a promontory whence desponding 
lovers threw themselves into the sea. 
The word is derived from "KvjMg white, 
on account of the whiteness of its rocks. 
Sappho had recourse to this leap, called 
Leacates, to free herself from the vio- 
lent passion which she entertained for 
Phaon. Apollo had a temple on the 
promontory j whence he is often called 
Leucadius. Ovid. 

Leu cas pis, a Lycian, one of 

the companions of .Eneas, drowned in 
the Tyrrhene sea. Virg. Mn. 6. v. 334. 

Leucate. See Leucas. 

Leuce, a small island in the 
Euxine sea, between the mouths of the 
Danube and the Borysthenes. Accord- 
ing to the poets, the souls of the ancient 
heroes were placed there as in Ihe Ely- 
sian fields, where they enjoyed perpe- 
tual felicity. From that circumstance, 
it has often been called the island of the 
blessed, &c. Strab. Mela. &c— One of 
the Oceanides whom Pluto carried into 
his kingdom. 

Leu ci, a people of Gaul, be- 
tween the Moselle and the Maese. Their 
capital is now called Toul. Cces. Bel. 
Gal. — Mountains at the west of Crete, 
appearing at a distance like white clouds, 
whence the name. 

Leucippe, one of the Ocean- 
ides. Paus. 

Leucippides, daughters of 
Leucippus. 

Leucippus. Ancient writers 
have recorded many of this name. The 
following are the most celebrated: — A 
philosopher of Abdera, about 428 years 
before Christ, disciple to Zeno. He was 
the first who invented the famous sy- 
stem of atoms, and of a vacuum, which 
was afterwards more fully explained by 
Democritus and Epicurus. Many of 
his hypotheses have been adopted by 
the moderns, with advantage. Diog. — 
A brother of Tyndarus, king of Sparta, 
who married Philodice, daughter of 
Inachus, by whom he had two daugh- 
ters, Hilaira and Phoebe, known by the 
patronymic of Leucippides. They were 



carried away by their cousins Cas'or and 
Pollux, as they were going to celebrate 
their nuptials with Lynceus and Idas. 
Ovid. &c. — A son of Xanthus, descended 
from Bellerophon. He became ena- 
moured of his sister, who yielded to him 
at the solicitation of her mother. This 
unnatural intrigue eventually proved 
the cause of the death of both. Parthen. 
— A son of (Enomaus, who became en- 
amoured of Daphne, and to obtain her 
confidence, disguised himself in a female 
dress, and attended his mistress as a 
companion. He gained the affections 
of Daphne by his obsequiousness and 
attention, but his artifice at last proved 
fatal ; for when Daphne and her attend- 
ants w r ere bathing in the Ladon, the sex 
of Leucippus was discovered, and he 
perished by the darts of the females. 
Parthen.. 

Leucon, The most remark- 
able of this name is a tyrant of Bospho- 
rus, who lived in great intimacy with 
the Athenians. He was a great patron 
of the useful arts, and greatly encourag- 
ed commerce. — A king of Pontus, killed 
by his brother, whose bed he had defiled. 
Ovid. Ib.— A town of Africa, near Cy- 
rene. Herodot. 

Leucone, a fountain in Arca- 
dia; so called from the daughter of 
Aphidas. 

Leucones, one of the sons of 

Hereu'es. 

Leuc5noe, a daughter of Ly- 

cambes. The Leuconoe 10 whom Ho- 
race addresses his 1 Od. 11, seems to be 
a fictitious name. — A nymph who relates 
the amours of Sol, &c. Ovid. Met. 

Leucopetra, a place on the 
isthmus of Corinth, where the Achseans 
were defeated by the consul Mummias. 

Leucophrys, a temple of Di- 
ana, with a city of the same name, near 
the river Maeander. 

Leucopolis, a town of Caria. 

Leucosia, a small island in 
the Tyrrhene sea. It received its name 
from one of the companions of yEneas, 
who was drowned there, or from one of 
the Sirens, who was thrown there by the 
sea. Strab. Ovid. 

Leucosyrii, the same people 

as the Cappadocians. 

LEUCOTHOEOrLEUCOTHEA, 
the wife of Athamas, changed into a sea 
deity. [ Vid. Ino.] She was called Ma- 
lura by the Romans, who raised her a 
temple, where all the people .particularly 
women, offered vows for their brothers' 
children. They did not entreat the deity 
to protect their own children, because 
Ino had been unfortunate in hers. To 
this supplicating for other people's 
children, Ovid alludes in these lines, 
Fast. 6. 



LIB 



LIC 



Non tamen hancpro stirpe sua pia mater 
adorat : 

Ipsa parum fdix visafuisse parens. 
— A daughter of king Orchamus, by 
Eurynorrie. Apollo became enamoured 
of her, and to introduce himself to her, 
assumed the shape and features of her 
mother- Their happiness was complete, 
when Clyiia, who was jealous of his 
amour, discovered the intrigue to her 
father, who ordered his daughter to be 
buried alive. The lover, unable to save 
her from death, sprinkled nectar and 
ambrosia on her tomb, which, penetrat- 
ing as far as the body, changed it into 
a beautiful tree which bears the frank- 
incense. Ovid. — A town in Egypt : — in 
Arabia. — A fountain at Samos.-— An 
island in the Tyrrhene sea. It was also 
a name given to that part of Arabia, 
which produced frankincense. 

Leuctra, a village of Bceotia, 
between Plataea and Tnespia, famous 
for the victory which Epaminondas, the 
Theban general, obtained over the su- 
perior force of Cleombrotus, king of 
Sparta, on the 8th of July, B. C. 371. 
In this famous battle 4000 Spartans were 
killed, with their king Cleombrotus, and 
no more than 300 Thebans. From that 
time the Spartans lost the empire of 
Greece, which they had obtained for 
near 500 years. Pint. C. Nep. <&c. 

Libanius, a celebrated sophist 
of Antioch, in the age of the emperor 
Julian. He was educated at Athens, 
and opened a school at Antioch, which 
produced some of the best, and most of 
the literary characters cf the age. Li- 
banius was naturally vain and arrogant, 
and he contemptuously refused the of- 
fers of the emperor Julian, who wished 
to purchase his friendship and intimacy 
by raising him to offices of the greatest 
splendor and affluence in the empire. 
Some cf his orations, and about 1600 of 
his letters, are extant, which discover 
much affectation and obscurity of style. 

Lib anus, a high mountain of 
Syria, famous for its cedars. St rah. 

Libentina, a surname of Ve- 
nus. She had a temple at Rome, where 
the young women used to dedicate the 
toys and childish amusements of their 
youth, when arrived at nubile years. 
Varro. 

Liber, a surname of Bacchus, 
which signifies free. He received this 
name from his delivering some cities of 
Bceotia from slavery, or because wine, 
of which he was the patron, delivered 
mankind from their cares, and made 
them speak with freedom and uncon- 
cern. This word is often used figur- 
atively for wine itself. 

Libera, a goddess, the same 
as Proserpine. Cic. — A name given to 
Ariadne by Bacchus, or Liber, when he 
had married her. Ovid. Fast. 



Liberalia, festivals yearly ce- 
lebrated in honor of Bacchus, the 17th 
of March, at Rome. Slaves were per- 
mitted to speak with freedom. They 
are much the same as the Dionysia of 
the Greeks. Varro. 

LIeertas, a goddess of Rome, 
v/ho had a temple on mount Aventine, 
raised by T. Gracchus. She was repre- 
sented as a woman clothed in a light 
dress, holding a rod in one hand, and a 
cap in the other, both signs of independ- 
ence, as the former was used by the ma- 
gistrates in the manumission of slaves, 
and the latter was worn by slaves who 
were soon to be set at liberty. Sometimes 
a cat was placed at her feet, as this ani- 
mal is very fond of liberty, and impa- 
tient when confined. Liv. Plut. &c. 

Libethra, a fountain of Mag- 
nesia, or Bceotia, according to some, sa- 
cred to the muses, who, from thence, 
are called Libethrides. Virg. Plin. &c. 

LlBETHRIDE 3. [ Vid, Libe- 
thra.] 

Libitina, a goddess at Home 
who presided over funerals. According 
to some, she is the same as Venus, or 
rather Proserpine. Servius Tullius first 
raised her a temple at Rome,where every 
thing necessary for funerals was exposed 
to sale. Bionys. Liv. &c. 

Libo, the name of several 
Romans. The most remarkable was a 
friend to the first triumvirate, v/ho com- 
mitted suicide, and was condemned after 
his death. 

Lib on, a Greek architect, who 
built the famous temple of Jupiter Olym- 
pius. He flourished about 4o0 years be* 
fore the Christian era. 

Lib urn i a, new Croatia, a 
country of Illyricum, between Istria and 
Dalma'tia, whence a colony came to set- 
tle in Apulia, in Italy. Mela, &c. 

Liburnum mare, the sea 
which borders on the coasts of Liburnia. 

Libya, a daughter of Epaphus 
and Cassiopea, who became mother of 
Agenor and Belus by Neptune. Apollod. 
— a name given to Africa, one of the three 
divisions of the ancient globe. Libya, 
properly speaking, is only a part of Afri- 
ca, bounded on the east by Egypt, and 
on the west by that part called by the 
moderns Tripoli. 

Libycum mare, that part of 
the Mediterranean which lies on the 
coast of Cyrene. Strab. 

Libyssa, a river of Bithynia, 
with a town of the same name, where 
v/as the tomb of Annibal, still extant in 
the age of Pliny. 

Lichas, a servant of Hercules, 
who brought him the poisoned tunic 
from Dejanira. He was thrown by his 
master into the sea, arnd changed into a 



LIC 



rock by the compassion of the gods. 
Ovid. 

Liches, a native of Arcadia 
who discovered the bones of Orestes. 

Licinia. The most remark- 
able of this name are the following : — 
The wife of C. Gracchus, who attempted 
to dissuade her husband from his sedi- 
tious measures by a pathetic speech. She 
was deprived of her dowry after the 
death of Caius. — The wife of Maecenas, 
distinguished for conjugal tenderness. 
She was sister to* Procuieius, and bore 
also the name of Terentia. Herat. 

C. Lie ini us, a tribune of the 

people, celebrated for the consequence 
of his family, his intrigues, and abili- 
ties. He was a plebeian, and the first 
of that body who was raised to the of- 
fice of master of horse to the dictator. 
He was suniamed Stoio.or useless sprout, 
on account of the law he enacted during 
his tribuueship, which forbade any per- 
son to possess 500 acres of land, or keep 
more than 100 head of large cattle, or 
500 small. He afterwards made a law 
which permitted the plebeians to share 
the consular dignity with the patricians, 
A. U. C. 388. He reaped the benefits 
of this law, and was one of the first ple- 
beian consuls. Liv. Plut. — C. Calvus, a 
celebrated orator and poet in the age of 
Cicero. He distinguished himself by 
his eloquence in the forum, and his po- 
etry, which some of the ancients have 
compared to Catullus. His orations are 
greatly commended by Quintilian. He 
died in the 30 Lh year of his age. Quintil. 
— P. Tegula, a comic poef of "Rome, 
about 200 years B.C. He is ranked as 
the fourth of the best comic poets which 
Rome produced. Few lines of his com- 
positions are extant. Liv. — C. Flavius 
Valerianus, a celebrated Roman em- 
peror. His father was a poor peasant of 
Dalmatia, and himself, at first, a com- 
mon soldier in the Roman armies. His 
valor recommended him to Galerius 
Maximianus, who had once shared with 
him the subordinate offices of the armv, 
and had latelv been invested with the 
imperial purple by Diocletian. Gale- 
rius showed his regard for his merit by 
taking him as a colleague in the empire, 
and appoint ing him over the province of 
Pannonia and Rhoetia. Constantine, 
who was also one of tha emperors, gave 
him his sister Constantia in marriage, 
A. D. 313. The successes of Licinins 
increased his pride, and rendered him 
jealous of the greatness of his brother-in- 
law. The persecutions of the Christians 
soon caused a rupture, and Lieinius lost 
two battles, one in Pannonia, an4 the 
other near Adrianopolis. Treaties of 
peace were made, but soon broken by 
Lieinius, who was defeated in a decisive 
battle near Chalcedonia. He fled to Ni- 
eomedia, where the conqueror obliged 
him to resign the imperial purple. Con- 



LIG 

stantia obtained forgiveness for her hus- 
band, yet Constantine knew what an 
active enemy had fallen into his hands, 
therefore he ordered him to be strangled 
at Thessalonica, A. D. 324. His family 
was involved in his ruin. 

Licixus, a barber and freed- 
man of Augustus, raised by his master 
to the rank and dignity of a senator, 
merely because he hated Pompey's fa- 
mily. Horat. 

Lie YMNius,a son of Electryon, 
and brother of Alcmeiia. He was so 
infirm in his old age, that when he 
walked, he was always supported by a 
slave. Triptolemus, "son of Hercules, 
seeing the slave inattentive to his duty, 
threw a stick at him, which unfortu- 
nately killed Licymnius. The murderer 
fled to Rhodes. Apoilod. Homer. 

Ljgarius, Q. a Roman pro- 
consul of Africa, after Confidius. In 
the civil wars he followed the interest 
of Pompey, and was pardoned by Csesar. 
Cassar, however, and his adherents, 
were determined on the ruin of Liga- 
rius, but Cicero, by an eloquent ora- 
tion, still extant, defeated his accusers, 
and he was pardoned. He became af- 
terwards one of Caesar's murderers. 
Cic. Plut. 

Ligea, one of the Nereides. 

Ligeh, a native of Rutulia 
killed by .Eneas. 

Liger or LiGEitis, a large 
river of Gaul, falling into the ocean, 
now called the Loire. Strab. &C. 

Ligoras, one of Antiochus's 
officers, who took the town of Sardis. 

Ligures, the inhabitants of 

Liguria. \_Vid. Liguria.] 

Liguria, a country at the 
west of Italy, bounded on the east by 
the river Macra, on the south by part 
of the Mediterranean, called the Ligus- 
tic sea, on the west by the Varus, and 
on the north by the Po. The commer- 
cial town of Genoa was anciently, and 
is now, the capital of the country. The 
origin of the inhabitants is not "known. 
Liguria was subdued by the Romans, 
and its chief harbour now bears the 
name of Leghorn. Strab.-Liv. &c ' 

Ligurinus, a youth much ce- 
lebrated for his beauty in the time of 
Horace. 

Ligus, a woman who concealed 

her son among the Alps from the pursuit 

of Oiho's soldiers. 

LTGUSTiciE Aepes, a part of 

the Alps which borders on Liguria, 
sometimes called Maiitimi. 

Ligusticum mare, now the 

gulp la of Genoa. 

Ligyes, a people of Asia, who 
inhabited the country between Cauca- 



LIP 



LTV 



sus and the river Phasis. Some suppose 
them to be a colony of the Ligyes of 
Europe, more commonly called Ligures. 
Herodot. 

LlLYBiEUM, a promontory of 
Sicily, projecting towards the African 
coast, with a town of the same name 
near the iEgates. The town was strong 
and very considerable, and it maintained 
long sieges against the Carthaginians, 
Romans, &c. *" Nothing now remains of 
this city but the ruins of temples and 
aqueducts. It had a port, large and 
spacious, which the Romans, in the 
wars with Carthage, endeavoured in 
vain to stop and fill up with stones, on 
account of its convenience and vicinity 
to the coast of Africa. Virg. Strab. 

LiMNATiDiA,afestival in honor 
of Diana, surnamed Limnatis, from 
Limnse, a school of exercise at Trcezene, 
where she was worshipped, or from 
X</u.v«r, ponds, because she presided 
over fishermen. 

Limniace, the daughter of the 

Ganges, mother of Atys. Ovid. 

Lindtjs, a city at the south-east 
part of Rhodes, built by Cercaphus, son 
of Sol and Cydippe. It gave birth to 
Cleobulus, one of the seven wise men, 
and to Chares and Laches, who were 
employed in making and finishing the 
famous Colossus of Rhodes. Strab. 
Homer. &c. 

Lingones, a people of Gallia 
Belgica, made tributary to Rome by 
J. Csesar. Glees. 

Linternum, a town of Cam- 
pania, where Scipio Africanus died, and 
was buried. Liv. 

Linus. This name is common 

to different persons, whose history is 
confused, and who are often taken one 
for the other.— One was son of Urania 
and Amphimarus, the son of Neptune. 
Another was son of Apollo, by Psam- 
mathe, daughter of Crotopus, king of 
Argos. The third, son of Ismenius, and 
born at Thebes, in Bceoiia, taught music 
to Hercules, who, in a fit of anger,, 
struck him on the head with his lyre, 
and killed him. He was son of Mercury 
and Urania, according to Diogenes, who 
mentions some of his philosophical com- 
positions, in which he asserted that the 
world had been created in an instant. 
He was killed by Apollo, for presuming 
to compare himself to him. Apollo- 
dorus,however, and Pausanias mention, 
that his ridicule of Hercules on his awk- 
wardness in holding the lyre was fatal 
to him. Virg. 

Ltpar.a, the largest of the 
Mohan islands on the coast of Sicily, 
now called the Lipari, [Vid. iF.olia.] 
It had a city of the* same name, which, 
according to Diodorus, it received from 
Liparus, the son of Auson, king of 
these islands. The island was celebrated 



for the variety of its fruits, and its rai- 
sins are still in general repute. Accord- 
ing to Diodorus, iEolus reigned at 
Lipara before Liparus. Plin. Virg. &c. 

Lipari s, a Cilician river, whose 
waters resembled oil. 

LiQUENTiA,ariver of Cisalpine 
Gaul, now Livenza. 

Liriope, one of the Ocean- 
ides, mother or Narcissus, by the Cephi- 
sus. Ovid — A fountain of Beeotia on 
the borders of Thespis, where Narcissus 
was drowned according to some ac- 
counts. 

Liris, a river of Campania* 
Avhich it separates from Latium. It 
falls into the Mediterranean sea. Mela. 
Horat. &c. now Garigliano. — A warrior, 
slain by Camilla. 

Lissus, a river of Thrace, 
falling into the iEgean sea, between 
Thasos and Samothracia. According to 
Herodotus, it was dried up by the army 
of Xerxes, when he invaded Greece. 

List a, a town of the SabineSo 

Litavicus, one of the iEduL 
who assisted Caesar with 10,000 men. 
Cess. 

Lithobolia? a festival cele- 
brated at Trcezene in honor of Lamia 
and Auxesia, who came from - Crete, 
and were sacrificed by the fury of the 
seditious populace, and stoned to death. 
Hence the name of the solemnity^ 
Xi3"o/3oA/a, lapidation. 

Lityeesas, the legitimate son 
of Midas, king of Phrygia. He made 
strangers prepaie his harvest, and after- 
wards put them to death. 

Livia Drusilla, a celebrated 
Roman lady, daughter of L. Drusus 
Calidianus. She married Tiberius Clau- 
dius Nero, by whom she had the empe- 
ror Tiberius and Drusus Germamcus. 
Her husband had attached himself to 
the cause of Antony, and Augustus 
saw her as she fled from the danger 
which threatened him, and he resolved 
to marry her, though then pregnant. 
This was the origin of her greatness* 
He divorced his wife Scribonia, and 
with the approbation of the augurs, he- 
celebrated his nuptials with Livia. She 
took advantage of the passion of Augus- 
tus, and caused her children by Drusus 
to be adopted by the emperor. Her 
cruelty and ingratitude are strongly 
marked, when she is charged with hav- 
ing m urdered the parents of Augustus, 
and her own husband, to hasten the ele- 
vation of Tiberius. Livia died in the 
8Gth year of her age, A. D. 29. Tibe- 
rius showed himself undutiful, both 
before and after her death, as he ex- 
pressly commanded that no honors 2 
either private or public, should be paid 
to her memory. Tacit. Suet. 
This name was common to some other 



LOC 



LON 



Roman ladies, of whom there is nothing 
very remarkable recorded. 

LIvius AkdronIcus, a dra- 
matic poet, who flourished at Rome 
about 240 years B. C. He was the first 
who turned the personal satires and 
fescennine verses into the form of a 
proper dialogue and regular play. _ An- 
dronicus was the freedman of M. Livius 
Salinator, whose children he educated. 
His poetry was grown obsolete in the 
age of Cicero. Some few of his verses 
are preserved in the Corpus Poetarum. 
— M. Salinator, a Roman consul, sent 
against the Illyrians, over whom he ob- 
tained signal advantages. He also ob- 
tained a splendid victory over Asdrubal, 
a few years afterwards, who was passing 
into Italy with a reinforcement for his 
brother Annibal. Liv. — Titus, a native 
of Padua, celebrated for his writings. 
He passed the greatest part of his life at 
Naples and Rome, particularly at the 
court of Augustus, ^vho liberally patro- 
nized the learned. Few particulars of 
his life are known, yet his fame was 
universally spread, even in his life-time. 
Livy died" at Padua, in his 67th year, 
and, according to some, on that same 
day, Rome was also deprived of another 
of its brightest ornaments, by the death 
of the poet Ovid, A. D. 17. The name 
of Livy is rendered immortal by his 
history of the Roman empire. Besides 
this, he wrote some philosophical trea- 
tises and dialogues, with a letter ad- 
dressed to his son, on the merit of au- 
thors, which ought to be read by young 
men. His Roman history was compre- 
hended in 140 books, of which only 35 
are extant. It began with the founda- 
tion of Rome, and'was continued till the 
death of Drusus in Germany. His style 
is clear and intelligible, labored without 
affectation, diffusive without tedious- 
ness, and argumentative without pedan- 
try. — There were others also of this 
name of inferior note among the Ro- 
mans. 

Lixus, a river of Mauritania, 

with a city of the same name. Antaeus 
had a palace there, and according to 
some accounts it was in the neighbour- 
hood thatHercules conquered him. Mela. 
Stirib. 

Lob on - , an Argive who wrote a 

work on the poets. 

Loch a, a city of Africa, taken 
and plundered by Seipio's soldiers. 

Locri, a town of Magna 
Grascia, in Italy, on the Adriatic, net 
far from Rhegium. It was founded by 
a Grecian colony, about 757 years B. C. 
The inhabitants were called Locrenses. 
Virg. 

Locris, a country of Greece, 
whose inhabitants are known by the 
name of Ozolas, Epict-iemidii, and Opun- 
tii. The Epicnemidii were the Only Lo- 



crians who had the privilege of sending 
members to the Amphietyonic council. 

Locusta, a celebrated woman 
at Rome, in the favor of Nero. She 
poisoned Claudius and Britanriicus,and 
at last attempted to destroy Nero him- 
self, for which she was executed. Tacit. 
Suet. 

Locutius. [Vid Aius.] 
Lollia Paulixa, a beautiful 

woman, who married C. Memmius Re- 
gurus, and afterwards Caligula. She 
was divorced and put to death by means 
of Agrippina. Tacit. 

LoLLiAxusSpuRius,ageneral, 
proclaimed emperor by his soldiers in 
Gaul , and soon afterwards murdered. 

M. Lollius, a companion and 
tutor of C. Caesar, the son-in-law of Ti- 
berius. He was consul, and offended 
Augustus by his rapacity in the pro- 
vinces. Horace has addressed two of 
his epistlesto him, &c. Tacit. 

Londinum, the capital of 
Britain, founded, as some suppose, be- 
tween the age of Julius Csesar and Nero. 
It has been severally called Londinium, 
Lundinum, &c. Ammianus calls it vs- 
tustum oppidum. It is represented as a 
considerable, opulent, and commercial 
town in the age of Nero. Tacit. 

Longimanus, a surname of 
Artaxerxes, from his having one hand 
longer than the other. The Greeks 
called him Macroehir. C. Nepos in Reg. 

Longinus. The most celebrated 
of this name is a Greek philosopher and 
critic of Athens. He was preceptor of 
the Greek language, and afterwards mi- 
nister to Zenobia, the famous queen of 
Palmyra, and his ardent zeal, and spi- 
rited activity in her cause, proved/at 
last, fatal to him. When the emperor 
Aurelian entered victorious the gates of 
Palmyra., Longinus was sacrificed to the 
fury of the Roman soldiers, A. D. 273. 
At the moment of death he showed him- 
self great and resolute. Longinus has 
rendered his name immortal by his criti- 
cal remarks on ancient authors. His 
treatise on the Sublime has been justly 
esteemed a finished piece of criticism, 
and gives the world reason to lament 
the loss of his valuable compositions.— 
A lawyer, whom, though blind, Nero 
ordered to be put to death, because he 
had in his possession a picture of Cas- 
sius, one of Caesar's murderers. Juv. 

Longobardi, a people of Ger- 
many. 

Lokgula, a town of Latium, 

on the borders of the Volscian state. 

Longuntica, a seaport town 
in Spain. 

Longus, a Greek author, who 

wrote a novel called the amours of 
Daphnis and Chloe. The age in which 
he lived is not precisely known. 



LUC 



LUC 



Lotis- or Lotos, a beautiful 
nymph, daughter of Xeptime. Priapus 
off-red her violence, and to save herself 
from his importunities, she implored 
the gods, who changed her into a tree 



Lotophagi. a people on the 

coast of Africa, near the Syrtes. They 
receive! this name from their living 
upon the Ictus. Ulysses visited their 
country at his return from the Trojan 

Lua, a goddess at Rome, who 



luendo. She is supposed to be the same 

Luc a, a city of Etruria, nov>* 
Lucca. 

LtrcAXi. [Vid. Lucania.] 

Lucaxia, a country of Italy, 

between the Tyrrhene and Sicilian seas, 
and bounded by Pieenum, Pucetia,and 
the country of the Erutii. The country 
was famous for its grapes. Strab, Horat. 

Luc anus. M. Axx^us, a na- 
tive of Corduba, in Spain, was early 
removed to Rome, where his rising 
talents and lavished panegyrics recom- 
mended him to Nero, who raised him to 
the dignity of an augur and questor be- 
fore he had attained the proper age. A 
poetical contest then took place between 
Lucau and Nero, in which the former 
obtained an easy victory ; this excited 
not only the jealousy but' the resentment 
of the emperor. The insults to which 
Lucan was exposed, provoked him at 
last to join PLso in a conspiracy against 
the emperor. The plot was discovered, 
and the poet had nothing left but to 
choose the manner of his execution. Ke 
had his veins opened in a warm bath. 
He died in his 26 -.h year, A. D. 65. Of 
ail his compositions, none but his Phar- 
salia remains, which is an unfinished 
account of the civil wars of Caesar and 
Pompey. He wrote a poem upon the 
burning of Rome, now lost. Uuintil. 
&c — Ocellus, or Ucellus, an ancient 
Pythagorean philosopher, whose age is 
unknown. He wrote, in the Attic dia- 
lect, a book on the nature of the uni- 
verse, which he deemed eternal, and 
from it were drawn the systems adopted 
by Aristotle, Plato, and Philo Juciaeus. 
This work was first translated into Latin 
by Nogarola. Another book of Ocellus, 
oh laws, written in the Doric dialect, 
was greatiy esteemed by .-Nrchytas and 
Plato, a fragment of which has been 
preserved by Stoba?u.=, of which, how- 
ever, Ocellus is disputed to be the au- 
thor. Qutftti/. &C. 

Lu car i a or Lu c EB I A,festivals 
at Rome, celebrated in a large grove 
between the Via Solatia, snd the Tiber, 



where the Romans hid themselves when 
besieged by the Gauls. Tacit. 

L. Luccetus, a celebrated his- 
torian, asked by Cicero to write a history 
of his consulship. He favored the cause 
of Pompey , but was afterwards pardoned 
by Julius Cassar. Cic. 

Lu ceres, a body of horse, 
composed of Roman knights, first esta- 
blished by Romulus and Tatius. Pro- 
pert. They received their name from 
Lucus, a grove where Romulus had 
enacted a pface of refuge for all fugitives, 
slaves, homicide?* &c. that he might, 
with the greater facility, people his new 

Luceria, a town of Apulia, 
famous for wool. Horat. 

LucERins, a surname of Ju- 
piter, given to him as the father of 
light. 

Lucetius, a Rutulian, slain 
by Ilioneus. 

Luciaxus, a celebrated writer 
of Samosata, a town of Syria. His father 
was poor, and Luciau was early bound 
to his uncle, who was a sculptor. He 
made no proficiency in the art, and re- 
solved to seek his livelihood by better 
means. A dream, in which learning 
seemed to promise fame and immorta- 
lity, confirmed his resolutions, and he 
began to write. The unfair dealings of 
a lawyer, a life which he had embraced, 
disgusted him, and he began to study 
philosophy and eloquence. He visited 
cihiercnt places, and more particularly 
Athens. The emperor M. Aureiius was 
sensible of his merit, and appointed him 
registrar to the Roman governor of 
Egvpt. He died A. D. ISO, in his 90th 
year. The works of Lucian consist 
partly of dialogues, in which he intro- 
duces different characters, with much 
dramatic propriety. His style is easy, 
simple, elegant, and animated, and he 
has stored his compositions with many 
lively sentiments, and much of the true 
Attic wit. His exposing to ridicule, not 
only the religion of his country, but 
also that cf every nation, has branded 
him with the appellation of atheist. 
He wrote also the life of Sostrates, a 
philosopher of Bceotia, as also that of 
the philosopher Demonax. Some have 
also attributed to him the life of Apoi- 
lonius Thyaneus. 

Lucifer, the name of the 
planet Venus, or morning star. It is 
called Lucifer, when appearing in the 
morning before the sun, but when it 
follows tt, and appears some time after 
its setting, it is called Hesperus. Ac- 
cording to some mythologies, Lucifer 
was son of Jupiter and Aurora. 

C. Lucilius, a Roman knight, 
born at Aurunca, lived in the greatest 
intimacy with Scipio the first Africanus, 
He is looked upon as the founder of 



LUC 



satire, or first satirical writer among the 
Romans. He was superior to his poeti- 
cal predecessors at Rome, and though 
he wrote with great roughness, but 
much facility, he gained many admir- 
ers. Horace compares him to a river 
which rolls upon its waters precious 
sand, with much dirt and filth. Of the 
thirty satires which he wrote, nothing 
but a few verses remain. He died at 
Naples, in the 46th year of his age, 
B. C. 103. tyuintil. Horat. &c— Luci- 
nus, a famous Roman, who fled with 
Brutus after the battle of Philippi. He 
was taken, and carried to the conquer- 
ors, whose clemency spared his life. 
Plut. — There were other Romans of this 
name, but of inferior note. 

Lucilla, a daughter of M. 
Aurelius, celebrated for the virtues of 
her youth, her beauty, and afterward, 
for her debaucheries and misfor- 
tunes. She was put to death for con- 
spiring, with many of the senators, 
against her brother Commodus, in the 
38th year of her age. 

LucIna, a goddess, daughter 
of Jupiter and Juno, presided over the 
birth of children. According to Ovid, 
she derives her name either from hccus 
or lux. Some suppose her to be the 
same as Diana and Juno, because these 
two goddesses presided over the labors 
of women. She is called Ilithyia by the 
Greeks. She had a famous temple at 
Rome. 

Lucius, a prcenomen common 

to many Romans, of whom an account 
is gii-en under their family names. The 
most remarkable of tho'se who bore 
Lucius as a nomen, is a writer, born in 
Africa, on the borders of Numidia. He 
studied poetry, music, geometry, &c. 
at Athens, and warmly embraced the 
tenets of tha Platonists. He wrote in 
Grftek and Latin with great ease and 
simplicity ; but his style is sometimes 
affected. He flourished in the reign of 
M. Aurelius. 

Luc ret ia, a celebrated Ro- 
man lady, daughter of Lucretius, and 
wife of Tarquinius Collatinus. Her ac- 
complishments proved fatal to her. A 
conversation having arisen among some 
young noblemen at Ardea, concerning 
the virtue of their wives, it was agreed 
to go to Rome and ascertain the truth 
of their respective a^ertions. Collati- 
nus and the sons of Tarquinius Super- 
bus were of the number. On their arri- 
val at Rome, Collatinus had the plea- 
sure to see his expectations fulfilled in 
the highest degree, and while the wives 
of the other Romans were involved in 
the riot of a feast, Lucretia was found 
at home, employed in the midst of her 
female servants, and easing their labor 
by sharing it herself. The beauty and 
innocence of Lucretia inflamed the pas- 
sion of Sextus, the son of Tarquin, who 
was a witness of her virtues and indus- 



try. He cherished his flame, and he 
secretly retired from the camp, and 
came to the house of Lucretia, where 
he met with a kind reception. In the 
dead of night he introduced himself 
to Lucretia, who yielded only when he 
threatened to murder her, and to slay 
one of her slaves, and put him in her 
bed. Lucretia, on the following day, 
revealed to her father and husband, 
whom she had sent for to the camp, 
the indignities she had suffered from 
the son of Tarquin, entreated them to 
avenge her wrongs, and then stabbed 
herself with a dagger, which she had 
previously concealed under her clothes. 
The body of the virtuous Lucretia was 
then exposed to the eyes of the senate, 
and the' barbarity of Sextus, joined to 
the oppression of his father, so irritated 
the Roman populace, that that mo- 
ment they expelled the Tarquins for 
ever from Rome, A. U. C. 244. [Vid. 
Brutus.] Brutus, who was present at 
the tragical death of Lucretia, kindled 
the flames of rebellion, and the repub- 
lican or consular government was esta- 
blished. Lu'.j&c. 

Lucre tilis, a mountain in 
the country of the Sabines, hanging 
over a pleasant valley, near which the 
house of Horace was situate. Hwat, 

T. Lucretius Carus, a ce- 
lebrated Roman poet and philosopher, 
who studied under Zeno and Phasdrus. 
The teuets of Epicurus and Ernpedo- 
cles, which then prevailed at Athens, 
were warmly embraced by Lucretius, 
and when united with the infinite of 
Anaximander, and the atoms of Demo- 
critus, they were explained and eluci- 
dated in a poem, in six books, which is 
called De rerum natura. In this poem 
the genius and elegance of the poet are 
conspicuous; but the opinions of the 
philosopher are censured, who gives no 
existence of power to a Supreme Being, 
but is the advocate of atheism and im- 
piety. It is said that he destroyed him- 
self in the 44th year of his age, about 
54 years B. C. — Osella, a Roman, put to 
death by Sylla, because he had applied 
for the consulship without his permis- 
sion. — There were many others of this 
name, but of inferior note. 

LucrIxus, a small lake of 
Campania, opposite Puteoli, remarka- 
ble for its excellent oysters. Strdb. Ho- 
rat. 

0. Luctatius Catulus, a 

Roman, consul with Marius, assisted 
his colleague in conquering the Cim- 
brians. [Vid. Cimbricum belium.] He 
wrote, with great veracity, the history 
of his consulship, which" is now lost. 
Cic. Flor. &c — C. Catulus. [Vid. Ca- 
tulus. J 

Luc ul lea, a festival esta- 
blished by the Greeks in honor of Lu- 
cullus, \vho had behaved with great 



LUC 



LUP 



prudence and propriety in his province. 
Plut. 

Litculli H0B.T1, the gardens 
of Lucullus. — A villa belonging to Ti- 
berius, and in which he died, situated 
near mount Misenus. 

Luculli Villa, a country 
seat of Lucullus, near mount Misenus, 
where Tiberius died. Tacit. 

Lucullus, Lucius Licinius, a 

Roman, celebrated for his luxury and 
for his military talents. He was born 
about 115 years B. C. His first cam- 
paign was in the Marsian war, where 
his valor recommended him to public 
notice. His constancy gained him the 
confidence of Sylla. During his quses- 
torship in Asia, and prsetorship in 
Africa, he rendered himself conspicu- 
ous by his justice and humanity. He 
was raised to the consulship, A. U. C. 
680, and entrusted with the care of the 
Mithndatic war. He first rescued his 
colleague Cotta, besieged in Chalcedo- 
nia, and next gained a celebrated victo- 
ry over Mithridates, on the borders of 
the Granicus. His victories by sea were 
as great as those by land, and Mithri- 
dates lost a powerful fleet near Lemnos. 
Mithridates fled towards Armenia, to 
Tigranes, his father-in-law. Lucullus 
crossed the Euphrates in pursuit of 
him, and, according to Plutarch, de- 
feated the forces of Tigranes, with the 
loss of 100,000 foot, and 55,000 horse. 
All this carnage was made by a Roman 
army, amounting to no more than 
18,000 men, of whom only five were 
killed and 1 00 wounded during the com- 
bat. The taking of Tigranocerta, the 
capital of Armenia, was the conse- 
quence of this immortal victory. The 
severity of Lucullus, however, soon 
offended his soldiers, and displeased his 
adherents at Rome, and Pompey was 
sent to succeed him. Lucullus was 
permitted to return to Rome, where he 
with difficulty obtained a triumph, 
which his victories deservedly claimed. 
In this ended the days of his glory ; he 
retired to the enjoyment of ease and 
peaceful society, and fell into a delirium 
in the last part of his life, and died in 
the 67th or G8th year of his age. Lu- 
cullus has been admired for his many 
accomplishments, but he has been cen- 
sured for his severity and extravagance. 
The expenses of his meals were immo- 
derate : his halls were distinguished by 
the different names of the gods^ and 
when Cicero and Pompey attempted to 
surprise him, they were astonished at 
the costliness of a supper, which had 
been prepared upon the word of Lucul- 
lus, who had merely said to his servant, 
that he would sup in the hall of Apollo. 
In his public character Lucullus was 
humane and compassionate, and he 
showed'his sense of the vicissitudes of 
human affairs, by shedding tears at the 
sight of one of the cities of Armenia, 



which his soldiers reduced to ashes. He 
was a perfect master of the Greek and 
Latin languages. Plut.Flor. &c.— There 
were other Romans of this name, ac- 
cording to ancient historians, but of in- 
ferior note. 

Lucumo, the first name of 
Tarquinius Priscus, afterwards changed 
into Lucius. The word is Etrurian, 
and signifies prince or chief. 

Lucus, a town in Gaul, at the 
foot of the Alps. 

Lugdunensis Gallia, a 

part of Gaul, which received its name 
from Lugdunum, the capital city of the 
province. J Fid. Gallia.] 

Lugdunum, a town of Gallia 

Celtica, built at the confluence of the 
Rhone and the Arar, or Saone, by Ma- 
nutius Plancus, when governor of the 
province. This town, now called Lyons, 
is the second city of France, in point 
of population. Strab. — Batavorum, a 
town on the Rhine, now called Leyden. 
It had a capacious harbour, and the in- 
habitants were much given to augury, 
and the observation of natural pheno- 
mena. 

Luna ( the moon), was daugh- 
ter of Hyperion and Terra, and was 
the same, according to some, as Disna, 
She was worshipped by the ancients 
with many superstitious ceremonies. 
It was supposed that magicians, parti- 
cularly those of Thessaly, had an un- 
controllable power over the moon, and 
that they could draw her down from 
heaven at pleasure by the mere force of 
their incantations. Ovid. Hesiod. — A 
maritime town of Etruria, famous for 
the white marble which it produced. 
Mela. Plin. 

Lupa ( a she wolf J t was held 
in great veneration at Rome, because 
Rom ulus and Remus, according to an 
ancient tradition, were suckled and pre- 
served by one of these animals. This 
fabulous story arises from the surname 
of Lupa, 'prostitute, which was given to 
the wife of the shepherd Fr.ustulus, to 
whose care and humanity these chil- 
dren owed their preservation. Ovid. 
Plut. 

Lupercal, a place at the foot 
of mount Aventine, where Romulus 
and Remus are said to have been 
suckled by a wolf. 

Lupercalia, a yearly festival 
observed at Rome, at a place at the foot 
of mount Aventine, sacred to Pan, the 
15th of February, in honor of that god. 
This festival, as Plutarch mentions, wzs 
first instituted in honor of the she-wolf 
which suckled Romulus and Remus. 
This opinion is controverted by others, 
who observe that they were first intro- 
duced into Italy by Evander. 

Luperci, priests at Rome, 



LYC 



LYC 



who assisted at the celebration of the 
Lupercalia [Vid. Lupercalia], in honor 
of the god Pan to whose service they 
were dedicated. This order was the 
most ancient of all the sacerdotal of- 
fices. It was divided into two separate 
colleges, called Fabiani and Qiuntiliani, 
from Fabius and Quintilius, two of their 
high priests. The former were institu- 
ted in honor of Romulus, and the latter 
of Remus. To these J. Caesar added a 
third called from himself, Julii. Pint. 
Virg. &c. 

Lupercus, a grammarian, 

living in the reign of the emperor Gal- 
lienus. 

Lupias, a town of Germany, 
now Lippe. 

Lupus, a Roman, who, con- 

trarv to the omens, marched against the 
Mars, and was killed with his army. 
He has been taxed with impiety, and 
was severely censured in the Augustan 
age Horat^ 

Lusitania, a part of Hispa- 
nia, now Portugal, whose extent and 
situation have not been accurately de- 
fined by the ancients. The inhabitants 
were warlike, and were at last conquer- 
ed by the Roman army under Dolabel- 
la, B. C. 99, with great difficulty. They 
generally lived upon plunder, and were 
rude and unpolished in their manners. 
Strab. Mela. 

LUTATIUS CATLJLUS, a Ro- 
man, who shut the temple of Janus 
after peace had been made with Car- 
thage. [ Vid. L uctatius.] 

Lutetia, now Paris, a town 
of Belgic Gaul, on the confluence of 
the rivers Sequana and Matrcna. J. 
Csesar fortified and embellished it, 
from which circumstance some authors 
call it Julii Civitas. Julian the apostate 
resided there some time. Ccbs. Strab. 
&c 

C. Lutorius, a Roman 

knight, put to death by order of Tibe- 
rius, because he had written a poem in 
which he had bewailed the death of 
Germanicus, who then labored under a 
severe illness. Tacit. 

LYiEUS, a surname of Bacchus. 
It is derivedfromXfEtv, solvere, because 
wine, over which Bacchus presides, 
gives freedom to the mind, and deli- 
vers it from all cares and melancholy. 
Horat. &c. 

Lybia, or Lybissa, a small 
village of Bithynia, where Annibal was 
tHiried. 

LycabAs, an Etrurian, one of 
those who offered violence to Bacchus, 
and were changed into dolphins. Ovid. 

Lycjea, festivals in Arcadia, 
in honor of Pan, the god of shepherds, 
the same as the Lupercalia of the Ro- 



mans. — A festival at Argos, in honor of 
Apollo Lycseus, who delivered the Ar- 
gives from wolves, &c. 

Lyceum, a celebrated place 
near the banks of the Ilissus, in Attica. 
It was in this pleasant and salubrious 
spot that Aristotle taught philosophy, 
and as he generally instructed his pu- 
pils in walking [yid. Peripatetici], they 
were called Peripatetics. 

Lycseus, a mountain in Arca- 
dia, sacred to Jupiter. It was also sa- 
cred to Pan. Virg. &c. 

Lycambes, the father of Neo- 

bule, promised his daughter in marriage 
to the poet Archilochus, and afterwards 
refused to fulfil his engagement. This 
irritated Archilochus : "he wrote a bitter 
invective against Lycambes, and his 
daughter, and rendered them both so 
desperate by the satire of his composi- 
tion, that they hanged themselves. Ho- 
rat. Ovid. 

Lycaon, the first king of Ar- 
cadia, son of Pelasgus and Melibcea. 
He was succeeded on the throne by his 
eldest son Nyctimus. Ke lived about 
1820 years before the Christian era. 
Apollod. Hi/gin. — Another king of Arca- 
dia, celebrated for his cruelties. He 
was changed into a wolf by Jupiter, be- 
cause, when Jupiter visited the earth 
to punish the wickedness and impiety 
of mortals, he, in order to try the divi- 
nity of the god, served up human flesh 
on his table. — A son of Priam and Lao- 
thoe. He was taken by Achilles, and 
carried to Ler.mcs, whence he escaped. 
He was afterwards killed by Achilles in 
the Trojan war. Homer. 

LycaOnia, a country of Asia, 
between Cappadocia, Pisidia, Pamphy- 
lia, and Phrygia, made a Roman pro- 
vince under Augustus. Strab. — Arcadia 
bore also that name from Lycaon, one 
of its kings. 

Lycas, a priest of Apollo, in 
the interest of Turnus. He was killed 
by .ZEneas.— Another officer of Turnus. 
Virg. 

Lycaste, an ancient town of 
Crete, whose inhabitants accompanied 
Idomeneus to the Trojan war. Homer. 
— A famous courtezan of Drepanum* 
called Venus, on acount of her great 
beauty. She had a son called Eryx, by 
Butes, son of Amycus. 

Ly cast us, a son of Minos L 
He was father of Minos II. by Ida, the 
daughter of Corybas.— A son of Minos 
and Philonome, daughter of Nyctimus. 
He succeeded his father on the throne 
of Arcadia. 

Lyce, one of the Amazons. 

LychxIdus, a city and lake 
in Illyricum. 

L Y c I A, a country of Asia 
Minor, bounded by the Mediterranean 



LYC 



LYC 



on the south, Caria on the -west, Pam- 
phylia on the east, and Phrygia on the 
north. The eountrv received the name 
of Lyeia from Lycus, the son of Pan- 
dion, who established himself there. 
The inhabitants have been commended 
for their sobriety and justice. They 
were conquered by Crcesus, king of Ly- 
dia. and afterwards by Cyrus. Lycia 
became part of the Macedonian empire 
under Alexander, next was subject to 
the Seleucidse, and finally reduced into 
a Roman province under the emperor 
Claudius. Herodot. Strab. Virg. &c. 

Lycidas, a beautiful youth, 
the admiration of Rome in the age of 
Horace. Horat. — A centaur killed by 
the Lapithee at the nuptials of Piri- 
thous.— The name of a shepherd in one 
of Virgil's pastorals. 

Lyciscus, a native of Messe- 
nia, whose daughters were doomed by 
lot to be sacrificed for the good of their 
country ; whereupon he fled with them 
to Sparta. 

Lycius, an epithet given to 
Apollo from his temple in Lycia, where 
he gave oracle?, particularly at Patara ; 
where the appellation of Lycia sortes 
was given to bis answers, and even to 
the will of the fates. Vbg. 

Lycomedes, a king of Scyros, 

an island in theiEgean sea, was secretly 
entrusted with the care of Achilles, 
whom Thetis had disguised in women's 
dothes, to remove him from the Tro- 
jan war, where he must unavoidably 
perish. Lycomedes has rendered him- 
self famous for his treachery to The- 
seus, who had implored his protection 
when driven from the throne of Athens 
by the usurper Mnestheus. Lycomedes, 
either envious of his fame, or bribed by 
Mnestheus, led Theseus to an elevated 
place, on pretence of showing him the 
extent of his dominions, and perfidi- 
ously threw him down a precipice, 
where he was killed. Plut. Pans. &c. 

Lycon. The most remarkable 

of this name is a philosopher of Troas, 
in the age of Aristotle. He was greatly 
esteemed by Eumenes, Antiochus, &c. 
He died in the 74th year of his age. 
Diod. 

Lycophron", a son of Penan- 
der, king of Corinth. He left Corinth 
in consequence of the murder of his 
mother by his father, and went into 
exile at Corcyra, where he was murder- 
ed by the inhabitants. Herodot. Aristot. 
— A native of Cythera, sou of Mastor. 
He went to the Trojan war with Ajax, 
the son of Telamon, after the acci- 
dental murder of one of his citizens. 
He was killed. Horn. — A famous Greek 
poet and grammarian, born at Chalcis, 
in Euba-a. He was one of the poets 
who flourished under Ptolemy Phila- 
delphus, and who, from their number, 



obtained the name of Pleiades. Lycc- 
phron died by the wound of an arrow. 
He wrote tragedies, the titles of twenty 
of which have been preserved. The 
only remaining composition of this poet 
is called Cassandra, or Alexandra. Ovid. 
Stat. 

Lycopolis, a town of Egypt. 
It received this name on account of the 
immense number of wolves, a-jho/, 
which repelled an army of ^Ethiopians, 
who had invaded Egypt. Diod. Strab. 

Lycorea, a town of Phocis, 

at the top of Parnassus, founded by 
Lycoreus, son of Apollo and Ccrycia"; 
and to which the Belphians fled during 
the deluge of Deucalion. 

Lycoris, a freed woman, call- 
ed also Cytheris, celebrated for her 
beauty and intrigues. The poet Gallus 
was greatly enamoured of her, and his 
friend Virgil comforts him in his tenth 
eclogue for the loss of the favors of Cy- 
theris, who followed M. Antony's camp 
and was become the Aspasia of Rome. 
The charms of Cleopatra, however, 
prevailed over those of Cytheris, and 
the unfortunate courtezan lost the fa- 
vors of Antony and of all the world at 
the same time. Lycoris was originally 
a comedian. 

Lycosmas, a river of iEtcIia, 
whose sands were of a golden color. It 
was afterwards called Evenus, from 
king Evenus, who threw himself into 
it. Ovid. 

Lycortas, the father of Po- 
ly bius, who flourished B. C. I8-A. He 
was chosen general of the Acha?an 
league, and he revenged the death of 
Philopcemen, &c. Plut, 

Lycosura, a city on mount 

Lyceeus in Arcadia, built by Lycaon. 

Ltctls, a town of Crete, the 
country of Idomeneus, whence he is 
often called Lyctius. Virg. 

Lycurgides, days of so- 
lemnity, held every year* in honor of 
Lycurgus. 

Lycurgus. Ancient writers 

have recorded many of this name : the 
most celebrated are the following : a 
king of Thrace, son of Dryas, repre- 
sented as impious, on account of- the 
violence which he offered to Bacchus. 
He, according to the mythologisis, 
drove Bacchus out of his kingdom, and 
abolished his worship, for which im- 
piety the gods punished him. He put 
his son Dryas to death in a fury, and 
cut offhis own legs, mistaking them for 
v ne boughs. He was put to death by 
his subjects, who had been informed by 
the oracle that they should not taste 
wine till Lycurgus was no more. This 
fable is explained by observing, that 
the aversion of Lycurgus for wine, over 
which Bacchus presided, arose from the 



LYC 



LYD 



disgrace of intoxication, and therefore 
the monarch wisely ordered all the 
vines of his dominions to be cut down, 
that his subjects might be preserved 
from the debauchery produced by too 
free a use of wine. Homer* Ovid. Virg. 
*fcc. — An orator of Athens, surnamed 
Ibis, famous for his justice and impar- 
tiality when at the head of the govern- 
ment. — A celebrated lawgiver of Sparta, 
son of king Eunomus, and brother to 
Polydectes. He succeeded his brother 
on the throne ; but when he saw that 
the widow of Polydectes was pregnant, 
he kept the kingdom only till Chari- 
laus, his nephew, was arrived to years 
of maturity. The integrity with which 
he acted raised him many enemies, and 
he at last retired to Crete. He visited 
Asia and Egypt, without suffering him- 
self to be corrupted by the luxury which 
prevailed there. He, at length, returned 
home, at the earnest solicitations of his 
countrymen. The disorder which reign- 
ed at Sparta induced him to undertake 
a reform of the government. To give 
color to his proceedings he consulted 
the oracle of Delphi, where he was call- 
ed the friend of the gods, and rather 
god than man. After such a reception 
irom the oracle, Lycurgus found no dif- 
ficulty in reforming the abuses of the 
state, and all were equally anxious in 
making a revolution which had received 
the sanction of heaven. This happen- 
ed 884 years before the Christian era. 
Lycurgus first established a senate, 
which maintained a just equilibrium 
between the kings and the people. All 
distinction was destroyed, and an equal 
and impartial division of the land was 
made. Lycurgus banished luxury, and 
encouraged the useful arts. The use of 
money, either of gold or silver, w r as to- 
tally forbidden. All the citizens dined 
in common, and no one had greater 
claims to luxury than another. Their 
intercourse with other nations was for- 
bidden, and few were permitted to tra- 
vel. The youths were entrusted to the 
public master as soon as they had at- 
tained their seventh year, and their 
education was, left to the wisdom of the 
laws. They were taught early to think, 
to answer in a short and laconic man- 
ner, and to excel in repartee. They 
were instructed and encouraged to carry 
things by surprise, but if ever the theft 
was discovered, they were subjected to 
a severe punishment. By his prudence 
and administration the face of Lacedas- 
mon was totally changed. A set of men, 
distinguished for their intrepidity and 
their magnanimity, immediately sprang 
up. After this, Lycurgus retired from 
Sparta to Delphi or Crete, and before 
his departure bound the citizens by a 
solemn oath, that neither they nor their 
posterity would alter the laws which he 
had established , before his return. He 
soon after put himself to death, and or- 
dered his ashes to be thrown into the sea , 



lest, if they were carried to Sparta, the 
citizens should call themselves freed 
from the oath which they had taken. 
Lycurgus has been compared to Solon, 
the celebrated legislator of Athens ; and 
it has been judiciously observed, that 
the former gave his citizens morals con- 
formable to the laws which he had esta- 
blished, and that the latter had given 
the Athenians laws, which coincided 
with their customs and manners. The 
laws of Lycurgus were abrogated by 
Philopcernen, B. C. 188, but only for a 
little time, as they were soon after re- 
established by the Romans. Plat. Jus~ 
tin. Strab. &c. 

Lycus, a king of Bceotia, suc- 
cessor to his brother Nycteus, was en- 
trusted with the government only dur- 
ing the minority of his nephew Labda- 
cus. He was enjoined to make war 
against Epopeus, who had carried away 
Antiope, the daughter of Nycteus. He 
was successful in this expedition ; Epo- 
peus was killed, and Lycus recovered 
Antiope and married her, though his 
niece. This displeased his first wire 
Dirce, and Antiope was delivered to 
the queen and tortured in the most 
cruel manner. Antiope at last escaped, 
and entreated her sons Rethus and Ain- 
phion, [tutf.] to avenge her wrongs. 
The children, incensed on account of 
the cruelties which their mother had 
suffered, besieged Thebes, killed Lycus, 
and tied Dirce to the tail of a wild trail, 
who dragged her till she died. Pates. 
Apollod. — A king of Libya, who sacri- 
ficed whatever strangers came upon his 
coast. When Diomedes, at his return 
from the Trojan war, had been ship- 
wrecked there, the tyrant seized him 
and confined him. "He, however, es- 
caped by means of Callirhoe, the ty- 
rant's daughter, who was enamoured of 
him, and who hung herself when she 
saw herself deserted. Apollod. — This 
name was also common to six rivers 
in different parts of Asia. 

Lyde, a female living in the 
reign of Domitian, who presumed by 
medicines to remove the barrenness of 
women. 

Lydia, a celebrated kingdom 
of Asia Minor, at first bounded by My- 
sia Major, Caria, Phrygia Major, and 
Ionia, but in its more flourishing times 
it contained the whole country which 
lies between the Halys and the /Egean 
sea. It was anciently called Maeonia, 
and received the name of Lydia from 
Lydus, one of its kings. It was go- 
verned by monarchs who, after the fa- 
bulous ages, reigned for 249 years, down 
to Crcesus, who was conquered by Cy- 
rus, B. C. 548, when the kingdom be- 
came a province of the Persian empire. 
Herodot. Strab. Plin. <Scc. — A mistress of 
Horace, &c. 

Lydias, a river of Macedo- 
nia. 



LYS 



LYS 



Lydius, an epithet applied to 
the Tiber, because it passed near Efru- 
ria, whose inhabitants were originally a 
Lydian colony. Virg. : 

Lytus, a son of Atys, .and 
Callithea, king of Ma?onia, which from 
him received the name of Lydia. His 
brother Tyrrhenus led a colony to 
Italy, and gave the name of Tyrrhenia 
to the settlement he made on the coast 
of the Mediterranean. Herodot. 

Lydmanis, or Lydamtjs, a 

Cimmerian general, who passing into 
Asia Minor, took Sardis. — Propertius' 
servant. 

Lygocesma, a name given 
to Diana, from the circumstance of her 
statue having been brought to Sparta 
from Taurus, by Orestes.' 

Lymire, a town of Lycia. 

Ovii. 

LYNCEST^E, a people of Ma- 
cedonia, connected with the royal fa- 
mily. Justin, 

Lynx est i us, a river of Ma- 
cedonia, whose waters were of an in- 
toxicating quality. Ovid* 

Lynceus, son of Aphareus, 
was among the hunters of the Caiydo- 
nian boar, and one of the Argonauts. 
He was so sharp-sighted that he could 
see through the earth, and distinguish 
objects at the distance of above" nine 
miles.. He stole some oxen with his 
brother Idas, and they were both killed 
by Castor and Pollux, when they were 
going to celebrate their nuptials with 
the daughters of Leucippus. 'Apollod. 
Ovid. &c. — A son of JSgyptus* who 
married Hypermnestra, the daughter of 
Danaus. His life was spared by the 
love and humanity of his wife, [_Vid. 
Danaides] and he made war against his 
father-in-law, dethroned him, and seiz- 
ed his crown. Some say that Lynceus 
was reconciled to Danaus, and that he 
succeeded him after his death, and 
reigned forty-one years. — One of the 
companions "of yEneas, killed by Tur- 
uus. 

Lyncus, LyncjEUs, or 

LYNX, a cruel king of Scythia, or of 
Sicily. He received, with feigned hos- 
pitality, but resolved to murder in his 
sleep, Triptolemus, whom Ceres had 
sent to teach mankind agriculture. As 
he was going to give the deadly blow, 
he was suddenly changed into a lyrix, 
an animal the emblem of perfidy and of 
ingratitude. Ovid. 

Lyrxessus, a city of Cilicia, 
the native country of Eriseis. It was 
taken and plundered by xU'hilles and 
the Greeks, at the time of the Trojan 
war, and the booty divided among the 
conquerors. Homer. 

Ly Sander, a name common 
to three Spartans, the most celebrated 



of whom is the general in the last years 
of the Peloponnesian war. He gave 
battle to the Athenian fleet, consisting 
of 120 ships, at /Egospotamos, and de- 
stroyed it all, except three ships. In 
this celebrated battle, which happened 
405 years B. C. the Athenians lost 3000 
men, and with them their empire 
and influence among the neighbouring 
states. The government of Athens was 
then totally changed, and thirty tyrants 
were set over it" by Lysander, whose 
pride this glorious success increased. 
He had already begun to pave his way 
to universal power, and now he at- 
tempted to .make the crown of Sparta 
elective. To effect this, he attempted 
to corrupt the oracles of Delphi, Do- 
dona, and Jupiter Ammon, and was 
even accused of using bribes by the 
priests of the Libyan temple. He was 
saved from this accusation by the sud- 
den declaration of war against the The- 
bans, against whom, together with 
Pausanias, he was sent. The plan of 
his military operations was discovered, 
and the Haliartians, whose ruin he se- 
cretly meditated, attacked him unex- 
pectedly, and he was killed in a bloody 
battle, which ended in the defeat of his 
troops, B. C. 394. His body was reco- 
vered by his colleague Pausanias, and 
honored with a magnificent funeral. 
Lysander has been commended for his 
bravery ; but his ambition, his cruelty, 
and his duplicity, have greatly stained 
his character. He was arrogant and vain, 
in his public as well as private conduct, 
and heard with the greatest avidity the 
hymns which his courtiers and flatterers 
sung to his honor. Yet in the midst of 
all his pomp, his ambition, and in- 
trigues, he died extremely poor, and his 
daughters were rejected by two opulent 
citizens of Sparta, to whom they bad 
been betrothed during the life of their 
father. Plut. C. Nep. 

Lysandra, a daughter of 
Ptolemy Lagus, who married Agatho- 
cles, the son of Lysimachus. She was 
persecuted by Arsinoe, and fled to Se- 
leucus for protection. Pans. 

Lysiades, son of Phcedrus 
the philosopher.— A tyrant of Megalo- 
polis. 

Lysianassa, the mother of 

Busiris.— One of the Nereides. 

Lysias, a celebrated orator, 
son of Cephalus, a native of Syracuse. 
His father left Sicily and went to 
Athens, where Lvsias was born and edu- 
cated. He distinguished himself by his 
eloquence, and the simplicity, correct- 
ness, and purity of his orations, of 
which he wrote no less than 425 accord- 
ing to Plutarch. Of these 34 are extant. 
He died in the 8 1st year of his age, 378 
years B. C. Plut. Cic. &c. 

Lysicles, an Athenian sent 

M 



LYS 



LYT 



into Bceotia, to stop the conquests of , 
Philip of i*Iacedonia. He was coneuer- 
ed at Chercnaea, and sentenced to death 
for his ill conduct there. 

Lysidice, a daughter of Pe- 
lops and Hippodamia, who married 
Mastor, the sen of Perseus and Andro- 
meda. Apollod. &c. 

Lysimache, one of the daugh- 
ters of Priam . 

Lysimachia, now Hexamili, 
a city on the Thracian Chersonesus. — 
A town of iEtolia, built by Lysima- 
ctius. 

Lysoiachus. Ancient writers 
have mentioned many of this name, the 
most remarkable of whom is a son of 
Agathocles, who was among the gene- 
rals of Alexander. After the death of 
that monarch, he sided with Cassander 
and Seleucus against Antigonus and 
Demetrius, and fought with them at 
the celebrated battle of Ipsus. He after- 
wards seized and expelled Pyrrhus from 
the throne of Macedonia," B. C. 286; 
but his cruelty, and the murder of his 
son, so offended his subjects, that the 
most powerful revolted, and abandoned 
the kingdom. He dt clared war against 
Seleucus, who had given them a kind 
reception, and was killed in a bloody 
battle, 281 years before Christ, in the 
80th year of his age, and his body was 
found in the heaps of slain only by the 
fidelity of a little dog, which had care- 
fully watched near "it. Justin relates 
that being cast into the den of a hun- 
gry lion, by order of Alexander, for 
having given poison to Callisthenes 
[Fid. Callisthenes], to save him from 
ignominy, he wrapped his hand in his 
mantle, and boldly thrust it into the 
lion's mouth, and by twisting his tcnguc, 



immediately killed the beast. This act 
of courage recommended him greatly to 
Alexander. He was pardoned, and ever 
after esteemed by the monarch. Jus- 
tin. Diod. &c — An Acarnanian, pre- 
ceptor to Alexander the Great. He 
used to call himself Phcenix, his pupil 
Achilles, and Philip, Peleus. Plat, h, 
Alex. 

Lysinoe, a city near Pam- 

phylia. Now Aglasson. 

Lysippe, a daughter of Prce- 

tus. IVid. Prcetides.] 

Lysippus, a famous statuary 

of Sicyon, originally a whitesmith, who 
afterwards applied himself to painting, 
and next to sculpture. He flourished 
about 325 years before the Christian 
era, in the age of Alexander the Great. 
The monarch was so partial to him, 
that he forbade any sculptor but Lysip- 
pus to make his statue. Lysippus made 
no less than 600 statues, the most ad- 
mired of which were those of Alexan- 
der ; one of Apollo of Tarentum, 40 
cubits high ; one of a man coming cur 
of a bath, with which Agrippa adorned 
his baths ; one of Socrates ; and these of 
the 25 horsemen who were drowned in 
the Granicus. These were so valued, 
that, in the age of Augustus, they wore 
bought for their weight in gold. ' Pint. 
Civ. Herat. 

Lysis, a Pythagorean philoso- 
pher, preceptor to Epamincndas. He 
flourished about SS8 years B. C. 

Lysis tratus. A brother of 

Lysippus. He was the first artist who 
ever made a statue with wax. Pint. 

LythjEA, the daughter of 
Hyacinthus, put to death by the Athe- 
nians. Apollod. 



MAC 

Macje, a people of Arabia Fe- 
lix. Mela. They are placed n Africa 
by Herodoi. 

Macar, a son of Criasius or 

Crinacus, the first Greek who led a co- 
lony to Lesbos. His four sens took pos- 
session of the four neighbouring islands, 
Chios, Samos, Cos, and Rhodes, which 
were called the seats of the Macares, or 
the blessed (fJ-C-'/MP^ beatus). Bionys. 
Diod. 

Mac are us, an ancient histo- 
rian. — A son of .lEolus, who debauched 
his sister Canace, and had a son by her. 
Macaieus fled to Delphi, where he be- ! 



MAC 



came priest of Apollo. The father being 
informed of the incest, ordered the 
child to be exposed, and sent a sword to 
his daughter, and commanded her to 
destroy "herself. Ovid, — A son of Ly- 
caon. — One of the companions of Ulys- 
ses, whom iEneas found at Caieta in 
Italy. 

Mac aria, a da-ughter of Her- 
cules and Dejanira. After the death of 
Hercules, Emystheus made war against 
the Heraciidse, whom the Athenians 
supported, and the oracle declared, that 
the descendants of Hercules should ob- 
tain the victory, if any one of them de- 
! voted himself to death. This was cheer- 



MAC 



MAC 



fully accepted by Macaria, and the 
Athenians obtained a victory. Great 
honors Were paid to Macaria, and a 
fountain of Marathon was called by her 
name. Paus. — An ancient name of Cy- 
prus. 

Macedo, a son of Osiris, who 
had a share in the divine honors which 
were paid to his father. He was repre- 
sented clothed in a wolf's skin, for 
which reason the ^Egyptians held that 
animal in great veneration. — A man 
who gave his name to Macedonia. Some 
suppose him to be a son of Osiris. 

Macedokia, a celebrated 
country, situated between Thrace, Epi- 
jus, and Greece. Philip increased it by 
the conquest of Thessaly and of part of 
Thrace. The kingdom of Macedonia, 
first founded B. C. 814, by Caranus, a 
descendant of Hercules, and a native of 
Argos, continued in existence 648 years, 
till the battle of Pydna, in which Per- 
seus was conquered by the Romans 
under Paulus iEmilius, 168 B. C. The 
family of Caranus remained in posses- 
sion of the crown, until the death of 
Alexander the Great. Macedonia has 
been severally called iEmonia, Mygdo- 
nia, Paeonia, Edonia, iEmathia, &c. 
The innabitants of Macedonia were na- 
turally warlike, and the Macedonian 
phalanx always resisted the repeated at- 
tacks of the bravest and most courage- 
ous enemies. Liv. Justin. Curt. &c. 

Macedonicum bellum was 

undertaken by the Romans against 
Philip king of Macedonia, some few 
months after the second Punic war, 
B. C. 200. The cause of this war ori- 
ginated in the hostilities which Phihp 
had exercised against the Achaeans, the 
friends and allies of Rome. 

Macedonicus, a surname, 
more especially given to Metellus, from 
his conquests in Macedonia. 

Macella, a Sicilian town, 
taken by Duiliius the consul. 

Macer tEmilius, a Latin 
poet of Verona, who died B. C. 16. He 
wrote some poems upon serpents, plants, 
and birds, mentioned by Ovid. He also 
composed a poem upon the ruins of 
Troy, to serve as a supplement to Ho- 
mer's Iliad. His compositions are now 
lost. Ovid. Quint. — L. Claudius, a pro- 
praetor of Africa in the reign of Nero. 
He assumed the title of emperor, and 
was put to death by order of Galba. 

M a c h a n i d a s, a man who 
made himself absolute at Sparta. He 
was killed by Philopcemen, after being 
defeated at Mantinea, B. C. 208. Na- 
bis succeeded him. Plut. 

Maciiaon, a celebrated phy- 
sician, son of /Eseulapius, went to the 
Trojan war. He was physician to the 
Greeks ; he healed the wounds they re- 
ceived during the war, and was one of 



those concealed in the wooden horse. 
Some suppose that he was killed before 
Troy by Eurypylus, the son of Tele- 
phus. He received divine honors after 
death, and had a temple in Messenia. 
Homer. Ovid. &c. 

Macra, a river flowing from 
the Apennines, and dividing Liguria 
from Etruria. Liv. &c. 

Macri campi, a plain in Cis- 
alpine Gaul. — Another near Mutina. 

Macrianus, Titus Fulvius 
Julius, an Egyptian of obscure birth, 
who, from a private soldier, rose to the 
highest command in the army, and 
proclaimed himself emperor when Va- 
lerian had been made prisoner by the 
Persians, A. D. 260. When he had sup- 
ported his dignity for a year in the east, 
he marched towards Rome, to crush 
Gallienus, who had been proclaimed 
emperor. He was defeated in Ulyri- 
cum, and put to death with his son, at 
his own express request, A. D. 262. 

Macrinus, M. Opilius Seve- 
rus, a native of Africa, rose from the 
most ignominious condition to the rank 
of praefect of the praetorian guards, and 
at last of emperor, after the death of 
Caracalla, whom he inhumanly sacri- 
ficed to his ambition, A. D. 217. The 
beginning of his reign was popular ; an 
affable behaviour endeared him to his 
subjects : when severe punishments had 
been inflicted on some of the disorderly 
soldiers, the whole army on the plains 
of Syria mutinied. Heliogabalus was 
proclaimed emperor, and Macrinus at- 
tempted to save his life by flight, but 
being seized in Cappadocia, his head 
was cut Orf, and sent to his successor, 
June 7th. A. D. 218. He reigned about 
two months and three days. 

Macro, a favorite of the em- 
peror Tiberius, celebrated for his in- 
trigues, perfidy, and cruelty. He ruin- 
ed Sejanus, was accessary to the murder 
of Tiberius, and prostituted his wife 
Ermia to Caligula. He was, at length, 
obliged by Caligula to kill himself to- 
gether with his wife, A. D. 38. 

Macrobii, a people of jEthi- 
opia, celebrated for their justice, thein- 
nocence of their maimers, and their lon- 
gevity. They generally lived to their 
120th year, some say a thousand; and 
from that longevity they have obtained 
their name, (^anpog /Si&<r, long' life). 
After so long a period spent in virtuous 
actions, and freed from the indulgences 
of vice, and from maladies, they drop- 
ped into the grave as to sleep, without 
pain and without terror. Herodot. Pkn. 
&c. 

Macrobius, a Latin writer 

who died A. D. 415. He has rendered 
himself famous for a composition call- 
ed Saturnalia, a miscellaneous collec- 
tion of antiquities and criticisms, sup- 



MAG 



posed to have been the result of a con- 
versation of some of the learned Ro- 
mans during the celebration of the Sa- 
turnalia. This was written for the use 
of his son : and it is useful for the 
learned reflections they contain ; especi- 
ally for some curious observations on 
the two greatest poets of antiquity. Be- 
sides this, Macrobius wrote a'commen- • 
tary on Cicero's Sonthium Scipwnis, 
eo.nposed also for the improvement of 
his -on. 

Macrochir, a Greek sur- 
name of Artaxerxes Lengimanus, aris- 
ing from his having one hand longer 
than the other. C. Nep. 

Macrones, a people of Pon- 
tus, on the frontiers of Colchis and Ar- 
menia. 

Maculonus, a wealthy Ro- 
man, remarkable for his extreme ava- 
rice. 

Mad aura, the native town of 

Apuleius, situated on the borders of 
Gffitulia and Numidia. 

Madestes, atownin Thrace. 

Mauetes, a general of Da- 
rius, who bravely defended a place 
against Alexander. The conqueror re- 
solved to put him to death, though 
thirty orators pleaded for his life. Si- 
sygambis prevailed over the almost in- 
exorable Alexander, and Madetes was 
pardoned. Curt. 

IUadytes, a Scythian prince 
who pursued the Cimmerians in Asia, 
and conquered Cyaxares, B. C. 623. He 
held for some time the supreme power 
of Asia Minor. Herodot. 

Meander, a son of Oceanus 
and Tethys. — A celebrated river of Asia j 
Minor, rising near Celaence, and flowing 
through Caria and Ionia into the .-Egean j 
sea, between Miletus and Piiene, after 
being increased by many less;r streams. 
It is celebrated among the poets for its 
windings, which amount to no less than 
600, and from which, it is said, Daeda- 
lus had first the idea of his labyrinth. 
From its windings, all obliquities have 
received the name of Meanders. Ovid. 
Virg. &c. 

M^andria, a city in Epi- 
rus. 

Mjedi, a people of Thrace, 

living near Rhodope. 

M /EL I us, a Roman, thrown 
down from the Tarpeian rock, for as- 
piring to tyranny at Rome, in the early 
ages of the republic. Liv. 

MiEMACTERiA, sacrifices of- 
fered to Jupiter at Athens in the winter 
month Maemaeterion. The god sur- 
named Maemactes was in treated to send 
mild and temperate weather, as he pre- 
sided over the seasons, and was the god 
of the air. 



aI m x a d e s, a name of the 

Bacchantes, or priestesses of Bacchus. 
The word is derived from flaivofi^i^ 
to be furious, because in the celebration 
of the festivals their gestures and ac- 
tions were those of mad women. Ovid. 

ALenalus, (plur. Mamala) a 
mountain of Arcauia, sacred to Pan, 
and greatly frequented by shepherds. 
It was covered with pine trees, whose 
echo and shade have'beon greatly cele- 
brated by all the ancient poets. Ovid. 
Virg.—A town of Arcadia. 

M^exius, a Roman dictator, 
accused and honorably aequirred, & 
—A spendthrift at Rome. Horat. 

Mjeoni a, a country of Asia 
Minor, the same as Lydia. 

ALeonid^s, a name given to 
the Muses, because Homer, their great- 
est favorite, wassuppos?d to be a native 
of Mreonia. 

aLeonjdes, a surname of Ho- 
mer, because, according to some writ- 
ers, he was born in Ma?onia, or because 
his father's name, was Ma-on. Ovid. 

M.eotis Palus, a large lake, 
or part of the sea between Europs and 
Asia, at the north of the Euxine, to 
which it communicates bv the Cimme- 
rian Bo^phorus, now called the sea of 
Azoph. It extends about 390 miles from 
south-west to north-east, and is about 
600 miles in circumference. Strrtb. Pifg. 

M/Esia sylva, a wood in 
Etrurim 

Mjevius, an invidious poet in 
the Augustan age. Virgil has ridiculed 
him in h s t! '- eclogue, and Horace i 
his 10th epode. 

Magas, a king of Cyrene, 
whose rtign lasted 50 years. 

Magi, a religious sect among 
the eastern nations of the world, ami 
particularly in Persia. They had great 
influence in the political as well as re- 
ligious affairs of the state. Zoroaster 
was founder of their sect. They paid 
particular homage to fire, which they 
deemed a deity. In their religious te- 
nets they had two principles, one good, 
the source of every thing good; the 
other evil, from whence sprang all man- 
ner of ills. The Magi were deeply 
skilled in the science of astronomy, and 
had a great knowledge of the different 
phenomena of the heavens. Hence they 
were afterwards confounded with the 
magicians who impose upon the super- 
stitious and the credulous, and in pro- 
cess of time the word Magi and Magi- 
cians became synonymous among the 
vulgar. Smerdis, one of the Magi, 
usurped the crown of Persia after the 
death of Cambyses, and the fraud was 
not discovered till the seven noble Per- 
sians conspired against the usurper, and 



MAG 



MAL 



elected Darius king. From this cir- 
cumstance a day was appointed every 
year, in which none of the Magi were 
permitted to appear in public, as the 
populace had the privilege of murder- 
ing whomsoever they met. Strab. He- 
rodot. 

Magna Gk^ecia, a part of 

Italy*. [Vid. Grascia Magna,] 

Magna Mater, a name given 
to Cvbele. 

' Magnentius, an ambitious 

Roman who distinguished himself by 
his cruelty and perfidy. He conspired 
against the life of Constans, and mur- 
dered him in his bed. He was the first 
of the followers of Christianity who ever 
murdered his lawful sovereign, A. D. 
353. 

Magnes, a young man who 

found himself detained by the iron nails 
which were under his shoes as he walk- 
ed over a stone mine. This was no 
other than the magnet, which received 
its name from the person who had been 
first sensible of its power. Some say 
that Magnes was a slave of Medea, 
whom that enchantress changed into a 
magnet. Or ph. — A poet and musician 
of Smyrna, in the age of Gyges king of 
Lydia. 

Magnesia, a town of Asia 

Minor on the Maeander, about 15 miles 
from Ephesus. It is celebrated for the 
death of Themistocles, and for a battle 
fought there 187 years B. C. between 
the Romans and Antiochus, king of Sy- 
ria. The forces of Antiochus amounted 
to 70,000 foot and 12,000 horse, accord- 
ing to Livy. The Syrians lost 50,000 
foot and 4000 horse, and the Romans 
only 300 killed, with 25 horse. It w 3 
founded by a colony from Magnesia in 
Thessaly, and was commonly called 
Magnesia ad Mcaandrum, to distinguish 
it from another called Magnesia ad Si- 
Pitlum, in Lydia, at the foot of mount 
Sipylus. — A country on the eastern parts 
of Thessaly, at the south of Ossa. 

Mago. This name was com- 
mon to three Carthaginian generals. — 
A Carthaginian general sent against 
Dionysius, tyrant of Sicily. He ob- 
tained a victory, and granted peace to 
the conquered. In a battle which soon 
after followed this treaty, Mago was 
killed. His son of the same name .suc- 
ceeded to the command, but disgraced 
himself by flying at the approach of 
Timoleon, who had come to assist the 
Syracusans. He was accused in the 
Carthaginian senate, and he prevented 
by suicide the execution of the sentence 
justly pronounced against him. His 
body was hung on a gibbet.— \ brother 
of Annibal the Great. He was present 
at the battle of Canna?, and was deputed 
by his brother to carry to Carthage the 
news of the celebrated victory which 
twl been obtained over the Roman 



armies. He was afterwards sent to 
Spain, where he defeated the two Sci- 
pios, and was himself, in another en- 
gagement, totally rained. He retired 
to the Baleares. After this he landed 
in Italy, was defeated in a battle by 
Quintilius Varus, and died of a mortal 
wound 203 years B. C. Liv. — A Car- 
thaginian more known by his writings 
than by his military exploits. He wrote 
2S volumes upon husbandry; these were 
preserved by Scipio at the taking of 
Carthage, and presented to the Roman 
senate. — A Carthaginian sent by his 
countrymen to assist the Romans 
against Pyrrhus and the Tarentines, 
with a fleet of 120 sail. This offer was 
politely refused bv the Roman senate. 
Vol. Max. 

Magontiacum or Magon- 

TEA, a large city of Germany, now 
called Mentz. 

Mahehbal, a Carthaginian, 
who was at the siege of Saguntum, and 
commanded the cavalry of Annibal at 
the battle of Cannae. When Annibal 
hesitated to march to Rome, he ob- 
served, that Annibal knew how to con- 
quer, but not how to make a proper use 
of victory. 

Ma I a, a daughter of Atlas and 
Pleione. She was the mother of Mer- 
cury by Jupiter. She was one of the 
Pleiades, the most luminous of the 
seven sisters. [Vid. Pleiades.] Apollud. 
Virg. 

Majestas, a goddess among 
the Romans, daughter of Honor and 
Reverence. Ovid. 

Majortanus, Jul. Valerius, 

an emperor of the western Roman em- 
pire, raised to the imperial throne, 
A. D. 457. He signalized himself by 
his private as well as public virtues. 
He was massacred, after a reign of 37 
years, by one of his generals. 

Majorca, the greatest of the 
islands called Baleares, on the coast of 
Spain, in the Mediterranean. Strab. 

Mala Fort una, the goddess 
of evil fortune, was worshipped among 
the Romans. Cic. 

Malea, a promontory of Les- 
bos. — Another in Peloponnesus, at the 
south of Laconia, where the sea is very 
rough and boisterous. Strab. Virg. ^ 

Malia, a city of Phthibtis, 

near mount GJta and Thermopylae 
From Malia, a gulf in the western extre- 
mities of the island of Eu ! cea has re- 
ceived the name of Maliacus Sinus. 
Some call it the gulf of Lamia. Pam. 
Herodot. 

Malis, a maid servant cf 
Omphale, beloved by Hercules. 

Mallophora, ( lanamfercns) 
a surname under which Ceres had a 
temple at Megara, because she bad 



MAN 



MAN 



taught the inhabitants the utility of 
wool , and the means of tending sheep 
to advantage. This temple is repre- 
sented as so old in the age of Pausanias, 
that it was falling to decay. 

Malthinus, a person under 
which Horace lashed his enemies, and 
sometimes his friends. - 

Mameecus, a tyrant of Cata- 
na, who surrendered to Timoleon : his 
attempts to speak in a public assembly 
at Syracuse were received with groans 
and hisses, upon which he dashed his 
head against a wall, and endeavoured 
to destroy himself. The blows were 
not fatal, and Mamercus was soon after 
put to death as a robber. Polt/cen. C. 
Nep. 

Mameuthes, a native of Co- 
rinth, who having killed his brother's 
son in hopes of reigning, was in turn 
slain by his brothei - . 

Mamertina, a town of Cam- 
pania, famous for its wines — A name of 
Messana in Sicily. Martial. Strab. • 

Mamertini, a band of mer- 
cenaries, who passed into Sicily from 
Campania, at the request of Agatho- 
cles. On their return home, they were 
received hospitably by the natives of 
Messena, whose hospitality they re- 
warded by murdering all the men in 
the city, marrying their wives and 
daughters, and rendering themselves 
masters of the place. 

Majmilxa lex, a law, or- 
daining, that five .or six feet of land 
should be uncultivated in the bounda- 
ries of lands, which no person could 
eon vert into private property. 

Mamilii, a plebeian family, 
which came to Rome from Tusculum. 

Mamilius. [Vid. Manilius.] 

Mamurius Veturius, a 
worker in brass iu Numa's reign. He 
was ordered by the monarch to make a 
number of ancilia or shields, like that 
one which had fallen from heaven. 
[Fid. Aneile.] He was very successful 
in his under Caking, and he asked for 
no other reward, but that his name 
might be frequently mentioned in the 
hymns which were sung by the Salii in 
the feast of the Ancilia. This request 
was gi-anted. Ovid. 

Manastabal, son of Masi- 
nissa, who was father to the celebrated 
jugurtha. {Vid. Jugurtha.] Sallust. 

Mandane, a daughter of king 
Astyages, married by her father to 
Cambyses, an ignoble person of Persia. 
{Vid. Astyages,' Cyrus, Cambyses.] 

Mandane s, an Indian prince 

and philosopher, whom Alexander in- 
vited by his ambassadors, on pain of 
death, to come to his banquet, as being 
the son of Jupiter. The philosopher 



ridiculed the threats and promises of 
Alexander. _ Strab. 

Mandela, a village in the 

country of the Sabines. Horat. 
M andontus, a prince in 

Spain, who for some time favored the 
cause of the Romans. When he heard 
that Scipio was ill, he raised commo- 
tions in the provinces, for which he was 
severely punished. 

Man dub rat iu s, a young 
Briton who came over to Caesar in Gaul. 
His father Immanuentius was king m 
Britain, and had been put to death by 
order of Cassivelaunus. C<es. 

Manes, a son of Jupiter and 

Tellus, who reigned in Maeonia. He 
was father of Cotys by Callirrhoe, the 
daughter of Oceanus. 

Manes, a name generally ap- 
plied by the ancients to the souls when 
separated from the body. They were 
reckoned among the infernal deities, 
and generally supposed to preside over 
the monuments of the dead. They were 
worshipped with great solemnity, par- 
ticularly by the Romans. Virgil intro- 
duces his hero as sacrificing to the in- 
fernal deities, and to the Manes, a vic- 
tim whose blood was received in a ditch. 
The word Manes is supposed to be de- 
rived from Mania, who was by some 
reckoned the mother of those tremen- 
dous deities. The term Manes is, how- 
ever, differently used by ancient au- 
thors ; sometimes it is taken for the in- 
fernal regions, and sometimes it is ap- 
plied to the deities of Pluto's kingdom. 
Virg. Horat. &c 

Manetho, a celebrated priest 
of Heliopolis in Egypt, B. C. 2G1. He 
wrote in Greek a history of Egypt, 
which has been often quoted by the 
ancients. This history, which was col- 
lected from the annals preserved in the 
Egyptian temples, has been greatly 
corrupted by the Greeks. The author 
supported, that all the gods of the 
^Egyptians had been mere mortals, and 
had all lived upon earth. 

Mania, a goddess, supposed 
to be the mother of the Lares and Ma- 
nes. 

Manilius, a Raman who mar- 
ried the daughter of Tarquin. He lived 
at Tusculum, and received his father- 
in-law in his house when banished from 
Rome* He behaved with uncommon 
bravery at the battle of Rcgilla?. Lii\ 
—Caius, a celebrated mathematician 
and poet of Antioch, who wrote a poeti- 
cal treatise on astronomy, of which five 
books are extant, treating of the fixed 
stars. The style is not elegant. The 
age in which he lived is not known s 
though some suppose that he flourished 
in the Augustan age.— Thus, a learned 
historian in the age of Sylla and M ,_ 



MAN 



MAR 



rius. He is greatly commended by Ci- 
cero, pro Roscio. 

Manlius, a name common to 

many illustrious Romans, the most ce- 
lebrated of whom are the following : — 
Manlius surnamed Torquatus, a cele- 
brated Roman, -whose youth was di- 
stinguished by a lively and cheerful dis- 
position. These promising talents were 
however, impeded by a difficulty of 
speaking, In a war against the Gauls, 
lie accepted the challenge of one of the 
enemy, whose gigantic stature and pon- 
derous arms hadrendered him terrible 
and almost invincible in the eyes of the 
Romans. The Gaul was conquered, and 
Manlius stripped him of his arms ; and 
from the collar (torquis) which he cook 
from the enemy's neck, he was ever 
after surnamed Torquatus. Manlius 
was the first Roman who was raised to 
the dictatorship, without having been 
previously consul. The severity of Tor- 
quatus to his son has been deservedly 
censured. He put his son to death be- 
cause he had engaged the enemy, and 
obtained an honorable victory, without 
his permission. This uncommon rigor 
displeased many of the Romans, and 
from it all edicts and actions of severity 
have been called Manliana edicta. Liv. 
&c. — Marcus, a celebrated Roman, 
whose valor was displayed in the field, 
even at the age of 16. When Rome was 
taken by the Gauls, Manlius fled into 
the capitol, which he defended when 
suddenly surprised in the night by the 
enemy. This action gained him the 
surname of Capitolinus. A law which 
Manlius proposed, to abolish_the taxes 
on the common people, raised the se- 
nators against him. The dictator, Corn. 
Cossus, seized him as a rebel, but the 
people put on mourning, and delivered 
from prison their common father. This 
did not in the least check his ambition ; 
he continued to raise factions, and even 
secretly to attempt to make himself ab- 
solute, till at last the tribunes of the 
people themselves became his accusers. 
He was tried in the Campus Martius, 
but when the distant view of the capi- 
tol which Manlius had saved, seemed 
to influence the people in his favor, the 
court of justice was removed, and Man- 
lius was condemned. Ke was thrown 
down from the Tarpeian rock, A. U. C. 
371, and to render his ignominy still 
greater, none of his family were after- 
wards permitted to bear the surname of 
Marcus. Liv. Flor. &c. — A Roman ap- 
pointed judge between his son Si lan us 
and the province of Macedonia. When 
all the parties had been heard, the fa- 
ther said, w It is evident that my son 
has suffered himself to be bribed ; there- 
fore I deem him unworthy of the re- 
public and of my house, and I order 
him to depart from my presence." Si- 
lanus was so struck at the rigor of his 
rather, that he hanged himself. Val. 



Mann us, the son of Thiasto, 

both famous deities among the Ger- 
mans. Tacit. 

J. Maksuetus, a friend ofVi- 

teliius, who entered the Roman ar- 
mies, and left his son, then very young, 
at home. The son was promoted by 
Galba, and soon after met a detach- 
ment of the partisans of Vitellius, in 
which his father was. A battle was 
fought, and Mansuetus was wounded 
by the hand of his son. Tacit^Hist. 

Man tinea, a town of Arcadia 

in Peloponnesus. It was taken by Ara- 
tus and Antigonus, and from the latter 
it was afterwards called Antigonia. It 
is famous for the battle which was 
fought there between Epaminondas at 
the head of the Thebans, and the com- 
bined forces of Lacedasmon, Achaia, 
Elis, Athens, and Arcadia, about 3G3 
years before Christ. The Theban gene- 
ral was killed in the engagement, and 
from that time Thebes lost its conse- 
quence among the Grecian states. 

Man tine us, father of Oca- 
lea, wife to Abas, son of Lynceus and 
Hypermnestra. 

Man to, a daughter of the pro- 
phet Tiresias, endowed with the gift of 
prophecy. She was made prisoner by 
the Argives when the city of Thebes 
fell into their hands, and was sent to 
the god of Delphi, as the most valuable 
present they could make. Mahto re- 
mained sometime at Delphi, where she 
gave oracles. From Delphi she came to 
Claros in Ionia, where she established 
an oracle of Apollo. Here she married 
Raadius the sovereign of the country. 
Manto afterwards visited Italy, where 
she married Tiberinus the king of Alba, 
or the god of the river Tiber. From 
this marriage sprang Ocnus, who built 
a town in the neighbourhood, which, hi 
honor of his mother, he called Mantua. 
She received divine honors after death. 
Virg. &c. &c. 

Mantua, a town of Italy be- 
yond the Po, founded about 300 years 
before Rome by Ocnus, the son of Man- 
to. [Vid. Manto.] It was the ancient 
capital of Etruria. Virgil was a native 
of that town, and when it and Cremona 
were given to the soldiers of Oetavius, 
because the inhabitants had followed 
the interest of Brutus, Virgil, through 
his poetical talents, and the interest of 
Pollio with Augustus, obtained the re- 
storation of his farm. 

Marathon, a village of At- 
tica, 10 miles from Athens, celebrated 
for the victory which the 10,000 Athe- 
nians, and 1000 Plataeans, under the 
command of Miltiades, gained over the 
Persian army, consisting of 100,000 
foot, and 10,000 horse, or, according to 
Val- Maximus, of 300,000, or, as Justin 
says, 600,000, under the command of 



MAR 

Datis and Artaphernes, on the 28th of 
Se.pt. 490 B. C. In this battle, accord- 
ing to Herodotus, the Athenians lost 
only 192 men, and the Persians 6,300. 
Justin has raised the loss of the Per- 
sians, in this expedition, and in the 
battle, to 200,000. men. It was also in 
the plains of Marathon that Theseus 
overcame a celebrated bull, which plun- 
dered the neighbouring country. C. 
Nep- Herodot. Justin. Vol. Max. 

Marcella, a daughter ofOo 

tavia, the sister of Augustus by Marcel- 
lus. She married Agrippa. 

Marcel lixus Ammianus, 

a celebrated historian, who carried arms 
under Constantius, Julian, andValens, 
and wrote a history of Rome from the 
reign of Domitian, where Suetonius 
stops, to the emperor Valens. His style 
is not elegant, but it is valuable for its 
veracity, and in many of the actions he 
mentions, the author was nearly con- 
cerned. This history was composed at 
Rome, where Ammianus retired from 
the noise and troubles of the camp. It 
was divided into thirty-one books, of 
which only the eighteen last remain, 
beginning at the death of Magnentius. 
The negligence, with which some facts 
axe mentioned, has induced some cri- 
- tics to suppose, that the history has de- 
scended to us mutilated and imper- 
fect. 

Marcellus, Marcus Clau- 
dius, a famous Roman general, who, 
after the first Punic war 7 had the ma- 
nagement of an expedition against the 
Gauls, where he obtained the spolia 
apimq, by lulling, with his own hand, 
Viriciomarus, the king of the enemy. 
Soon after, he was entrusted to oppose 
Annibal in Italy, and was the first Ro- 
man who obtained some advantage over 
him. Marcellus, in his third consul- 
ship, was sent with a powerful force 
against Syracuse. He attacked it by sea 
and land, but his operations proved in- 
effectual, and the invention of a philo- 
sopher [Vid. Archimedes] baffled all the 
efforts, and destroyed all the great and 
stupendous military engines of the Ro- 
mans, during three successive years. 
Tile perseverance of Marcellus at last 
obtained the victory. After the con- 
quest of Syracuse, Marcellus was called 
upon to oppose Annibal a second time. 
He displayed, as usual, great military 
talents in his operations against this 
general, but was not, however, suffi- 
ciently vigilant against the snares of his 
adversary. He imprudently separated 
himself from his camp, and was killed 
in an ambuscade, in the 60th year of 
his age, in his 5th consulship, A. U. C, 
546. Marcellus claims our commenda- 
tion for his private as well as his public 
virtues. Virg. PluL— One of his de- 
scendants, who bore the same name, 
signalized himself in the civil wars of 



MAR 

Caesar and Pompey, by his firm attach- 
ment to the latter. Cicero undertook 
his defence in an oration which is still 
extant. — J he grandson cf Pompey's 
friend rendered himself popular by his 
universal benevolence and affability. 
He was son of Marcellus, by Octavia, 
the sister of Augustus. He married 
Julia, that emperor's daughter, and 
was publicly intended as his successor. 
The suddenness of his . death, at an 
early age, was the cause of much la- 
mentation at Rome, andVirgil procured 
himself great favors by celebrating the 
virtues of this amiabie prince. [Fid. 
Octavia.] Marcellus was buried at the 
public expense. Virg. Mn. Suet, in 
Aug. &c. — The son of the great Marcel- 
lus who took Syracuse, was caught in 
the ambuscade which proved fatal to 
his father, but he forced his way from 
the enemy and escaped. He received 
the ashes of his father from the con- 
queror. Phct. in Marcell —This name 
was common also to many other emi- 
nent Romans. 

Marc i a. The most remark- 
able of this name is the wife of Regu- 
lus : when she heard that her husband 
had been put to death at Carthage in 
the most excruciating manner, she re- 
torted the punishment, and shut up 
some Carthaginian prisoners in a bar- 
rel, which she had previously filled 
with sharp nails. The senate was obli- 
ged to stop her wantonness and cruelty. 
Diod. — A vestal virgin, punished for 
her incontinence. — A daughter of Phi- 
lip, who married Cato Uticensis. Her 
husband gave her to his friend Horten- 
sius, for the sake of procreating chil- 
dren, and after his death, he took her 
again to his own house. 

Mar cia lex, a law, which 

forbade any one to hold the office of 
censor more than once. 

Marciana, a sister of the em- 
peror Trajan, who, on account of her 
public and' private virtues, was declared 
Augusta and empress by her brother. 
She died A. D. 113. 

Marciaxofolis, the capital 

of Lower Moesia in Greece. 

Maucianus, a native of 
Thrace, born of an obscure family. 
After he had served in the army as a 
common soldier, and by his uncommon 
talents raised himself to higher sta- 
tions, he was, on the death of Theodo- 
sius the Second, A. D. 450, invested 
with 'the imperial purple in the east. 
The subjects of the Roman emrnre had 
reason to be satisfied with their choice, 
as his reign has been distinguished by 
the appellation of the golden age. Mar- 
cianus married Puicheria, the sister M 
his predecessor. It is said that in the 
years of his obscurity he found a man 
who had been murdered, and that he 
had the humanity to give him private 



MAR 



MAR 



burial, for which circumstance he was 
accused of the homicide, and imprison- 
ed. Ke was condemned to lose his life, 
and the sentence would have been exe- 
cuted, had not the real murderer been 
discovered. 

M. Margius Sabinus, was 

the progenitor of the Marcian family at 
Rome. He came to Rome with Numa, 
and it was he who advised Numa to 
accept of the crown which the Romans 
offered to him. He attempted to make 
himself king of Rome, in opposition to 
Tullus Hostilius, and when his efforts 
proved unsuccessful, he killed himself. 
His son who married a daughter of 
Numa, was made high-priest by that 
prince, and was the father of Ancus 
Martius.— Marcius was a name com- 
mon also to some other eminent Ro- 
mans. 

Marco man ni, a people of 

Germany, who originally dwelt on the 
banks of the Rhine and the Danube. 
They proved powerful enemies to the 
Roman emperors, xlugustus granted 
them peace, but they were afterwards 
subdued by Antoninus and Trajan, &c. 
Patera. 

Marcus, a pranomen common 

to many Romans. 

Mardi, a people of Persia, on 
the confmes of Media. They were very 
poor, and generally lived upon the flesh 
Of wild beasts. Their country, in later 
times, became the residence of the 
famous assassins destroyed by Hula- 
kou, the grandson of Zingis Khan. He- 
rod. Plin. &c. 

Mardi a, a place of Thrace, 
famous for a battle between Constan- 
tine and Licinius, A. D. 315. 

Marconi us, a general of 

Xerxes, who was left in Greece, with an 
army of 300,000 chosen men, to subdue 
the country. His operations were ren- 
dered useless by the courage of the 
Greeks; and, in" a battle at Platsea, he 
was defeated and left among the slain, 
B. C. 479. He was son-in : law of Darius. 
Plut. Herodot. &c. 

Mardus, a river of Media, 
falling into the Caspian. 

M a re M o r t u u m , called also, 
from the bitumen it throws up, the 
Asphaltites, is situate in Judaea, and 
near 100 miles long, and 25 broad. Its 
waters are Salter than those of the sea. 
Plin. Strab. 

Mareotis, a lake in Egypt, 

near Alexandria. Its neighbourhood is 
famous for wine, though some make 
the Mareoticum vinuni grow in Epirus, 
or in a certain part of Libya, called 
also Mareotis, near Egypt. Virg. Ho- 
i at. &c. 

Marginia and Margiania» 

a town and country near the river 



Oxus, at the east of Hyrcania, cele- 
brated for its wines. The vines are so 
uncommonly large that two men can 
scarce clasp the trunk of one of them. 
Curt. TtoU 

Margites, a person against 
whom- Homer wrote a poem in order to 
expose his affectation and ignorance. 

Mariaba, an Arabian city on 
the borders of the Red sea. 

Marian dynum, a place near 
Bithynia, where the poets feign that 
Hercules dragged Cerberus out of hell. 
Dionys. 

Marian us, a surname given 
to Jupiter, from a temple built to his 
honor by Marius. It was in this temple 
that the Roman senate assembled to 
recal Cicero, a circumstance communi- 
cated to him in a dream. 

Marica, a nymph of the river 
Liris, near Minturna?. She married 
king Faunus, by whom she had king 
Latinus. She was afterwards called 
Fauna, and Fatua, and honored as a 
goddess. — A city of Campania bore her 
name. — A wood on the borders of Cam- 
pania bore also the name of Marica, as 
being sacred to the nymph. 

Marissa, an opulent town of 
Judasa. 

C. Marius, a celebrated Ro- 
man, who, from a peasant, became one 
of the most powerful and cruel tyrants 
during the consular government. He 
was born at Arpinura, of obscure pa- 
rents. He forsook the plough for the 
camp, and signalized himself under 
Scipio, at the siege of Numantia. By 
his intrigues at Rome, while he exer- 
cised the inferior offices of the state, he 
rendered himself known. He passed 
into Africa as lieutenant to the consul 
Metellus against Jugurtha, and, after 
he had there ingratiated himself with 
the soldiers, he returned to Rome, and 
canvassed for the consulship. He was 
elected, and appointed to finish the war 
against Jugurtha, who was defeated, 
and afterwards betrayed into the hands 
of the Romans by Bocchus. No sooner 
was jugurtha conquered, than the pro- 
vinces of Rome were suddenly invaded 
by an army of SOOjOOO barbarians, and 
Marius was again elected consul, and 
sent against the Teutones. The war 
was prolonged, and Marius was a third 
and fourth time invested with the con- 
sulship. At last two engagements were 
fought, and not less than 200,000 of the 
barbarian forces of the Ambrones and 
Teutones were slain in the field of bat- 
tle, and 90,000 made prisoners. The 
following year a total overthrow of the 
Cimbri took place, in which 140,000 
were slaughtered by the Romans, and 
00,000 taken prisoners. Marius, with 
his colleague Catulus, then entered 
Rome in triumph. He was elected con- 



MAR 



MAR 



sal a sixth time, when he began to raise 
seditions, and to oppose the power of 
Sylia. This was the cause and the foun- 
dation of a civil war. Syl]a, who was 
prosecuting the Mithridatic war, and 
who had refused to deliver up the com- 
mand of the army, advanced to Rome, 
and Marius was obliged to save his life 
by flight. He endeavoured to effect his 
escape to Africa, but was, in conse- 
quence of the wind not proving favora- 
ble, obliged to take shelter in a marsh, 
on the coasts of Campania. Here he 
was discovered, and violently dragged 
to Minturme. Sylla passed sentence of 
immediate death on him. A Gaul was 
commanded to cut off his head, but the 
stern countenance of Marius disarmed 
the courage of the executioner, and, 
when he heard the exclamation of 
Tune, homo, amies occidere Cainm Ma~ 
tium? the dagger dropped from his 
han:l. Such ah uncommon adventure 
moved the compassion of the inhabit- 
ants. They released Marius, and fa- 
vored his escape to Africa, where he re- 
sided for some time. Having soon after 
learned that Cinn a. had embraced his 
cause at Home, he set sail to assist his 
friend, only at the head of 1000 men. 
His army, however, was soon increased, 
and he entered Rome like a conqueror. 
His enemies were inhumanly sacrificed 
to his fury, and Rome was filled with 
blood. When Marius and China had 
sufficiently gratified their resentment, 
they made themselves consuls ; but Ma- 
rius, already worn out with old age 
and infirmities, died in the 70th year of 
his age, sixteen days after he had been 
honored with the consular dignity for 
the seventh time, B. C. 86. Such was 
the end of Marius, who rendered him- 
self conspicuous by his victories, and 
by his cruelty. Plut. Flor. — Caius, the 
son of the great Marius, was as cruel as 
his father, and shared his good and his 
adverse fortune. Plut. — M. Aurelius, 
a native of Gaul, who, from the mean 
employment of a blacksmith, became 
one of the generals of Galljenus, and at 
last caused himself to be saluted empe- 
ror. Three days after this elevation, a 
man who had shared his poverty with- 
out partaking of his more prosperous 
fortune, publicly assassinated him. — 
Maximus, a Latin writer, who pub- 
lished an account of the Roman em- 
perors from Trajan to Alexander, now 
lust. 

Marmacus, the father of Py- 
thagoras. 

Marmarid^, the inhabitants 

of that part of Libya which is between 
Cyrene and Egypt." They were swift in 
running, and pretended to possess some 
drugs or secret power to destroy the 
poisonous effects of the bite of serpents. 
8U. Ital. Lucan. 

MaRO. [Vid. Virgilius.] 

Maron, a high priest of 



Apollo, in Africa, &c. Hfcftfeen — An 
Egyptian who accompanied Osiris in 
his conquests, and built a city in 
Thrace, called from him ?daronea. 
Mela. 

Maronea, a city of Thrace, 

near the Hebrus, celebrated for its 
wine ; with some of which Ulysses in- 
toxicated the Cyclops. 

Marpesia, a celebrated queen 
of the Amazons, who waged a success- 
ful war against the inhabitants of mount 
Caucasus. The mountain was called 
Marpesius Mo?is> from its female con- 
queror. Justin. Vlfg. 

Mar pe ss a, a daughter of the 
Evenus, who married Idas, by whom, 
she had Cleopatra, the wife of Melea- 
ger. Marpessa was tenderly loved by 
her husband, and when Apollo endea- 
voured to carry her away, Idas follow- 
ed the ravisher with a bow and arrows, 
resolved on revenge. Apollo and Idas 
were separated by Jupiter, who per- 
mitted Marpessa to go with that of th-- 
two lovers whom she most approved of. 
She returned to her husband. Homer. 

Marpessus, a mountain or 

Paros, abounding in white marble, 
whence Marpesia cautes. The quarries 
are still seen by modern travellers. 
Virg. 

Marres, an Egyptian king, 

who raised a monument near the city of 
Crocodiles to a crow, which used to 
cany his letters wherever he pleased. 

M A R R V V IU Mi or Marrc- 
BIUM, a place near the Liris, in .Italy. 
I Irg. 

Mars, the god of war, was the 

son of Jupiter and Juno, or of Juno 
alone, who had wished to become a mo- 
ther without the assistance of the other 
sex, like Jupiter, who had produced 
Minerva all armed from his head, and 
she was shown a flower, by Flora, in the 
plains near Oicnus, whose very touch 
made women pregnant. The education 
of Mars was entrusted by Juno to the 
god Priapus, who instructed him in 
dancing, and every manly exercise. His 
trial before the celebrated court of the 
Areopagus, according to the authority 
of some authors, for the murder of Hai- 
lirhotius, forms an interesting epoch in 
history. [Vid. Areop ;gita?.] The amours 
of Mars and Venus are greatly celebrat- 
ed. The god of war gained the affec- 
tions of Venus, but Apollo informed 
Vulcan of his wife's debaucheries. Vul- 
can secretly laid a net around the bed, 
and the two lovers were exposed to the 
ridicule of all the gods, till Neptune 
prevailed upon the husband to set them 
at liberty. In the wars of Jupiter and 
the Titans, Mars was seized by Otus 
and Enhialtes, rnd confined for fifteen 
months, till Mercury procure d him his 



MAR 



MAS 



"liberty. During the Trojan war he took 
the side of the Trojans, and defended 
the favorites of Venus with uncommon 
activity. His temples were not nume- 
rous in Greece, hut in Rornehe received 
unbounded honors, and the warlike 
Romans were proud of paying homage 
to a deity whom they esteemed as the 
patron of their city., and the father of 
the first of their monarehs. His priests, 
among the Romans, were called Salii ; 
they were first instituted by Numa, and 
their chief office was to guard the sa- 
cred Anciiia, one of which, as was sup- 
posed, had fallen down from heaven. 
Mars was generally represented in the 
naked figure of an old man, armed 
with a helmet, a pike, and a shield. He 
generally rode in a chariot drawn by 
furious horses, which the poets called 
t light and Terror. The surnames of 
Mars are Gradivus, Mavors, Quirinus, 
Salisubsulus, among the Romatis. The 
Greeks calkd him Ares, and he was 
the Enyalus of the Sa bines, the Camu- 
lus of the Gauls, and the Mamers of 
Carthage. Mars was the father of Cu- 
pid, Anteros, and Harmonia, by the 
goddess Venus. He was also the re- 
futed father of Romulus. He presided 
over gladiators, and was the god of 
hunting, and of whatever exerc.ses or 
amusements have something manly and 
warlike. Odd. Hi/gin. Virg: &c 

Marsi, a nation of Germany, 
who afterwards settled in Italy, in a 
country abounding with wild boars, and 
other ferocious animals. They are par- 
ticularly celebrated for the civil war in 
which they were engaged, and which, 
from them, has received the name of 
the Marsian war. 

Marsyas, a celebrated piper 
of Celamae, in Phrygia. He was so 
skilful in playing on the flute, that he 
is generally deemed the inventor of it. 
Marsyas was enamoured of Cybele, and 
lie travelled with her as far as Nysa, 
viheie he had the imprudence to chal- 
lenge Apoila to a tria| of his skill as a 
musician. The god accepted the chal- 
lenge, and it was mutually agreed that 
he who was defeated should be flayed 
alive by trie conqueror. Each exerted 
lus utmost skill, and the victory, with 
much difficulty, was adjudged to 
Apollo. The g^d, upon this, tied his 
antagonist to a tree, and flayed him 
alive. Marsyas is often represented on 
monuments as tied, his hands behind 
his back, to a tree, while Apollo stands 
before him with a lyre in his hands. At 
Ceiama) the skin of Marsyas was shown 
to travellers for some time ; it was sus- 
pended in the public place in the form 
of a bladder or a foot-balk Hygin. 
Ovid. &c. — An Egyptian, who com- 
manded the armies of Cleopatra against 
her bruther Ptolemy Physcon, whom 
Miie attempted to dethrone.— A river of 
Phrygia, which, it is said, had its 



source from the abundant tears of the 
Fauns, Satyrs, and Dryads, at the fall 
of Marsyas" the musician. — A writer, 
who published a history of Macedonia, 
from the first origin and foundation of 
that empire, till the reign of Alexan- 
der, in which he lived. 

Martha, a celebrated pro- 
phetess of Syria, whose artifice and 
fraud proved of the greatest service to 
C. Marius, in the numerous expeditions 
he undertook. Pint. 

Martia, a vestal virgin, put 
to death for her incontinence. 

Martia aqua, a water con- 
veyed to Rome from the lake Fucinus 
by Ancus Martius. 

Mart i ales ltjdi, games ce- 
lebrated at Rome in honor of Mars. 

Martialis, Marcus Valerius, 
a native of Spain, who came to Rome 
about the 20th year of his age, where he 
recommended himself by his poetical 
genius. As he was the panegyrist of 
the emperors, he gained the greatest 
honors, and Domitian gave him the tri- 
buneship; but, unmindful of the fa- 
vors he received, after the death of his 
benefactor, he exposed the vices of a 
monster, whom, in his lifetime, he had 
extolled as the pattern of virtue. Tra- 
jan treated the poet with coldness, who, 
after he had passed 35 years in Rome, 
in the greatest splendour, retired to his 
native country, where he became the 
object of malevolence and ridicule. He 
died about the 104th year of the Chri- 
stian era, in the 75th year of his age. 
He is now well known by the fourteen 
books of epigrams which he wrote, and 
whose merit is best described by the 
candid confession of the author in this 
line, 

Siuit bona, sunt quadam mediocria, 

sunt mala plura. 
But the genius which he displays in 
some of his epigrams deserves com- 
mendation, though many critics are li- 
beral in their censure upon his style, 
his thoughts, and particularly upon his 
puns, which are low and despicable. 
Every thing he did was the subject of 
an epigram. 

Marullus, a tribune of the 

people, who tore the garlands which 
had been placed upon Caesar's statues, 
and who ordered those that had saluted 
him king to be imprisoned. He was 
deprived of his consulship by J. Caesar. 
Plut<—\ Latin poet, in the age of M . 
Aurelius. He satirized the emperor 
with great licentiousness, but his in- 
vectives were disregarded, and himself 
despised. 

Masixissa, a king of a small 

part of Africa, who assisted the Cartha- 
ginians in their wars against Rome. He 
proved a most indefatigable and cou- 



MAS 



MAU 



rageous ally, but an act of generosity 
rendered him amicable to the interests 
of Rome. After the defeat of Asdrubal, 
Scipio found, among the prisoners, one 
of the nephews of Masinissa. He sent 
him back to his uncle, loaded with pre- 
sents, and conducted him with a de- 
tachment for the safety and protection 
of his person. Masinissa was struck 
with this generous action, he forgot all 
former hostilities, and joined his troops 
to those of Scipio. This change of sen- 
timents was not the effect of a wavering 
or unsettled mind, for Masinissa show- 
ed himself the most attached, and the 
firmest ally the Romans ever had. Me 
afterwards rendered many services to 
the Romansj and his fidelity was at 
lengtli rewarded with the kingdom of 
Syphax, and some of the Carthaginian 
territories. Masinissa died in the <)7th 
year of his age, after a reign of above 
60 years, 140 years before the Christian 
era. He left fifty-four sons, three of 
whom were legitimate, Micipsa, Gu- 
lussa, and Manastabal. The kingdom 
was fairly divided among them by Sci- 
pio, whom he had appointed as their 
guardian, and the illegitimate children 
received, as their portion, very valua- 
ble presents. The death of Gulussa 
and Manastabal soon after left Micipsa 
sole master of the large possessions of 
Masinissa. Strab. Polyb. Sallust. Liv. 

Massaga, an Indian town, 
taken by Alexander the Great. 

Massagetje, a people of Scy- 
thia, east of the Caspian sea, who had 
their wives in common, and dwelt in 
tents. They worshipped the Sun, to 
whom they offered horses. When their 
parents had coine to a certain age, they 
generally put them to death, and ate 
their flesh, mixed with that of cattle. 
Authors are divided with respect to the 
place of their residence. Some place 
them near the Caspian sea, others at 
the north of the Danube, and some con- 
found them with the Getscand the Scy- 
thians. Herodot. Strab. <&e. 

Massani, a people at the 
mouth of the Ganges. 

Massicus, a mountain of Cam- 
pania, near Minturna?, famous for its 
wine, which even now preserves its 
ancient character. Horat. Virg. — An 
Etrurian prince, who assisted ^Eneas 
against Turnus with 1000 men. Virg. 

Masstlia, a maritime town 
of Gaul Narbonensis, now Marseilles, 
founded B. C. 539, by the people of 
Phoceea, in Asia, who quitted their 
country to avoid the tyranny of the Per- 
sians. It is celebrated for its laws, its 
fidelity to the Romans, and for its being 
long the seat of literature. It acquired 
great consequence by its commercial 
pursuits during its infancy, and even 
waged war against Carthage. Herodot. 
Justin. 



Massyla, an inland part of 

Mauritania. When the inhabitants went 
on horseback, they never used saddles 
or bridles, but only sticks. Their cha- 
racter was warlike, their manners sim- 
ple, and their love of liberty uncon- 
querable. Lucan. Virg. 

Mastramela, a lake near 

Marseilles. 

. Matho, an infamous informer* 
patronized by Domitinn. Juv. 

Matintjs, a mountain of 
Apulia, fertile in yew-trees, and abound- 
ing in bees. 

Matralia, a festival at 
Rome, in honor of Matuta, or Tno. 
Only matrons and free-born women 
were admitted. Gold. 

Matronalia, festivals at 

Rome, in honor of Mars, celebrated by 
married women, in commemoration of 
the rape of the Sabines. Flowers were 
then offered in the temple of Juno. 
Ovid. &c. 

Matuta, a deity among the 
Romans, the same as the Leucothoe of 
the Greeks. She was originally In*>, 
who was changed into a sea deity [ Fid. 
Ino and Leucothoe], and she was wor- 
shipped by sailors as such, at Corinth, 
in a temple sa.cred to Neptune. Only 
married women and fvee-born matrons 
were permitted to enter her temples at 
Rome. Liv. Cic. 

Mavortia, an epithet applied 

to every country whose inhabitants 
were warlike, but especially to Rome, 
founded by the reputed son of Mayors* 
Virg. 

Mauri, the inhabitants of 

Mauritania. This name is derived from 
their black complexion ( yavpot). 

Mauritania, a country on 
the western part of Africa, which forms- 
the modern kingdoms of Fez and Mo- 
rocco. It was bounded on the v est by 
the Atlantic, south by Gajtulia, and 
north by the Mediterranean, and is 
sometimes called Maurusia. It became 
a Roman province in the reign of the 
emperor Claudius, f Vid. Mauri.] 

Maurusii, the people of 

Maurusia, a country near the coiumns 
of Hercules. It is also called Maurita- 
nia. \_Vid. Mauritania.] Virg. 

Mausolus, a king of Caria. 

His wife Artemisia was so disconsolate 
at his death, which happened C. C. 35:?, 
that she drank up his ashes, and erected 
one of the grandesc monuments of an- 
tiquity to celebrate his memory. This 
famous monument, which passed for 
one of the seven wonders of the world, 
and was built by four different arehi- 



MAX 



MAX 



tects, was called Mausoleum, and, from 
it , all other magnificent sepulchres have 
received the same name. The expenses 
of this edifice were immense, and this 
gave an occasion to the philosopher An- 
axagoras to exclaim, when he saw it, 
Hem mum money changed into stones! 
\_Vid. Artemisia.] Herodot. Strab. <fec. 

Maxentius, Marcus Aurelius 
Valerius, a son of the emperor Maxi- 
mianus Hercules. The abdication of 
Diocletian, and of his father, raised him . 
in the state, and he declared himself in- 
dependent emperor, A. D. 306. He was 
remarkable for his cruelty and oppres- 
sion. He was at last defeated by Con- 
stantine near Rome, and the bridge over 
which he crossed the Tiber, being in a 
decayed situation, he fell into the river 
and was drowned, on the 2-ith of Sep- 
tember, A. D. 312. The cowardice and 
luxuries of Maxentius were as conspicu- 
ous as his cruelties. He oppressed his 
subjects with a heavy load of taxes to 
gratify his pleasures, or the avarice of 
his favourites ; neither virtue nor inno- 
cence were safeguards ; and his body was 
as deformed as his mind. _ 

Corn. Maximilian a, a ves- 
tal virgin buried alive for incontinence, 
A. D. 92. 

Maximianus, Herculius Mar- 
cus Aurelius Valerius, a native of Sir- 
mium.in Paunonia, served as a common 
soldier in the Roman armies, and was 
raised as colleague to the imperial throne 
bv Diocletian. Maximianus showed the 
justness of the choice of Diocletian by 
his victories over the barbarians. Soon 
after Diocletian abdicated the imperial 
purple, and obliged Maximianus to fol- 
io. 1 -' his example; but, before the first 
year of his resignation had elapsed, he 
was roused from his indolence and re- 
treat by the ambition of his son Maxen- 
t us. Here-assumed the imperial dig- 
nity, and showed his ingratitude to his 
son, by wishing him to resign the sove- 
reignty, and to sink into a private per- 
son. Maximianus, after this, acted with 
the greatest perfidy to his son-in-law 
Constantine, in Gaul, and was at last 
left to chocse the manner of his own 
death bv Constantine. He strangled 
himself "at Marseilles, A. D. 3lo ; in the 
60th year of his age. — Galerius Valerius, 
a native of Dacia, who, in the first years 
of his life, was employed in keeping his 
father's flocks. He entered the army, 
where his valor and bodily strength re- 
commended him to the notice of his su- 
periors, and particularly to Diocletian, 
who invested him with the imperial pur- 
ple in the East, and gave him his daugh- 
ter Valeria in marriage.- He conquered 
the Goths and Dalmatians, and checked 
the insolence of the Persians. In a bat- 
tle, however, with the king of Persia, 
Galerius was defeated, and to complete 
his ignominy, Diocletian obliged him to 
walk behind his chariot arrayed in his 
imperial robes. He afterwards wiped 



away this disgrace by gaining a complete 
victory over the Persians. He was, as 
soon as Diocletian had abdicated, pro- 
claimed Augustus, A. D. 304; but his 
cruelty soon rendered him odious, and 
the Roman people, offended at his op- 
pressions, raised Maxentius to the im- 
perial dignity the following year. He 
died in the greatest agonies, A. D. 311. 

Maximinus, Cams Julius 
Verus, the son of a peasant of Thrace. 
He was originally a shepherd, and en- 
tered the Roman armies, where he gra- 
dually rose to the first offices, On the 
death of Alexander Severus, he caused 
himself to be proclaimed emperoryA. D. 

235. The popularity which he had 
gained when general of the armies, was 
at an end when he ascended the throne. 
He was delighted with acts of the greatest 
barbarity, and no less than 400 persons 
lost their lives on the false suspicion of 
having conspired against the emperor's 
life. They died in the greatest torments; 
some were exposed to wild beasts, some 
were nailed on crosses, while others were 
shut up in the bellies of animals just 
killed. The noblest of the Romans were 
the objects of his cruelty. Such is the 
character of the suspicious and tyranni- 
cal Maximinus. In his military capacity 
he acted with the same degree of ferocity, 
and, in an expedition in Germany, he 
not only cut down the corn,buthe totally 
ruined and set fire to the whole country, 
to the extent of 450 miles. He was at 
length assassinated by his soldiers in his 
tent, before the walls' of Aquileia, A. D- 

236, in the 65th year of his age. The 
news of his death was received with 
the greatest rejoicings at Rome, public 
thanksgivings were offered, and whole 
hecatombs flamed on the altars. Max- 
imums has been represented of gigantic 
size and strength. He generally ate 40 
pounds cr' flesh every day, and drank 18 
bottles of wine ; he could alone draw a 
loaded waggon, and often broke the 
hardest stones between his fingers, and 
cleft trees with his hand. Herodianus. 
Maximinus made his son of the same 
name emperor as soon as he was in- 
vested with the purple, and his choice 
was unanimously approved by the 
people, and by "the army.— Galerius 
Valerius, a shepherd of Thrace, raised 
to the imperial dignity by Diocletian, 
A. D. 305. He was nephew to Galerins 
Maximianus, by his mother's side, and 
to him he was indebted for his rise arnl 
consequence in the Roman armies. 

Maximus Magnus, a native 

of Spain, who proclaimed himself em- 
peror, A. D. 333. The unpopularity of 
Graiian favored his usurpation, and he 
was acknowledged by his troops. After 
having defeated Gracian, he demanded 
of the emperor Theodosius to acknow- 
ledge him as his associate on the throne. 
Theodosius endeavoured to amuse and 
clelayhim, but Maximus resolved to sup- 
port his claim by arms. Maximus was 



MED 



betrayed by his soldiers, at Aquilsia, to 
the emperor Theodosius, and the con- 
queror, moved with compassion at the 
sight of his fallen and dejected enemy, 
granted him life; but the multitude re- 
fused him mercy, and instantly struck 
off his head, A. D. 388. His son Victor, 
who shared the imperial dignity with 
him, was soon after sacrificed to the fury 
of the soldiers. — Peironius, a Rom?n, 
descended of an illustrious family. He 
caused Vaieutimaii III. to be assassi- 
nated, and ascended the throne. He 
was, after a reign of 77 days, stoned to 
death by his soldiers, and his body 
thrown into the Tiber, A. D. 455. — A 
celebrated cynic philosopher and magi- 
cian of Ephesus. He instructed the em- 
peror Julian in magic, and, according 
to the opinion of some historians, it was 
in the conversation and company of 
Maximus that the apostasy of Julian 
originated. After the death of Julian, 
Maximus was almost sacrificed to the 
fury of the soldiers, but the interposition 
of his friends saved his life, and he re- 
tired to Constantinople. He was soon 
after accused of magical practices before 
the emperor Valens, and beheaded at 
Ephesus, A. D. 366. 

Maz7*ca, a large city of Cap- 
padocia, the capital of the province. It 
was called Csesarea by Tibedus, in ho- 
nor of Augustus. 

Mazaces, a Persian governor 
of Memphis. He made a salty against 
the Grecian soldiers of Alexander, and 
killed great numbers of them. Curt. 

Maz^e us, son-in-law of Darius, 
anil governor of Babylon, who surren- 
dered to Alexander.— A satrap of Cilicia. 

Mazaras, a river of Hyrcania, 
falling into the Caspian sea. 

3Iaza*xes, an African nation, 
famous for their skill in shooting ar- 
rows. 

MazIces and Maztges, a 

people of Libya, very expert in the use 
of missile weapons. The Romans made 
use of thera as couriers, on account of 
thLir great swiftness. Suet. Lucan. 

Mecjenas, or Meccexas ? C. j 
Cilnius, a celebrated Roman knight, 
descended from the kings of Etruria. 
He has rendered himself immortal by 
his liberal patronage of learned men ; 
as*l to his prudence Augustus acknow- 
ledged himself indebted for the security 
he enjoyed. It was from the result of 
his advice, against the opinion of Agrip- 
pa| that Augustus resolved to keep the 
supreme power in his hands, and not, 
by a voluntary resignation, to plunge 
Rome into civil commotions. To the 
interference of Meccenas, Virgil owed 
the retribution of his lands ; and Horace, 
through him, obtained forgiveness from 
the emperor for joining the cause of 
Brutus at the battle of Philippi. Me- 
csenaa was himself fend of literature, 



and wrote many things which are now 
lost. He died eight years before Christ ; 
and, on his death-bed, particular re- 
commended Horace to the care of Au- 
gustus. From the patronage which the 
Latin poets received from 'the favorite 
of Augustus, ail patrons of literature 
have ever since been called Mecaenates. 
Suet. Flut. &c. 

3Iecha:>eu3, a surname of~ 
Jupiter, in his character of patron of 
undertakings. 

Mecisteus, son of Echius, or 

Taiaus. was one of the companions of 
Ajax. He was killed by Polydamas. 

3Iedea, a celebrated magician, 
daughter of .-Etes, king of Colchis. She 
was the niece of Circe. When Jason 
came to Colchis in quest of the golden 
fleece, Medea became enamoured of him . 
and it was to her labours the Argonauts 
owed their preservation. [Fid. Jascn 
and Argonauta?.] Mede?. had an inter- 
view with her lover in the temple of 
Hecr.ie, where they bound themselves 
by the most solemn oaths, and promised 
eternal fidelity. Xo sooner had Jason 
overcome all the difficulties which vEe- 
tes had placed in his wav, than Medea 
embarked with the conquerors for 
Greece. To stop the pursuit of her 
father, she tore to pieces her brother 
Absyrtus, and left his mangled limbs in 
the way through which .-Eetes was to 
pass. VVhen Jason reached Iolchos, the 
return of the Argonauts was universally 
celebrated, but xEson, the father of Ja- 
son, was unable to assist at the so- 
lemnity, on account of the infirmities of 
his age. Medea, at her husband's request, 
removed the weakness of iEson, and by 
the juice of certain herbs restored him 
to the vigor of youth. Her conduct, 
however, to the daughters of Pelias, aud 
her refusal to bring Pelias to life, after 
they boiled his flesh in a cauldron, 
greatly irritated the people of Iolchos; 
and Medea, with her husband, fled to 
Corinth, to avoid the resentment of an 
offended populace. Here they lived for 
ten years ; but the love of Jason for 
Glauce, the king's daughter, scon in- 
terrupted their mutual harmony, and 
Medea was divorced. Medea revenged 
the infidelity of Jason by causing the 
death of Glauce, and the destruction of 
her family. [He?. Glauce.] This action 
was followed by anothcr,more atrocious. 
Medea killed two of her children in 
their father's presence, and, when he 
attemp ed to punish her barbarity, she 
fled throiigh the air upon a chariot 
drawn by winged dragons. From Co- 
rinth Meliea came to Athens, where she 
married king .^geus. From her con- 
nexion with .-Egeus, Medea had a son, 
who was called Medus. Soon after, 
when Theseus wished to make himself 
known to his father [Fid. ^Egensj, Me- 
dea, jealous of his fame, aud fearful of 
his power, attempted to poison him at a 
feast which had been prepared for his 



MED 



MEG 



entertainment. Her attempts, however, 
failed of success, and the sight of the 
sword which Theseus wore by his 
side, convinced JEzeus that the stranger 
against whose life he had so basely con- 
spired, was no iess than his own son. 
The father and the son were reconciled, 
and Medea, to avoid the punishment 
which her wickedness deserved, fled to 
Co'chis, where, according to some, she 
wa-i reconciled to Jason, who had sought 
her in her native country, after her sud- 
den departure from Corinth. Hygiru 
Huripid. Ovid, &c. 

Medesicaste, daughter of 

Priam, married to Imbrius, son of Men- 
t or, killed in the Trojan war by Teucer. 

Media, a celebrated country of 
Asia, bounded on the north by the Cas- 
pian sea, west by Armenia, south by 
Persia, and east by Parthia and Hyrca- 
nia. It was originally called Aria", till 
the age of Medus, the son of Medea, 
who gave it the name of Media. The 
Medes were warlike in the primitive ages 
of their power , and were remarkable for 
the homage they paid to their kings, 
who were styled kings of kings. This 
tide was afterwards adopted by their 
conquerors, the Persians, and it was still 
in use in the age of the Roman em- 
perors. Justin. Herodot. &c. 

Medic us, prince of Larissa, 
who waged war against Lycophron, ty- 
rant of Phera?. 

Medio lanum, now Milan, 

the capital of Insubria, at the mouth of 
the Po. 

Mediomatkices, a people 

Jiving on the banks of the Rhine. 

Mediterraneum mare, a 

s?a which divides Europe and Asia Mi- 
nor fro on Africa. It receives its name 
from its situation, medio terra, situate 
in the middle of the land. It has a com- 
munication with the Aaantic by the co- 
lumns of Hercules, and with the Euxine 
through the Mgean. It is sometimes 
called internum, and is frequently de- 
nominated in Scripture the Great sea. 

MeditrTna, the goddess of 
medicines, whose festivals, called Me- 
ditrinalia, were celebrated at Rome the 
last day of September, when they made 
offerings of fruits. Var. 

Medobithyni, a nation of 

Thrace. 

3Iedox. The most remarkable 
of this name is the son of Codrus, the 
last king of Athens. He was the first 
archon who was invested with regal 
authority, B. C. lOTO. He rendered 
himself popular by the justice and mo- 
deration of his administration. His suc- 
cessors were called from him Medon- 
tidffi, and the office of archon remained 
for above 200 years in the family of 
C.lrus, under twelveperpctua! archons. 
Pavs. Pat ere. 



Meduaxa, a river of Gaul, 

flowing into the Ligeris,now the Mayne. 
Lucan. 

Medus, a river of Media, fall- 
ing into the Araxes. — A son of yEgeus 
and Medea, who gave his name to a 
country of Asia. He fled from Athens 
to Colchis, in pursuit of his mother, 
who had departed that city on the ar- 
rival of Theseus, and slew his uncle Per- 
ses, who had usurped the throne of Me- 
tes, and succeeded him, with the assist- 
ance of his mother. Apollod. Seneel <fcc. 

Medusa, one of the three Gor- 
dons, daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. 
She was the only one of the Gorgons 
who was subject to mortality. She is 
celebrated for her personal charms and 
the beauty of her locks. Neptune be- 
came enamoured of her, and obtained 
her favors in the temple of Minerva. 
This violation of the sanctity of the tem- 
ple provoked Minerva, and she changed 
the beautiful locks of Medusa, which 
had inspired Neptune's love, into ser- 
pents. Perseus rendered his name im- 
mortal by the conquest of Medusa. He 
cut off her head, and the blood that 
dropped from the wound produced the 
innumerable serpents that infest Africa. 
The conqueror placed Medusa's head en 
the aegis of Minerva, which he had used 
in his expedition, and the head still re- 
tained the same petrifying power as be- 
fore. [ Vid. Andromeda.] Some suppose 
that the Gorgons were a nation of wo- 
men, whom Perseus conqxiered. [Vid. 
Gorgones.] Hesiod. Ovid etc. 

Me gab yz us, one of the noble 

Persians who conspired against the usur- 
per Smerdis. He was set over an army 
inEurope by king Darius,where he took. 
Permthus, and conquered ail Thrace. 
He was greatly esteemed bv his sove- 
reign. Herodot. — A satrap ofArtaxerxes. 
He revolted from his king, and defeated 
two large armies that had been sent 
against him ; but the interference of his 
friends restored him to the king's favor. 

Megacles. The most remark- 
able of this name is an Athenian archon, 
who involved the greatest part of the 
Athenians in the sacrilege which was 
committed in the conspiracy of Cylon. 
Pint. 

Megaclides, a peripatetic 

philosopher in tiie age of Protagoras. 

Meg/era, one of the Furies, 
daughter of Nox and Acheron. The 
word is derivedfrom fxsyocipeiv^invidffre, 
pdtsHe. She is represented as employed 
by the gods, like her sisters, to punish 
the crimes of mankind, by visiting them 
with diseases ..with inward torments, and 
with death* [Vid* Eumenides.] Virg. 

Me gale, Cybele, worshipped 
under this name by the Greeks. 

Meg a leas, a Corinthian, 
guilty of treachery to Philip of Mace- 



MEG 



MEL 



don, and who, being debased, slew him- 
self to avoid punishment. 

Megalesia, games in honor 
of Cybele, instituted by the Phrygians, 
and introduced at Rome in the second 
Punic war, when the statue of the god- 
dess was brought from Pessinus. Liv. 
Ovid. 

Megalopolis, a town of Ar- 
cadia, in Peloponnesus, built by Epa- 
rninondas. It joined the Achsan feague, 
B. C. 232, and was taked and ruined by 
Clecmenes, king of Sparta. Strah. &c." 

Megamede, the wife of Thes- 
tius, moiher by him of 50 daughters. 
Apollod. 

Meg an Ira, the wife of Celeus, 

king of Eleusis, in Attica. She was mo- 
ther to Triptolemus, to whom Ceres, as 
she travelled over Attica, taught agricul- 
ture. She received divine honors afier 
death , and she had an aixar raised to her, 
near the fountain where Ceres had first 
been seen when she arrived in Attica. 
Pa us. 

Megapexthes, an illegiti- 
mate son of Menelaus, who, after his 
fathers return from the Trojan war, 
was married to a daughter of Aleetor, a 
native of Sparta. His mother's name 
was Teridae, i slave of Menelaus. Ho- 
mer. 

Me gar a, a daughter of Creon, 

king of Thebes, given in marriage uo 
Hercules. When Hercules went to hell 
by order of Eurysmeus, violence was of- 
fered to Megara, by Lycus, a Theban 
exiie, and she would have yielded to her 
ravisher,had not Hercules returned that 
moment, and punished him with death. 
This murder displeased Juno, and she 
rendered Hercules so delirious, that he 
killed Megara, and the three children he 
had by her, in a fit of madness. Some 
say that Megara did not perish by the 
hand of her husband, but that he after- 
wards married her to his friend Iolas. 
The names of Megara's children, by 
Hercules, were Creontiades, Therima- 
chus, and Deicoon. Hyp-in. Sense. 

Megara, a city of Achaia, the 
capital of a country called Megaris, 
founded about 1131 B. C. It is situate 
nearly at an equal distance from Corinth 
and Athens, on the Sinus Saronicus. It 
was built upon two rocks, and is still in 
being, and preserves its ancient name. 
It w ; as originally governed by twelve 
kings, but became afterwards a republic, 
and fell into the hands of the Athenians, 
from whom it was rescued by the Hera- 
elidae. At the battle of Salamis the 
people of Megara furnished twenty ships 
for the defence of Greece, and at Plata>a 
they had SCO men in the army of Pau- 
sanias. Pci us. Sirab. — A town of Sicily, 
founded by a colony from Megara, in 
Attica, about 728 years before the Chris- 
tian era. It was destroyed by Gelon, 
king of Syracuse ; and before the arrival 



of the Megarean colonv, it was called 

Hybla. Strob. Virg. 

Megaris, a small country of 

Achaia, between Phocis on the west, 
and Attica on the east. I;s capital city 
was called Megara. [Vid. Megara.] 

MegasthLnes, a Greek Hi- 
storian in the age of Seleucus Nicanor, 
about ?00 years B. C. He wrote about 
the oriental nations, and particularly 
the Indians. 

Meges, one of Helen's suitors. 
He went with forty ships to the Trojan 
war. Homer. 

Mela Pojipoxius, a 

Spaniard,Vho nourished about the 45th 
year of the Christian era, and distin- 
guished himself by his geography, di- 
vided into three books, and written with 
elegance and brevity. 

Melampus, a celebrated 
soothsaver and physician of Argos, son 
of Amythaon and ldomenea,or Dorippe. 
He lived at Pylos, in Peloponnesus, and 
received his prophetic knowledge from 
two young serpents as he lay asleep. 
Apollo also instructed him in the art of 
medicine, and he cured the daughters of 
Proems with hellebore. [Vid. Proetides.l 
He also obtained the oxen of Iphicius 
for his brother Bias, who thereby ob- 
tained in marriage Pero, the daughter of 
Nelcus. This he did by teaching Iphi- 
cius how to become a fa'ther. A severe 
distemper, which had rendered the wo- 
men of Argos insane, was totally re- 
moved by Melampus ; and Anaxagoras, 
who then sat on the throne, rewarded 
his merit, by giving him part of his 
kingdom, where he established himself, 
andfwhere his posterity reigned during 
six successive generation^ He received 
divine lienors afcer death, and temples 
were raised to his memory. Homer. 
Herodot. Virg. 

Mel axe us, a son of Eurytus, 

from whom Eretria has been called Me- 

Melaxippe, a daughter of 

^oius, who had two children by Nep- 
tune, for which her father pur out both 
her eves, and confined her in a prison. 
Her "children, who had been exposed 
and preserved, delivered her from con- 
miement, and Neptune restored her to 
her eyesight. She afterwards married 
Metapontus. H&gin.—A nymph, who 
married 1 tonus, son of Amphictyon, by 
whom she had Bceotus, who gave his 
name to Bceotia. Paus. 

Melaxippides, a Greek poet, 
about 520 years B. C. He was son of 
Crito, and he wrote epigrams, hymns, 
and two poems, the one upon Marsyas, 
and the other upon the Danaides. Some 
fragments of his poetry are extant. 

Melaxippus, a son of Asta- 
cus, one of the Theban chiefs who de- 
fended the gates of Thebes against the 



MEL 



MEL 



army of Adrastus, king of Argos. He 
was opposed by Tydeus, whom hf 
slightly wounded. He was killed by 
Amuhiaraus, who carried his head to 
Tydeus. Tydeus, to take revenge of 
the wound he had received, bit the head 
with such barbarity, that he swallowed 
the brains, and Minerva, offended with 
his conduct, took away the herb which 
she had given him to cure his wound, 
and he died. Apollod. Mschyl. &c. — A 
son of Mars, who became enamoured of 
Cometho, a priestess of Diana Triclaria. 
He concealed himself in the temple, 
and ravished his mistress, for which 
violation of the sanctity of the place, 
the two lovers soon after perished by a 
sudden death. Paus. 

Melanthius, a famous 
painter of Sieyon. Plin. 

M e l a n t h o, a daughter of 
Proteus, ravished by Neptune under 
the form of a dolphin. Ovid. 

Melakthus, Melanthes, 

or MELANTHIUS, a son of Andro- 
pompus. He was driven from his pater- 
nal kingdom by the Heraclidae.and came 
to Athens, where Thymoetes resigned 
the crown to him, provided he fought a 
battle against Xanthus, a geueral of the 
Boeotians. He fought and conquered, 
and his family, surnamed the Neleidse, 
sat on the throne of Athens, till the age 
of Codrus. Paus. — A goatherd of Ulysses, 
who assisted Penelope's suitors in the 
plunder of his master's property. He 
shared the fate of the suitors, but as he 
had insulted Ulysses he was the last put 
to death, after having endured several 
indignities. — A son of Phryxus, one of 
the Argonauts, and drowned in that part 
of the sea which bears his name. 

Me las. A name common to 
eight different rivers in A.sia and Eu- 
rope. 

Meleager, a celebrated hero 

of antiquity, son of (Eneus, king of 
Mto\i%> The Parcse were present at 
the moment of his birth, and predicted 
his future greatness. Atropos declared 
he should live as long as a firebrand 
then on the fi re remained unconsumed. 
Althaea, his mother, no sooner heard 
this than she snatched the stick from 
the fire, and kept it with the most jea- 
lous care. Meleager signalized himself 
in the Argonautie expedition, and after- 
wards delivered his country from the 
neighbouring inhabitants j but what 
contributed most to his glory was, his 
killing the celebrated Calydonian boar, 
which laid waste all the country. Se- 
veral, however, of the princes and chiefs 
of Greece assisted at this hunt, so re- 
markable in ancient mythology. The 
conqueror gave the skin and the head 
to Atalanta, who had first wounded the 
animal. This irritated Toxeus and 
Plexippus, the brothers of Althaea, and 
they endeavoured to rob Atalanta of the 
present. Meleager defended a woman, 



of whom he was enamoured, and killed 
his uncles in the attempt. Meantime 
Althaea was going to the" temple of the 
gods to return thanks for the victory 
which her son had gained, and in her 
way met the corpse of her brothers, and 
at this mournful spectacle she filled the 
whole city with her lamentations. Being 
then informed that they had been killed 
by Meleager, she, in the moment of re- 
sentment, threw into the fire the fatal 
stick, on which her son's life depended, 
and Meleager died as soon as it was con- 
sumed. Apollod. Ovid. Homer. — There 
were many others of this name, the most 
remarkable of whom is a Greek poet in 
the reign of Seleucus, the last of the Se- 
leucidae. He was born at Tyre, and 
died at Cos. It is to his well-directed 
labors that we are indebted for the an- 
thalogia,or collection of Greek epigrams, 
whi:h he selected from forty-six of the 
best and most esteemed poets. 

Mel e agh ides, the sisters of 
Meleager, daughters of GZneus and Al- 
thaea. They were so disconsolate at the 
death of their brother Meleager, that 
they refused all aliments, and were, at 
tiie point of death, changed into birds, 
called Mdeagrides. The youngest of 
the sisters, Gorge and Dejanira, who 
had been married, escaped this meta- 
morphosis. Apollod. Ovid. 

Meles Oetis), a river of Asia 
Minor, in Ionia, near Smyrna. Some of 
the ancients supposed that Homer was 
born on its banks, from which circum- 
stance they call him Melesigenes, and 
his compositions Meletcece chart ce. It 
is even supported that he composed his 
poems in a cave near the source of that 
river. Strab. &c. 

Melesigexes, or Melesi- 
GENA, a name given to Homer. [Vid. 
Meles.] The poet, it is said, was blind, 
and he begged for support from the 
people of Cumae, promising that in re- 
turn he would render their city the most 
illustrious of all the colonies of Greece. 
His petition was disdainfully rejected by 
the magistrates, and the poet from that 
time was no longer called Melesigenes 
by those who admired his talents andr 
pitied his poverty, but Homer, which, 
in the language of Cumae, signified the 
blind man. Herodot. 

Melia, a daughter of Oceanus, 
sister to Caanthus, became mother of 
Ismarus and Tenerus by Apoilo. Te- 
nerus was endowed with the gift of pro- 
phecy, and the river Ladon, rn Boeotia, 
assumed the name of Ismarus. Paus. 

Melibcea, a maritime town of 

Magnesia, in Thessaly, at the foot of 
mount Ossa, famous for dyeing wool. 
The epithet of Melibceus is applied to 
Philocteies, because he reigned there, 
Virtc- Herddot. 

Melibceus, a shepherd intro- 
duced in Virgil's eclogues. 



MEL 



MEM 



Melicerta, a son of Athamas 
and Ino, was saved by his mother from 
the fury of his father, who prepared to 
dash him against a wall, as he had done 
his brother Learehus. The mother was 
so terrified, that she threw herself into 
the sea with Meiieena in her arms. 
Neptune had compassion on the misfor- 
tunes of Ino and her son, and changed 
them both into sea deities. Ino was 
called Leucothoe, or Matuta, and Meli- 
eerta was known among the Greeks by 
the name of Palaemon, and among the 
Latins by that of Portumnus. Apollod. 
Ovid. 

Meligjxis. one of the iEolian 

islands. 

Melissa, a daughter ofMelis- 

sus, king of Crete, who, with her sister 
A maltha?., fed Jupiter with the milk of 
goats. She first found out the means of 
collecting honey, whence . some have 
imagined that she was changed into a 
bee, as her name is the Greek word for 
that insect. Columell. — A woman of Co- 
rinth, who refused to initiate others in 
the festivals of Ceres, after she had re- 
ceived admission. She was torn to 
pieces upon this disobedience, and the 
goddess made a swarm of bees rise from 
her body. — One of the Oceanides, who 
marriedinachus, by whom she had Pho- 
roneus and iEgialeus. — A daughter of 
Procles, who married Periander, the 
son of Cypselus, by whom, in her preg- 
nancy, she was killed with a blow of his 
foot, by the false accusation of his con- 
cubines. Diog. Laert. 

Melissus, a philosopher of 
Samcs, who maintained that the world 
was infinite, immoveable, and without 
a vacuum. Themistocles was among 
his pupils. He flourished about 440 
years before the Christian era. Diog: 

Melita, an island in the Li- 
byan sea, between Sicily and Africa, now 
called Malta. Strab. 

Me lit us, a poet and orator of 

Athens, of mean . and insidious charac- 
ter, who became one of the principal 
accusers of Socrates. He. together with 
the other accusers, were afterwards con- 
demned and put to death. Diog. 

Sp. Melius, a Roman knight, 

accused of aspiring to tyranny, on ac- 
count of his uncommon liberality to the 
populace. He was summoned to' appear 
by the dictator L. Q. Cincinnati^ and 
when he refused to obey, he was put to 
death by Ahala, the master of horse, 
A. U. C. 314. 

Melixaxdrus^ a Milesian 
author, who wrote an account of Hie 
Centaurs and Lapithae. 

Mella, a river of Cisalpine 
Gaul. Virg. 

Mella Axx.eus, the father 

of Luean. He was accused cf being 



privy to Piso's conspiracy against Xero, 
upon which he opened his veins. Tacit. 

Melloxa, a rural deity wor- 
shipped by the Romans, because she 
was supposed to preside over bees and 
honey. 

Melobosis, one of the 

Oceanides. 

Melos, an islandbetween Crete 

and Peloponnesus, about 24 miles from 
Scyllaeum, about sixty miies in circum- 
ference, and of an oblong figure. Strab. 

Mela. 

MELP03iEXE,one of themnses, 
daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. 
She presided over tragedy. Horace has 
addressed the finest of his odes to her, 
as to the patroness cf lyric poetry. She 
was generally represented as a young 
woman with a strious countenance. H_r 
garments were splendid, she wore a bus- 
kin, and held a dagger in one hand, and 
in the other a sceptre arid crown, Ho rat. 
Hesiod. [Ha. Muss?.] 

Memmius, a Roman knight, 

who rendered himself illustrious for his 
eloquence and poetical talents. He was 
accused of extortion in his province, 
and banished by J. Cesar, though Ci- 
cero undertook his defence. Lucretius 
dedicated his poem to him. Cic. — A 
Roman who accused Jugurtha before 
the Roman people. — The Memmii were 
descended, according to some accounts, 
from Mnesiheus, the friend of a Eneas. 
— A tribune who severely inveighed 
against the pride and corruption of the 
nobility during the. Jugurthine war: 
when a candidate for the consulship 
against Glaucia, he was shamefully as- 
sassinated by the partisans of the com- 
petitor. 

Memxox, a king of .Ethiopia, 

son of Tithonus and Aurora. He came 
with a body of 10,000 men to assist his 
uncle Priam during the Trojan war, 
where he behaved with great courage, 
and killed Antiloehus, Nestor's^ son. 
The aged father challenged the Ethio- 
pian monarch, but Memnon refused it, 
on account of the venerable age of 
Nestor, and accepted that of Achilles. 
He was killed in the combat in the 
sight of the Grecian and Trojan armies. 
Memnon was the inventor of the alpha- 
bet, according tr> Anticliries, a writer 
mentioned by Pliny. Homer. Ovid. — 
A general of the Persian forces, when 
Alexander invaded Asia. He distin- 
guished himself for his attachment to 
the interest of Darius, his valor in the 
field, the soundness of his counsels, and 
his great sagacity. He defended Miittus 
against Alexander, and died in the midst 
of his successful enterprises, B. C. 333. 
Diod. 

Memphis, a celebrated town 

of Egypt, on the western banks of the 
Nile, above the Delta, so called from a 
nymph, one of the daughters of the 



MEN 



Nile. It once contained many beauti- 
ful temples, particularly those of the 
god Apis. HVid. Apis.] * It was in the 
neighbourhood of Memphis that those 
famous pyramids were built, whose 
grandeur' and beauty still astonish the 
modern traveller. "The place where 
Memphis formerly stood is not now 
known : the ruins of its fallen grandeur 
were conveyed to Alexandria, to beau- 
nymph^ daughter of the Nile, who 
married Ephesus, by whom she had Li- 
bya. She gave her" name to the eele- 
bratei dify of Memphis. Apoliod. 

Men A, a goddess worshipped 
at Rome, and supposed to preside over 
the monthly infirmities of women. She 
was the same as Juno; according to 
some, the sacrifices offered to her were 
young puppies that still sucked their 

aIexalcas, a shepherd in 

aIexalcidas, a Lacedemo- 
nian, who being accused before the Ro- 
mans, killed himself in the time of the 

Menalippe, a sister of An- 

tiope, queen of the Amazons, taken by 
Hercules, when that hero made war 
against this celebrated nation. She was 
ransomed, and Hercules received in ex- 
change the arms and belt of the queen. 
Jul-. — A daughter of the centaur Chi- 
ron, beloved and ravished by .Eolus, 
son of Hellen. She retired into the 
woods to hide her disgrace, and when 
she had brought forth, she entreated 
the gods to remove her totally from the 
pursuits of Chiron. She was changed 
into a mare, and called Ocyroe. She 
became a constellation after death called 
the horse. H&gin. — Menalippe is a 
name common to other persons, but it 
is generally spelt Melanippe, by the best 
authors. H'id. Melanippe.] 

Menaxdeu, a celebrated comic 
poet of Athens, educated under Thec- 
phrastus. He was universally esteemed 
by the Greeks, and received "the appel- 
lation of Prince of the New Comedy. 
His writings were replete with elegance, 
refined wit, and judicious observations. 
Of 108 comedies which he wrote, no- 
thing remains but a few fragments. It 
is said that Menander drowned himself 
in the 52 I year of his age, B. C. 293, 
because tne compositions' of his rival 
Philemon obtained more applause than 
his own. — A king of Bactria, whose 
ashes were divided among his subjects. 
— A man who was put to death by Alex- 
ander for deserting a fortress, ot which 
he had command. — There were many 
others of this name, but of inferior note". 

Mexapii, a people of Belgic 

Gaul, near the Mosa. Cce.s. 

M ex as, a freedman of Pompey 



MEN 

ths Great, who distinguished himself 
by the perfidious part'he took in the 
civil wars kindled between the younger 
Pompey and Augustus. When Pompey 
invited "Augustus to his galley, Menas 
advised his master to seize the person 
of his enemy. " No," replied Pompey, 
" I would have approved of the mea- 
sure, if you had done it without con- 
sulting me; but I scorn to break my 
word." Suet. Horace with great viru- 
lence and animosity has ridiculed the 
pride of Menas, and recalled to his mind 
his former meanness and obscurity. It 
is said that Menas revolted from Pom- 
pey ro Augustus, and from Augustus to 
Pompey, and again a second 'time be- 
trayed his master, carrying with him 
part of his fleet. Augustus acknowledged 
his services, and admitted him with 
every mark of cordiality to his table. 

Mexdes, a city of Egypt, 
near Lvcopolis, on one of the mouths of 
the Nile, called the Mendesian mouth. 
Pan, under the form of a goat, was wor- 
shipped there, with the greatest so- 
lemnity. Herodot. Strab. 

Mexeclides, a person who 
envied and detracted the character of 
Epaminondas. 

MEXECRATES. The most re- 
markable of this name is a physician of 
Syracuse, famous for his vanity and 
arrogance. He crowned himself like 
the master of the gods, and in a letter 
which he wrote to Philip king of Mace- 
don, he styled himself, in these words, 
" Menecrates Jupiter to king Philip, 
greeting." The Macedonian 'monarch 
answered, '* Philip to Menecrates, greet- 
ing, and better sense." Philip invited 
him to one of his feasts, but a table was 
put separate for the physician, on 
which he was served only" with per- 
fumes and frankincense, like the father 
of the gods. He then remembered that 
he was a mortal. He lived about 3GO 
years before the Christian era. 

Mexedemus, a Socratic phi- 
losopher of Eretria, originally a tent- 
maker. The persuasive eloquence and 
philosophical lectures of Plato had such 
influence over him, that he gave up 
his offices in the state to cultivate lite- 
rature. It is said that he died through 
melancholy when Antigonus, one "of 
Alexander's generals, had made him- 
self master of his country, B. C. 301, in 
the 7-Uh year of his age. He was called 
the Eretrian Bull, on account of his 
gravity. Strab. Dlog. — A Cynic philo- 
sopher of Lampsacus, who said that he 
was come from hell to observe the sins 
and wickedness of mankind. 

Mexelai port us, a har- 
bour on the coast )f Africa, between 
Cyrene and Egypt. Strrtb. 

Mexelaia, a festival cele- 
brated at Therapna? in Laconia, in ho« 
nor of Mcnelaus. 



MEN 



MEN 



Mexelaus, a king of Sparta, 
brother to Agamemnon. His father's 
name was Atreus, according to Homer, 
or according to Hesiod, &c. he was the 
son of Plisthenes and yErope. \_Vid. 
Plisthenes.] He was educated with his 
brother Agamemnon in the house of 
Atreus, but soon after his death, Thy- 
estes his brother usurped the kingdom, 
and banished the two children of Plis- 
thenes. Menelaus and Agamemnon 
came to the court of CEneus, king of 
Calydcnia, who treated them with pa- 
ternal care. From Calydonia they went 
to Sparta, where, like the rest of the 
Grecian princes, they solicited the mar- 
riage of Helen, the daughter of king 
Tyndarus, who made choice of Mene- 
laus. [Vid. Helena.] As soon as the 
nuptials were celebrated, Tyndarus re- 
signed the crown to his son-in-law, and 
their happiness was complete. This 
was, however, of short duration, and 
the arrival of Paris in Sparta was the 
eau?e of great revolutions. [Vid. Paris.] 
Paris carried off Helen, and the Greek 
princes, mindful of their oath, took up 
arms to defend the cause of Menelaus. 
The combined forces assembled at Aulis 
in Bceotia, where they chose Agamem- 
non for their general, and Calchas for 
their, high-priest. They then marched 
to meet their enemies in the field. During 
the Trojan war, Menelaus behaved with 
great spirit and courage, and Paris must 
have fallen by his hand, had not Venus 
interposed, and redeemed him from cer- 
tain death. In the tenth year of the 
Trojan war, Helen, by perfidiously in- 
troducing Menelaus into the chamber 
of Deiphobus, obtained his forgiveness, 
and she returned with him to Sparta, 
after a voyage of eight years. He died 
some time after his return. He had a 
daughter called Hermione, and a son 
called Nicostratus, according to some, 
by Helen, and a son called Megapenthes 
by a concubine. Some say that Mene- 
laus went to Egypt on his return from 
the Trojan war, to obtain Helen, who 
had been detained there by the king of 
the country. [Vid. Helena.] Homer. 
Apollod. Virg. 

Mexexius Agrippa, a cele- 
brated Roman, who appeased the Ro- 
man populace in the infancy of the con- 
sular government, by repeating the well- 
known fable of the belly and limbs. He 
nourished 495 B.C. 

Menephuon, a man who 

attempted to offer violence to his own 
mother. He was changed into a wild 
beast. 

MENES,the first king of Egypt. 

He built the town of Memphis, as it is 
generally supposed, and deserved, by 
his abilities and popularity, to be called 
a god after death. Hei odot. Diod. 

Menesteus, or Menes- 

THEUS,or MNESTHEUS, a son of 

Pemis, who so insinuated himself into 



the favor of the people of Athens, that 
during the long absence of Theseus, he 
was elected king. The lawful monarch, 
at his return home, was expelled, and 
Mnestheus established his usurpation by 
his popularity and great moderation. 
As he had been one of Helen's suitors, 
he went to the Trojan war at the head 
of the people of Athens, and died in his 
return, in the island of Melos. He 
reigned 23 years, 1205 B. C. and was 
succeeded by Demophoon, the son of 
Theseus. Pint. 

Menetas, a person whom 

Alexander made governor of Babylon. 

MIxixx, an island on the 
coast of Africa, now called Zerbi. 

MExiprus,a cynic philosopher 

of Phoenicia. He was originally a slave, 
and obtained his liberty with a sum of 
money, and became one of the greatest 
usurers in Thebes. He grew so despe^ 
rate from the continual reproaches and 
ins-alrs to which he was exposed on 
account of his meanness, that he de- 
stroyed himself. He wrote 13 books of 
satires, which have been lost. Lucian 
selected him as a character under whose 
name he could convey the ridicule of 
his witty reflections on men and man- 
ners. 

Menius, a plebeian consul at 

Rome. He was the first who made the 
rostrum at Rome with the beaks (/ ostra) 
of the enemy's ships. 

Mexxis, a town of Assyria, 
abounding in bitumen. 

Me nod ot us, an historian of 

Samos. 

Mexceceus, a young Theban, 

son of Creon. He offered himself to 
death for the DH Manes, when an oracle 
had ordered the Thebans to sacrifice one 
of the descendants of those who sprang 
from the dragon's teeth, and he killed 
himself near the cave where the dragon 
of Mars had formerly resided. The gods 
required this sacrifice, because the dra- 
gon had been kilied by Cadmus, and no 
sooner was Creon dead, than his coun- 
trymen obtained the victory. Siat. 
Eurip. &c. 

Mexcetes, the pilot of the ship 
of Gyas, at the naval games exhibited 
bv iEneas at the anniversary of his 
father's death. He was thrown into the 
sea by Gyas for his inattention, and 
saved himself by swimming to a rock. 
Virg. 

Mexcetitjs, the son of Actor 

and iEgiua. He left his mother and 
went to Opns, .where he had, by Sthe- 
neie, Pa:roclus, often called from him 
Mencetiades. Mencetius was one of the 
Argonauts. Apollod* Homer. &c. 

Me x o x . The most rem arkable 
of this name is a Thessalian commander 
in the expedition of Cyrus the younger 
against his brother Artaxerxes. He was 



MER 



m ER 



dismissed on the suspicion that he had 
betrayed his fellow-soldiers. Diod. 

M e n o p h I lu s, an eunuch 
into whose hands Mithridates com- 
mitted his daughter. When conquered 
bv Pcmpey, Menophilus, fearing the 
princess would fall into the enemy's 
hands, murdered her. 

MENTES,aking of the Taphians, 
in iEtolia, son of Ancualus, in the 
time Of the Trojan war. Minerva bor- 
rows his .form when she introduces 
herself as the friend and adviser of the 
young Telemachus. 

Mentor, a faithful friend of 
Ulysses. — A king of Sidonia, who re- 
volted from Artaxerxes, and was after- 
wards restored to favour for turning 
traitor to his allies. Diod. — An excellent 
artist in polishing cups, and engraving 
flowers on them. Plirt. 

Menylltjs, a Macedonian, 
who attempted to corrupt Phocicn, but 
without success. 

Me ha, a dog of Icarius,- who, 
by his cries, showed Erigone where her 
murdered father had been thrown. Im- 
mediately after this discovery the daugh- 
ter hung'herself in despair, and the dog 
pined away, and was made a constella- 
tion in the heavens, known by the name 
of Canis. Ovid. Hygin. &c. 

Mercurius, a celebrated god 
of antiquity, called Hermes by the 
Greeks. There were no less than five 
of this name, according to Cicero. Some 
add a sixth, but to the son of Jupiter 
and Maia the actions of all the others 
have been probably attributed. Mercury 
was the messenger of the gods, and of 
Jupiter in particular ; he was the patron 
of travellers and of shepherds ; he con- 
ducted the souls of the dead into the in- 
fernal regions, and not only presided 
over orators, merchants,and declaim ers, 
but he was also the god of thieves, pick- 
pockets, and all dishonest persons. His 
name is derived a mercibus, because he 
was the god of merchandize among the 
Latins. He was born in Arcadia, on 
mount Cyllene. The day that he was 
born he gave proofs of his craftiness, in 
stealing away the oxen of Admetus, 
which Apollo" tended. He gave other 
pi oofs of Ills thievish propensity, by 
taking the quiver ainl arrows of Apollo ; 
and he increased his" fame by robbing 
Neptune of his trident, Venus of her 
girdle, Mars of his sword, Jupiter of his 
sceptre, and Vulcan of many of his me- 
chanical instruments. Jupiter then took 
him as his messenger, interpreter, and 
cup-bearer. He was presented by the 
king of heaven with a winged cap, called 
pctasus, and with wings for his feet, 
called talariu. As messenger of Jupiter, 
he was entrusted with all his secrets,and 
was the ambassador and plenipotentiary 
of the gods. The invention of the lyre 
and its seven strings is ascribed to him. 



This he gave to Apollo, and received / 
in exchange the celebrated cadnceus 
with which the god of poetry used to 
drive the flocks of king Admetus. [ Vid. 
Caduceus.] JE-te delivered Mars from the 
long confinement which he suffered from 
the superior power or the Aloides. He 
purified the Dan a ides of the murder of 
their husbands ; he tied Ixion to his 
wheel in the infernal regions; he de- 
stroyed the hundred-eyed'Argus ; he sold 
Hercules to Omphale, the queen of Ly- 
dia ; and he conducted Priam to the tent 
of Achilles, to redeem the body of hit 
son Hector. Mercury had many sur- 
names and epithets ; his amours were 
also numerous. His worship was well 
established, particularly in Greece, 
Egypt, and Italy. The Roman mer- 
chants yearly celebrated a festival on 
the 15th of May, in honor of Mercury, 
in a temple near the Circus Maximum. 
Here they intreated him to forgive 
whatever artful measures, false oaths, 
or falsehoods thev had used or uttered 
in the pursuit of gain. The chief en- 
signs of his power and offices are his 
caduceus, his petasns, and his talariu, 
Some of his statues represented him as 
a youth. The Greeks and Romans 
offered tongues to him, by throwing 
them inio the fire, as he was the patron 
of speaking, of which the tongue is the 
organ. Hunter. Ovid. Virg. &c— Tris- 
megistus, a priest and philosopher of 
Egypt, who taught his countrymen how- 
to cultivate the oii\e, meas'ure their 
lands, and to understand hieroglyphics. 
He lived in the age of Osiris, and wrote 
40 books on theology, medicine, and 
geography, from which Sanchoniathon, 
the Phoenician historian, has taken his 
tfieogmiia. Diod, Pint. 

•Meretrix, a name under 

which Venus was worshipped at Abydos 
and at Samos, because both those places 
had been benefited by the intrigues of 
courtesans. Athen. 

M ERIC us, a Spaniard who be- 
trayed Syracuse to Marcellus, the Ro- 
man general. In the triumph he ap- 
peared with a golden crown. Liv. 

MerIoxes, a charioteer of Ido- 

mencus, king of Crete, during the 1 to- 
jan war, son of Molus, a Cretan prince, 
and Melphidis. He signalized himself 
before Troy, and fought with Dciyho- 
bus, the son of Priam, whom he 
wounded. He was greatly admired by 
the Cretans, who even paid him divine 
honors after death. Horat. Homer. — 
A brother of Jason, sou of M son , famous 
for his great opulence, and for his ava- 
rice. 

Mermnad^e, a race of kings 
in Lydia, descendants of the HeraelLtse . 
of which Gyges was the first. They 
sat on the Lydian throne till the reign 
of Crresus, who was conquered by Cyrus, 
king of Persia. Herodvt. 



MES 



Meroe, an island of JE thiop i a, 

with a town of the same name. Its 
original name was Saba, and Cambyses 
gave it that of Meroe, from his sister. 
Strab. &c. 

Merope. The most remark- 
able of this name is one of the Allan- 
tides, who married Sisyphus, son of 
./Bolus, and, like her sisters, was changed 
into a constellation after death. \Vid. 
Pleiades.] It is said, that in the con- 
stellation of the Pleiades, the star of 
Merope appears more dim and obscure 
than the rest, because she, as the poets 
observe, married a mortal, while her 
sisters married some of the gods, or 
their descendants. Ovid. Diod. &c. — A 
daughter of (Enopion beloved by Orion. 
— A daughter of Erechtheus, mother of 
Da-daius.— Adaughterof Cypselus, who 
married Cresphontes,king of Messenia, 
by whom she had three children. Her 
husband and two of her children were 
murdered by Polyphonies. The mur- 
derer obliged her to marry him, and 
she would have been forced to comply, 
had not Epytus, or Telephonies, her 
third son, revenged his father's death by 
assassinating Polyphonies. Apollod. 

Merops, a king of the island 

of Cos, who married Clymene, one of 
the Oeeanides. He was changed into 
an eagle, and placed among the con- 
stellations. Ovid. &c. One of the com- 
panions of ./Eneas, killed by Turnus.— 
A celebrated soothsayer of Percosus, in 
Troas, who foretold the death of his 
sons, Adrastus and Amphius, who were 
engaged in the Trojan war. They 
slighted their father's advice, and were 
killed by Diomedes. Homer. 

Meros, a mountain of India, 
sacred to Jupiter. It is called by Pliny 
Nysa. Bacchus was educated upon it, 
whence arose the fable that Bacchus 
was confined in the thigh (^. £ P>)ofhis 
father. Mela. &c. 

Merula, Cornelius, a Ro- 
man, whom Octavius made consul in 
the place of Cinna. 

Mesarates, a eunuch in 
Persia, hayed alive by order of Pary- 
satis, because he had cut off" the head 
and right hand of Cyrus. Pint. 

Me s api a, an ancient name of 
Bceotia. 

Mesarius, a mountain of Bce- 
otia, near the banks of the Euripus. 

Mesemrria, a maritime city 
of Thrace. — Another at the mouth of 
the Lissus. 

Mesojuedes, a lyric poet in 
the reign of the emperor Antoninus. 

Mesopotamia, a country of 

Asia, which receives its name from its 
situation between the rivers Tigris and 
Euphrates. It is yearly inundated by 



MES 



the Euphrates, and the water properly 
conveyed over the country by canals". 
It is now called Diarbec. Strab. Mela. 
Mess Ala, a name of Valerius 

Corvinus, from his having conquered 
Messana, in Sicily. This family was 
very ancient : the mostcelebrated'wasa 
friend of Brutus, who seized the camp 
of Augustus at Philippi. He was after- 
wards reconciled to Augustus, and died, 
A. D. 9, in his 77th year. Pint. His 
eloquence, and knowledge of jurispru- 
dence, have rendered him known no 
less than his favor with the emperor. 
Horace hcis immortalized his name and 
his great qualities; and Tibullus has 
paid also particular honors to him, as 
his friend and liberal patron. 

Me s sal Ix a Vale ei a, a 

daughter of Messala Barbatus. Shemar- 
ried the emperor Claudius, and dis- 
graced herself by her cruelties and in- 
continence. Her husband's palace was 
not the only seat of her lascivionsness, 
but she prostituted herself in the public 
streets. Her extravagance at last irri- 
tated her husband, who commanded her 
to appear before him. She attempted to 
destroy herself, and when her courage 
failed, one of the tribunes who had been 
sent to her, despatched hei with his 
sword, A. D.48. Tacit.. Ik u. — Another, 
called also Statilia, who married Nero 
after he had murdered her husband. 
She, after the death of Nero, retired to 
literary pursuits and peaceful occupa- 
tions. Tacit. 

Messana, an ancient and ce- 
lebrated town of Sicily, on the straits 
which separate Italy from Sicily. It 
was anciently called Zancle, and was 
founded leco'years before the Christian 
era. The inhabitants were called Mes- 
senii, Messanienses, and Mamertini. 
The straits of Messana have always 
been looked upon as very dangerous, 
especially by the ancients, on account 
of the rapidity of the currents, and the 
irregular and violent flowing and ebbing 
of the sea. Strab. Mela. &c. 

Messapia, a country of Italy, 
between Tarentum and Brundusium, 
the same as Calabria. It received its 
name from Messapus, the son of Nep- 
tune, who left a part of Bceotia, called 
Messapia, and came to Italy, where he 
assisted the B.utulians aKainst ^Eneas. 
Virg. 

MessEne, a daughter of Trio- 
pas, king of Argos, who married Poly- 
caon, son of Lelex, king of Laconia. 
She encouraged her husband to levy 
troops, and to seize Peloponnesus, 
which, after it had been conquered, 
receiveel her name. She receiveel di- 
vine honors after death. Pans. 

Messene or Messena, a city 

in the Peloponnesus, the capital of the 
country called Messenia,which is situate 



MET 



MET 



between Laconia, Ells, Areadia,and the 
sea. The inhabitants have rendered 
themselves famous for the three wars 
which they carried on against the Spar- 
tans, which received the appellation of 
Messenian. 

MESSEXIA, a province of Pelo- 
ponnesus. \Vid. Messene.] 

Mestoe, son of Perseus and 
Andromeda, and father of Hippothoe. 

Mesula, a town of the Sabines. 

Metabus, a tyrant of the Pri- 
vernates. He was father of Camilla, 
whom he consecrated to the service of 
Diana, when he had been banished 
from his kingdom by his subjects. Virg. 

Metagitnia, a festival in 
honor of Apollo, celebrated by the in- 
habitants of Melite, who migrated to 
Attica. It receives its name from its 
being observed in the month called Me- 
tagitnion. 

Me tax Ira, the wife of Ce= 

leus, king of Eleusis, who first taught 
mankind agriculture. Apollod. 

Metafoxtum, a town of Lu- 
cania, in Italy, founded about 12G9 
years B. C. by Metabus, the father of 
Camilla or Epeus, one of the compa- 
nions of Nestor. Pythagoras retired 
there for some time, "and perished in a 
sedition. Hannibal made it his head- 
quarters ; and its attachment to Car- 
thage was punished by the Romans by 
depriving it of its liberty and inde- 
pendence. Strab. Mela. 

Metapoxtus, a son of Sisy- 
phus, who married Theano. 

METAURUs,atown in Umbria, 
famous for the defeat of Asdrubal by 
the consuls Nero and Livy. 

Me tel li, the surname of the 
family of the Csecilii at Rome, the most 
known of whom was Q. Cascilius, who 
rendered himself illustrious by his suc- 
cesses against Jugurtha, the Numidian 
king, from which he was surnamed 
Numidicus. He took Marius as his 
lieutenant, who raised himself to power 
by defaming the character of his bene- 
factor, and Metellus was recalled to 
Rome, and accused of extortion. Ma- 
rius was appointed successor, and Me- 
tellus was acquitted before the tribunal 
of the Roman knights, who observed 
that the probity of his life, and the 
greatness of his exploits, were greater 
proofs of his innocence than the most 
powerful arguments. — Another, who 
saved from" the flames the Palladium, 
when Vesta's temple was on fire. He 
was then high-priest.— Q. Caecilius Ce- 
ler, another, who distinguished himself 
by his spirited exertions against Cati- 
line. — L. Caecilius, a tribune in the 
civil wars of J. Caesar and Pompey. 
He favored the cause of Pompey, and 
opposed Caesar, when he entered Rome 



with a vi cto r ious army. — Q. Csecilius, 
a warlike general, who conquered Crete 
and Macedonia, and was surnamed 
Macedonicus. — A general of the Roman 
armies against the Sicilians and Cartha- 
ginians.— LuciusCseciliusAvassurnamed 
Creticus from his conquest in Crete, 
B. C. 66.— Another, surnamed Dalma- 
ticus, from his conquest over Dalmatia. 
Vol. Max. Plin. Phit. Liv. &c. 

Metharma, a daughter of 
Pygmalion, king of Cyprus,and mother 
of Adonis, by Cinyras. Apollod. 

MethOXE. A town of Ma- 
cedonia, south of Pella, in the siege of 
which, according to Justin, Philip lost 
his right eye.— A town of Peloponne- 
sus, where king Philip gained his first 
battle over the Athenians, B. C. 3G0. 

Methymxa, a town of the 
island of Lesbos, which receives its 
name from a daughter of Macareus. It 
is the second city of the island in popu- 
lation and opulence, and its wines are 
excellent. It was the native place of 
Arion. [ Vid. Arion.] When the whole 
island of Lesbos revolted from the power 
of the Athenians, Methymna alone re- 
mained firm to its aneknt allies. Diod. 
Thncyd. &c. 

Metilii, a patrician family, 
brought from Alba to Rome by Tubus 
Hostilius. Dionys. Hal. 

Metiochus, a son of Mild- 

ades, who was taken by the Phoenicians, 
and given to Darius, king of Persia. 
He was tenderly treated by the monarch, 
though his father had conquered the 
Persian armies in the plains of Mara- 
thon. Plat. Herodot. 

Metiox, a son of Erechtheus, 
king of Athens, and Praxithea. He 
married Aleippe, daughter of Mars arid 
Agraulos. His sons drove Pandiou from 
the throne of Athens, and were after- 
wards expelled by Pandion's children. 
Paws. 

Metis, one of the Oceanides, 
She was Jupiter's first wife, and was 
celebrated for her prudence above the 
rest of the gods. Jupiter, afraid lest 
she should bring forth a child more 
cunning and greater than himself, de- 
voured her in the first month of her 
pregnancy. Some time after this ad- 
venture the god had his head opened, 
from which issued Minerva armed from 
head to foot. According to Apollodorus, 
Metis gave a potion to Saturn, and 
obliged him to throw up the children 
he had devoured. Hesiod. &c. 

Metius SuFFETius,a dictator 
of Alba, in the reign of Tullus Hostilius. 
He fought against the Romans, and at 
last proposed a single combat between 
the Horatii and Curiatii. The Albans 
were conquered, and Metius promised 
to assist the Romans against their ene- 



MET 



MIL 



mies. In aoattle against the Veientes 
and Fidenates, Melius showed his in- 
fidelity by forsaking the Romans afc the 
first onset. The Romans obtained the 
victory, and Tullus ordered Melius to 
be tied between two chariots, which 
were drawn by four horses two different 
ways, and his limbs were torn away 
from his body, about 669 years before 
the Christian era. Liu. Flor. Virg. 

Metcecia, festivals held in 
commemoration of the people of Attica 
having removed to Athens. They were 
instituted by Theseus. 

Me ton, an astrologer and ma- 
thematician of Athens. In a book 
called Enneadecaterides, or the cycle of 
19 years, he endeavoured to adjust the 
course of the sun and of the moon, and 
supported that the solar and lunar years 
could regularly begin from the same 
points in the heavens. This is called 
by the moderns the golden numbers. 
He flourished B. C. 432. Vitruv. Plut. 

PtIetope, the wife of the river 
Sangarius. She was mother of Hecuba. 
— The daughter of Ladon, who mar- 
ried the Asopus. 

Metra, a daughter of Ere- 
sichthon, a Thessalian prince, beloved 
by Neptune. When her father had 
spent his fortune to gratify his canine 
hunger, she prostituted herself, and 
received for reward oxen, &c. which 
she presented to Eresiehthon. Some 
say, that she had received from Nep- 
tune the power of changing herself into 
whatever animal she pleased, and that 
her father sold her continually to gra- 
tify his hunger, and that she instantly 
assumed a different shape, and became 
again his property. Ovid. 

Metrocles, a pupil of Theo- 
phiastus, who, when he grew old and 
infirm, suffocated himself. 

MetrodOrus, a physician of 
Chios, B. C. 444. He was disciple of 
Derriocritus, and had Hippocrates 
among his pupils. He supported that 
the world was eternal and infinite, and 
denied the existence of motion. Diog. 
—A painter and philosopher of Strato- 
nice, B. C. m. He was sent to Paulus 
yEmilius, who, after the conquest of 
Perseus, demanded of the Athenians a 
philosopher and a painter, the former 
to instruct his children, and the latter 
to make a painting of his triumphs. 
Metrodorus was sent, as in him alone 
were united the philosopher and the 
painter. Gic. Diog.— A. friend of Mi- 
thridates, sent as ambassador to Ti- 
granes, king of Armenia, He was re- 
markable for his learning, moderation, 
humanity, and justice. He was put to 
death by his roval master for his in- 
fidelity, B. C.72. Strab. Pint. 

METTius,aGa!lian chief whom 
Juiius Caesar imprisoned. 



Mevania, now Bevagna, a 

town of Umbria, on the Clitumnus, the 
birth-place of the poet Propertius. Pro* 
pe> t. 

Mezentius, a king of the 
Tyrrhenians when jEueas came into 
Italy. He was remarkable for his cru- 
elties. He was expelled by his subjects, 
and fled to Turnus, who employed him 
in his war against the Trojans. He was 
killed by ^Eneas. Virg. Justin. &c. 

Mice a, a virgin of Elis, mur- 
dered by Lucius. 

Micipsa, a king of Numidia, 
son of Masinissa, who, at his death, 
B. C. 119, left his kingdom between hU 
sons Adherbal and Hiempsal, and his 
nephew Jugurtha. Jugurtha abused 
his uncle's favor? by murdering his two 
sons. Sallust. &c. 

Micythus, a young man, 

whom Diomedon employed to attempt 
bribing Epaminondas. 

Midas, a king of Phrygia, son 

of Gordius or Gorgius. In consequence 
of the hospitality he showed toSilenus, 
the preceptor of Bacchus, who had been 
brought to him by some peasants, lie 
was permitted by the god to choose 
whatever recompense he pleased. He- 
had the avarice to demand that whatever 
he touched, might be turned into goiri. 
His prayer was granted, but When the 
very meats which he attempted to eat 
became gold in his mouth, he begged 
Bacchus to take away so fatal a present. 
He was then ordered to wash himself 
in the river Pactolus, whose sands were 
turned into gold by the touch of Midas. 
Some time after this adventure Midas 
supported that Pan was superior to 
Apollo in singing and playing upon the 
flute.for which rash opinion the offended 
god changed his ears into those of an ass , 
to show his ignorance and stupidity. 
This Midas attempted to conceal, but 
one of his servants saw the length of 
his ears, and opened a hole in the earth, 
and, after he had whispered there that 
Midas had the ears of an ass, he covered- 
the place as before. On that place, as 
the poets mention, grew a number of 
reeds, which, when agitated by the wind . 
uttered the same sound that had been 
buried beneath, and published to the- 
world that Midas had the ears of an 
ass. Some explain the fable of the ears 
of Midas, by the supposition that he 
kept a number of informers and spies, 
who were continually employed in ga- 
thering every seditious word that might 
drop from the mouths of his subject?. 
Ovid. Plut. Hygin. 

Milesii, the inhabitants of Mi- 
letus. [Vid. Miletus.] 

MiLETiuM,atown of Calabriaj 

built by the people of Miletus of Asia. 

Miletus, a son of Apollo, who 



MIL 



MIN 



fled from Crete to avoid the wrath of 
Minos, whom he meditated to dethrone, 
lie came to Caria, where he built or 
conquered a city, which he called by 
his own name. S!rab. Ovid. — A cele- 
brated town of Asia Minor, the capital 
of all Ionia, situate about ten stadia 
south of the mouth of the river Mae- 
ander, near the sea-coast, on the eon*- 
fines of Ionia and Caria. It was founded, 
as it is generally received, by a Cretan 
colony under Miletus. Miletus gave 
birth to Thales, Anaximenes, Anaxr- 
mander, Hecatasus, Timotheus the mu- 
sician, Pittacus, one of the seven wise 
men, &c. Miletus was also famous for 
a temple and an oracle of Apollo Didy- 
masus, and for its excellent wool. Virg. 
Strab. &c 

Milichus, a freedman who 

discovered Piso's conspiracy against 
Nero. Tacit. 

Milo, a celebrated athlete of 
Crotona in Italy. It is said that he cai- 
ried on his shoulders a young bullock 
four years old, for above 40 yards, and 
afterwards killed it at one blow of his 
fist, and ate it up in one day. He was 
seven times crowned at the Pythian 
games, and six at Olympia. Oui'd. Cic 
&c. — T. Annius, a native of Lanuvium, 
who attempted to obtain the consulship 
at Rome. Clodius the tribune opposed 
his views, yet Milo would have suc- 
ceeded had not an unfortunate rencontre 
taken place between his suite and that 
of Clodius, as he was going to the coun- 
try. Clodius and eleven of his servants 
were killed, and the body of the mur- 
dered tribune was carried to Rome, and 
exposed to public view. Cicero under- 
took the defence of Milo, but with no 
effect ; he was condemned and banished 
to Massilia. Cic, Paterc^-A general of 
the forces of Pyrrhus. He was made 
governor of Tarentum, and, that he 
might be reminded of his duty to his 
sovereign, Pyrrhus sent him, as a pre- 
sent, a chain, which was covered with 
the skin of Nicias the physician, who 
had perfidiously offered the Romans to 
poison his royai master for a sum of 
money. Polycen. 

Mieonitjs, a drunken buffoon 
at Rome, accustomed to dance when 
intoxicated. Horat. 

Miltiades. There were two 
of this name recorded in ancient history, 
both Athenians : one the son of Cvps'e- 
lus, the other the celebrated captain, 
the son of Cimon, who made himself 
absolute in the Chersonesus, whither 
he was sent bv the Athenians, and who, 
some time after, signalized himself so 
much by the victory at Marathon, over 
the Persian army. [Fid. Marathon.] 
Some time after this battle Miltiades 
was entrusted with a fleet of 70 ships, 
and ordered to punish those islands' 
which had revolted to the Persians. He 



was successful at first, but a sudden re- 
port that the Persian fleet was coming 
to attack him, changed his operations 
as he was bjsieging Paros. He raised 
the siege, and returned to Athens, where 
he was accused of treason, and particu- 
larly of holding correspondence with the 
enemy. A wound which he had received 
before Paros detained him at home from 
making his defence, and his enemies 
taking advantage of his absence, he was 
condemned to death, but the rigor of 
the sentence was retracted on the recol- 
lection of his great services to the Athe- 
nians : he was put into prison till he 
had paid a fine of fifty talents to the 
state. His inability detained him in 
confinement, and soon after his wounds 
became incurable, and he died about 
4S9 years before the Christian era. His 
body was ransomed by his son Cimon, 
who was obliged to borrow and pay the 
50 talents, to give his father a decent 
funeral. C. Nep. Herodot. &e. 

Mil to, a favorite mistress of 
Cyrus the younger. [Vid. Aspasia.] 

Milvitjs, a bridge over the 
Tiber, now called Pont de Molle. 

Milyas, a country of Asia 
Minor, better known by the name of 
Lycia. 

Mimallones, the Bacchanals, 
who, when they celebrated the orgies 
of Bacchus, put horns on their heads. 
They were also called Mimallonides. 
Stat. 

Mimas, a giant whom Jupiter 
destroyed with thunder. Horat. — A 
Trojan, son of Theano and Amycus, 
born on the same night as Paris, with 
whom he lived in great intimacy. He 
followed the fortune of .Eneas, and was 
killed by Mezentius. Virg. — A high 
mountain of Asia Minor, near Colophon. 

Mimnermus, a&reekpoet and 
musician of Colophon, in the age of 
Sol n. He chiefly excelled in elegiac 
poetry, whence some have attributed 
the invention of it to him. In the ex- 
pression of love Propertins prefers him 
to Homer, as this verse shows : 
Pius in anwre valet Mimnermi versus 
Homer o. 

Some few fragments of his poetry re- 
main. He is supposed by some, to be 
the inventor of the pentameter verse, 
which others, however, attribute to 
Callinus or Archilochus. 

Mi nci us, a river of Venetia, 
flowing from the lake Benacus, and 
falling into the Po. Virgil was born on 
its banks. Virg. 

Mindahus, a Spartan admiral, 
during the Pcloponnesian war, defeated 
by the Athenians. 

Mineides, the daughters of 
Minyasor Mineus,kingof Orchomenos, 
in Boeotia. They were three in number, 
Leuconoe, Lucippe, and Alcithoe. Ovid 
N 



MIN 



MIN 



calls the two first Clymene and Iris. 
They derided the orgies of Bacchus, for 
which impiety the god inspired them 
with an unconquerable desire of eating 
human flesh. They drew lots which of 
them should give up her son as food to 
the rest. The lot fell upon Leueippe, 
and she gave up her son Hippasus, who 
was instantly devoured by the three 
sisters. They were changed into bats. 
Ovid. 

Minerva, the goddess of wis- 
dom, war, and all the liberal arts, was 
produced from Jupiter's brain without 
a mother. The god married Metis,, 
whose superior prudence made him 
apprehend that the children of such 
an union would be move intelligent 
than their fatfTer. To prevent this, 
Jupiter devoured Metis in her preg- 
nancy, and, some time after, to re- 
lieve the pains which he suffered in 
his head, he ordered Vulcan to cleave 
it open. Minerva came all armed and 
grown up from her father's brain, and 
immediately was admitted into the 
^assembly of the gods. The power of 
Minerva was great in heaven, and she 
was the only' one of all the divinities 
whose authontyand consequence were 
equal to those of Jupiter. The actions 
of Minerva are numerous. Her quarrel 
with Neptune concerning the right of 
giving a name to the capital of Cecropia 
deserves attention. The assembly of the 
gods settled the dispute by promising 
the preference to whomsoever of the 
two gave the most useful present to the 
inhabitants of- the earth. Neptune, 
upon this, struck the ground with his 
trident, and immediately a horse issued 
from the earth. Minerva produced the 
olive, and obtained the victory by the 
unanimous voice of the gods, who ob- 
served that the olive, which is the em- 
blem of peace, is far preferable to the 
horse, which is the symbol of war. The 
victorious deity called the capital Athe- 
na?, and became the tutelar goddess of 
the place. Minerva was always very 
jealous of her power, and the manner in 
which she punished the presumption of 
Arachne is well known. [ Vid. Arachne.] 
The attempts of Vulcan to offer her 
violence are strong marks of her virtue. 
[Vid. Erichthonius.] She was known 
among the ancients by many names. 
She was called Athena, Pallas, [Vid. 
Pallas] and Parthenos, from her remain- 
ing in perpetual celibacy. The worship 
of Minerva was universally established ; 
she had magnificent temples in Egypt, 
Phoenicia, all parts of Greece, Italy, 
Gaul, and Sicily. The festivals cele- 
brated in her honor were solemn and 
magnificent. [Vid, Panathensea.] She 
was invoked by every artist, and parti- 
cularly such as worked in wool, embroi- 
dery, painting and sculpture. Minerya 
was represented in different ways, ac- 
cording to the different characters in 
which she appeared. She was usually 



represented with a helmet on her head, 
with a large plume nodding in the air. 
In one hand she held a spear, and in the 
other a shield, with the dying head of 
Medusa upon it. Sometimes this Gor- 
gon's head was on her breast-plate, with 
living serpents writhing round it, as well 
as round her shield and helmet. When 
she appeared as the goddess of the liberal 
arts, she was arrayed in a variegated 
veil, which the ancients called peplum. 
She was partial to the olive-tree ; the 
owl and the cock were her favorite birds, 
and the dragon among reptiles was sa- 
cred to her. Pans. Horat. Virg. Strub. 
Ovid. Cic. &c- — The functions, offices, 
and actions of Minerva seem so numer- 
ous, that they undoubtedly originate in 
more than one person. Cicero speaks of 
five persons of this name ; a Minerva, 
mother of Apollo ; a daughter of the 
Nile, who was worshipped at Sais, in 
Egypt; a third, born from Jupiter's 
brain; a fourth, daughter of Jupiter 
and Cory pl^e ; and a fifth, daughter of 
Pallas, generally represented with wing- 
ed shoes. 

Minerva Promontorium, 

a cape at the southern extremity of 
Campania. 
MiNERVALiA,festivals at Rome 

in honor of Minerva, celebrated in the 
months of March and June. During 
the solemnity, scholars obtained some 
relaxation from their studious pursuits, 
and the present which it was usual for 
them to offer to their masters was called 
Minerval, in honor of the goddess Mi- 
nerva, who patronized literature. Vatro. 
Ovid. Trist. 

MiNio,an Etrurian river.falling 

into the Tyrrhene sea, now called Mig- 
none. 

MiNNiiE. a people of Arabia* 

on the Red Sea. 

Minoa, a town of Crete. — A 
town of Peloponnesus. — A town in Sicily 
built by Minos. 

Minois, belonging to Minos. — 

A patronymic of Ariadne. Ovid. 

Minos, a idng of Crete, son of 
Jupiter and Europa, who gave laws to 
his subjects, B. C. 1406, which still re- 
mained in full force in the age of the 
philosopher Plato. His justice and mo- 
deration procured him the appellation 
of the favorite of the gods, and the wise 
legislator ; and, according to the poets, 
he was rewarded for his equity, after 
death, with the office of supreme judge 
in the infernal regions. In tins capacity 
he is represented sitting in the middle 
of the shades, and holding a sceptre in 
his hand. The dead plead their different 
causes before him, and the impartial 
judge shakes the fatal urn, which is 
filled with the destinies of mankind. 
Homer. Virg. Horat. &c— The second 
was a son of Lycastes, the son of Minos. 



MIN 



MIS 



I. and king of Crete. He married Pasi- 
phae, the daughter of Sol and Perseis, 
and by her he had many children. He 
showed himself cruel in the war which 
he carried on against the Athenians,who 
had put to death his son Androgeos. 
[VicL Androgeos.] He took Megara by 
the treachery of Seyila, [Fid. Seylia] 
and, not satisfied with a victory, he 
obliged the vanquished to bring him 
yearly to Crete seven chosen boys, and 
the same number of virgins, to be de- 
voured by the Minotaur. \Vid. Mino- 
taurus.] This bloody tribute was at last 
abolished when Theseus had destroyed 
the monster. [Fid. Theseus.] He was 
at last put to death by Cocalus, king of 
Sicily, who had given an asylum to Dae- 
dalus, [ Vid. Daedalus] whom lie pursued 
from Crete for ministering to the unna- 
tural desires of Pasiphae. Pans, Pint. 
Ovid. Virg. &c. 

M ix o taurus, a celebrated 
monster, half a man and half a bull, 
according to Ovid. It was the fruit of 
Pasiphae' s amour with a bull. Minos 
refused to sacrifice a white bull to Nep- 
tune, an animal which he had received 
from the god for that purpose. This of- 
fended Neptune, and he made Pasiphae, 
the wife of Minos, enamoured of this 
bulL Daedalus prostituted his talents 
in being subservient to the queen's un- 
natural desires, aiid, by his means, Pa- 
siphae's horrible passions were gratified, 
and the Minotaur came into the world. 
Minos confined in the labyrinth a mon- 
ster which showed his wife's indecency. 
The Minotaur was at length killed by 
Theseus, who was one o;' the trioutary 
Athenian youths to be devoured by it. 
Theseus received, it is said, a clue from 
Ariadne, which served to extricate him 
from the mazes of the labyrinth, and to 
effect his escape after he slew the Mino- 
taur. The tradition of the Minotaur, 
and of the commerce of Pasiphae with 
a bull, is explained by making her ena- 
moured of one of her husband's courti- 
ers, called Taurus, whom she met at the 
houseof Daedalus, and also by supposing 
her to bring fotth twins, one resembling 
Minos, the other Taurus. Ovid. Hi/gin. 
Virg. 

Minthe, a daughter of Cocy- 
tus, loved by Pluto. Proserpine disco- 
vered her husband's amour ,and changed 
his mistress in o a herb, called by the 
same name, mint. Ovid. 

MiNTURNiE, a town of Cam- 
pania, between Sinuessa and Formiae. 
It was in the marshes in its neighbour- 
hood that Marius concealed himself in 
the mud, to avoid the partisans of Sylla. 
The people condemned him to death ; — 
but when his voice and manner had 
terrified the executioner, they showed 
themsel v e s co m pass i e n ate , and f a v oured 
his escape. [ Vid. Marius.] 

jVIiNUTiA, a vestal virgin, ac- 
cused of debauchery on account of the 



beauty and elegance of her dress. She 
was condemned to be buried alive be- 
cause a female supported the false accu- 
sation, A. U. C- 418. Liv. 

Minutius, a name common to 
some eminent Romans, the most re- 
markable of whom is — Rufus, a master 
ofhorse to the dictator Fabius Maximus. 
His disobedience to the commands of 
the dictator was productive of an exten- 
sion of his prerogative, and the master 
of the horse was declared equal in power 
to the dictator. Minutius, soon after 
this, fought with ill success against An- 
nibal, and was saved by the interference 
of Fabius ; which circumstance had such 
an effect upon him that he laid down 
his power at the feet of his deliverer, 
and swore that he would never act again 
but by his directions. He was. killed at 
the battle of Cannae. C. Nep. — A Roman 
consul, who defended Coriolanus from 
the insults of the people. — An officer 
under Caesar in Gaul, who afterwards 
became one of the conspirators. — A 
Tribune,who warmly opposed the views 
of C. Gracchus. — Felix, an African 
lawyer, who nourished 207 A. D. He 
wrote an elegant dialogue in defence of 
the Christian religion, called Octavins, 
from the principal speaker in it. This 
book was long attributed to Arnobius. 

Minyje. a name given to the 
j inhabitants of Orchomenos, in Boeotia, 
from Minyas, king of the country. Or- 
chomenos," the son of Minyas, gave his 
name to the capital of the country, and 
the inhabitants still retained their ori- 
ginal appellation in contradistinction to 
the Orchom nians of Arcadia. 

Minyas, a king of Boeotia, son 
of Neptune and Tritogenia, the daugh- 
ter of ^Eolus. He married Clytodora, 
by whom he had Presbon .Pcriclymenus, 
and Eteoclymenus. He was father of 
Orchomenos, Diochithoades, and Atha- 
mas, by a second marriage with Phana- 
sora, the daughter of Paon. According 
to Plutarch and Ovid he had three 
daughters, called Leuconoe, Alcithoe, 
and Leucippe. They were changed into 
bats. [Vid. Mineides.] Faux. 

Minycus, a river of Thessaly, 
falling into the sea near Arene, called 
afterwards Orchomenos. Homer. Strab. 

Minyia, a festival observed at 
Orchomenos in honor of Minyas, the 
king of the place. 

Misenus, a son of yEolus, who 
was piper to Hector. After Hector's 
death he followed /Eneas, and was 
drowned on the coast of Campania, be- 
cause he had challenged one of the Tri- 
tons. iEneas afterwards found his body 
on the sea-shore, and buried it on a pro- 
montory which bears his name. There 
was also a town of the same name on 
the promontory, at the west of the bay 
of Naples. Virg. Strab. &c. 

MisiTHEUs,a Roman, celebrat- 

N 2 



MIT 



MIT 



edfor his virtues and his misfortunes. 
He was father-in-law to the emperor 
Gordian, whose counsels and actions he 
guided by his prudence and moderation. 
He was "sacrificed to the ambition of 
Philip, a wicked senator, who succeeded 
him as prefect of the praetorian guards. 
He died A. D. 243, and left all his pos- 
sessions to be appropriated for the good 
of the republic. 

Mithracenses, a Persian, 
who after the murder of Darius fled to 
Alexander. 

Mi thr ad at es, a herdsman of 
Astyages, ordered to put young Cyrus 
to death. He refused, and educated him 
at home as his own son, &c. Herodot. 
Justin. 

Mithras, a god of Persia, sup- 
posed to be the sun. His worship was 
introduced at Rome, and the Romans 
raised him altars, on which was this in- 
scription, Deo Soli MitkrtB, or Soli Deo 
invicto Mithrce. He is generally repre- 
sented as a young man, whose head is 
covered with a turban, after the manner 
of the Persians. He supports his knee 
upon a bull that lies on the ground, and 
one of whose horns he holds in one 
hand, while with the other he plunges a 
dagger into hjs neck. Stat. Curt. 

Mithrexes, a Persian who 
betrayed Sardes. Quint. Curt. 

Mithridates. This name 

was common to seven kings of Pontus : 
the most conspicuous and celebrated of 
them is the last, surnamed Eupator, and 
The Great, who succeeded his father 
Mithridates VI. though only at the age 
of 11 years. The beginning of his reign 
was marked with cruelty and artifice. 
He murdered his own mother, who had 
been left by his father coheiress of the 
kingdom, and he fortified his constitu- 
tion by drinking antidotes against the 
poison with which his enemies at court 
attempted to destroy him. Naturally 
ambitious and cruel, he spared no pains 
to acquire himself power and dominion. 
He murdered the two sons whom his 
sister Laodicehad by Ariarathes, king of 
Cappadccia, and placed one of his own 
children, only eight years old, on the 
vacant throne. The "Romans became 
the arbiters in the appointment of the 
trfeie successor, and having discovered 
dissimulation and fraud both on the side 
of Nicomedes, king of Bithynia, and 
Mithridates, they took away the king- 
dom of Cappadoeia from Mithridates, 
and Paphlagonia from Nicomedes. This 
was the first ground of enmity between 
Rome and the king of Pontus. [Vid. 
Mithridatieum bellum.] Mithridates 
then meditated retaliation, and the 
more effectually to destroy their power 
in Asia, be ordered all the'Romans that 
were in his dominions to be massacred. 
This was done in one night, and no less 
than 150,000, according to Plutarch, or 



80,000 Romans, as Appian mentions, 
were made at one blow the victims of 
his cruelty. This universal massacre 
called aloud for revenge. Aquilius, and 
soon after Sylla, marched against Mi- 
thridates with a large army. The former 
was made prisoner, but Sylla obtained 
a victory over the king's generals, and 
another decisive engagement rendered 
him master of all Greece, Macedonia, 
Ionia, arid Asia Minor, which had sub- 
mitted to the victorious arms of the 
monarch of Pontus. Mithridates, weak- 
ened by repeated ill success by sea and 
land, sued for peace, which he obtained, 
on condition of defraying the expenses 
which the Romans had incurred by the 
war, and of remaining satisfied with the 
possessions which he had received from 
his ancestors. While these negotiations 
of peace were carried on, Mithridates 
was not unmindful of his real interest. 
His poverty, and not his inclinations, 
obliged him to wish for peace. He, 
however, shortly after took the field with 
an army of 140,000 infantry, and 10,000 
horse. "Lucullus, the consul, marched 
into Asia, and without delay blocked 
up the camp of Mithridates, who was 
then besieging Cyzicus. The Asiatic 
monarch escaped from him, and fled 
into the heart of his kingdom. The ap- 
pointment of Glabrio to the command 
of the Roman forces, instead of Lucul- 
lus, was favorable to Mithridates, and 
he recovered the greatest part of his do- 
minions. The sudden arrival of Pom- 
pey, however, soon put an end to his 
victories. A battle, in the night, was 
fought near the^Euphrates, in which an 
universal overthrow ensued, and Mi- 
thridates, bold in his misfortunes, rush- 
ed through the thick ranks of the enemy, 
at the head of 800 horsemen, 500 of 
which perished in the attempt to follow 
him. He fled to Tigranes, but that 
monarch refused an asylum to his fa- 
ther-in-law, whom he had before sup- 
ported with all the collected forces of 
his kingdom. Mithridates, however, 
found a safe retreat among the Scythi- 
ans. His subjects, at last, refused to 
follow him any longer ,and they revolted 
from him, and made his son Pharnaces 
king. The son showed himself ungrate- 
ful to his father. This broke the heart 
of Mithridates; he obliged his wife to 
poison herself, and attempted to do the 
same himself; but the frequent antidotes 
he had taken in the early part of his life 
strengthened his constitution againstthe 
poison, and, when this was unavailing, 
he attempted to stab himself. The blow 
was not mortal, and a Gaul, who was 
then present, at his own request, gave 
him the fatal stroke, about 03 years 
B. C. in the 72d year of his age. Such 
were the misfortunes, abilities, and mi- 
serable end of a man, who supported 
himself so long against the power of 
Rome. Mithridates has been commend- 
ed for his eminent virtues, and certstn-jd 



MNA 



MCES 



for his vices. He was the greatest mon- 
arch that ever sat on a throne, according 
to the opinion of Cicero. His skill in 
phvsic is well known, and even now 
the're is a celebrated antidote which 
bears his name, and is called Mithridate, 
Justin. Strab, Diod. &c— This name is 
common also to other kings in Armenia, 
Pergamus, Pontus, and Parthia. 

MlTHRIDATICUM BELLUM, 
began 89 years B. C. , and was one of the 
longest andmost celebrated wars ever car- 
ried on by the Romans against a foreign 
power. The ambition of Mithridates 
VII. king of Pontus, from whom it re- 
ceives its name, may be called the cause 
and origin of it. His views upon the 
kingdom of Cappadocia, of which he 
was stripped by the Romans, first en- 
gaged him to take up arms against the 
republic. \_Vid. Mithridates VII.] Ac- 
cording to Justin, Orosius, Floras, and 
Eutropius, it lasted for 40 years ; but 
the opinion of others, who fix its dura- 
tion to 30 years, is far more credible ; 
and, upon proper calculation, there 
elapsed no more than 26 years from the 
time that Mithridates first entered the 
field against the Romans till the time of 
his death. 

Mithridatis, a daughter of 
Mithridates the Great. She was poison- 
ed by her father. 

MlTYLENE and MlTYLENiE, 
the capital city of the island of Lesbos, 
which received its name from Mitylene, 
the daughter of Macareus, a king of the 
country. It is greatly commended by 
the ancients for the stateliness of its 
buildings, and the fruitfulness of its 
soil, but more particularly for the great 
men it produced. Pittacus, Alcceus, 
Sappho, Terpander, Theophanes, Hel- 
lenicus, &c. were all natives of Mity- 
lene. It was long a seat of learning, 
and, with Rhodes and Athens, it had the 
honor of having educated many of the 
great men of Rome and Greece. In 
the Peloponnesian war the Mityleneans 
suffered greatly for their revolt from the 
power of Athens ; and, in the Mithri- 
datic wars, they had the boldness to 
resist the Romans, and disdain the trea- 
ties which had been made between Mi- 
t. ridatesand Sylla. Cic. Strab. Diod. &c. 

IMxasias, an historian of Phoe- 
nicia. — Another o-f Colophon. — A third 
of Patra.-, in Achaia, who flourished 
141 B. C. 

Mnasilus, a youth who as- 
sisted Chromis to tie the old Silenus, 
whom they found asleep in a cave. 
Some imagine that Virgil spoke of Varus 
under the name of Mnasilus. 

Mnasippus 9 a Lacedemonian 
sent to Corey ra with 1500 men and 05 
ships. 

Mnasox, tyrant of Elatia, who 

for twelve pictures of twelve gods gave 
1200 pieces of gold. 



Mnemon, a surname given to 

"Artaxerxes, on account of his retentive 
memory. C. Nep. 

Mnemosyne, a daughter of 
Ccelus and Terra, mother of the nine 
Muses, by Jupiter, who assumed the 
shape of a shepherd to enjoy her com- 
pany. The word Mnemosyne signifies 
memory, and therefore the poets have 
rightly called Memory the mother of 
the Muses, because it is to it that man- 
kind are indebted for their progress in 
science. Ovid. Pindar. Hesiod.—A foun- 
tain of Bceotia, whose waters were gene- 
rally drunk by those who consulted the 
oracle of Trephonius. Pans. 

Mnesarchus, a celebrated 

philosopher of Greece. Cic. 

Mnesilaus, son of Pollux and 

Phcebe. 

MNESTER,a freedman of Agrip- 

pina, who murdered himself at the death 
of his mistress. Tacit. 

Mnestheus, a Trojan, de- 
scended from Assaracus. He obtained 
the prize given to the best sailing vessel 
by iEneas, at the funeral games of An- 
chises, in Sicily, and became the proge- 
nitor of the family of the Memmii, at 
Rome. Virg. — A freedman of Aureiian. 
— A son of Peteus. 

Mnest ia, daughter of Danaus. 

Mxevis, a celebrated bull, sa- 
cred to the Sun in the town of Heliopo- 
lis. He was worshipped with the same 
superstitious ceremonies as Apis, and, 
at his death, he received the most mag- 
nificent funeral. He was the emblem of 
Osiris. Diod. Pint. 

M(epi, a people of Thrace, 

conquered by Philip of Macedonia, 

Moenus, now the May tie ^ a 
river of Germany, which falls into the 
Rhine by Mentz. Tacit. 

Mgeragetes, fatorum ductor, 
a surname of Jupiter. Pans. 

Mceris, a steward of the shep- 
herd Menalcas, in Virgil, Eel. 9. — A 
king of Egypt, the last of the 300 kings 
from Menes to Sesostris. He reigned 08 
years. Herodotus. — A celebrated lake in 
Egypt, supposed to have been dug by 
the king of the same name. It is about 
220 miles in circumference, and intend- 
ed as a reservoir for the waters during 
the inundation of the Nile. There were 
two pyramids in it, 600 feet high, half 
of which lay under the water, and the 
other appeared above the surface. Hero- 
dot. Mela. 

M(ESiA, a country of Europe, 
bounded on the south by the mountains 
of Dalmatia, north by mo" t Haemus, 
extending from the confluence of the 
Savus and the Ister to the Euxine. It 
was divided into Upper and Lower Mce- 
sia. Lower Mcesia was on the borders 
of the Euxine, and contained that tract 



MOM 



MOR 



of country which is now part of Bulga- 
ria. Upper Moesialies beyond the other, 
in the inland country, now called Servia. 
Plin. Virg, 

Mol^, daughters of Mars, said 
to have been changed into millstones. 
They were worshipped by millers, 
and were called daughters of Mars, be- 
cause this god, as presiding over war, 
destroys men as the mill-stone crushes 
the corn. 

Molion, a Trojan prince who 

distinguished himself in the defence of 
his country against the Greeks, as the 
friend and companion of Thymbrseus. 
They were slain by Ulysses and Diome- 
des. Homer. 

Molioke, the wife of Actor, 
son of Phorbas. She became mother of 
Cteatus and Eurytus, who from her are 
called Molionides. These two heroes 
are represented as forming only one 
body, with two heads, four legs, and 
four arms. — A prince of Syria, who re- 
volted from Antiochus,and slew himself 
when his rebellion was unattended by 
success. They were slain by Hercules. 

MoLO,a philosopher of Rhodes, 
called also Apollonius. Molohad Cicero 
and J. Csesar among his pupils. [Vid. 
Apollonius.] Cic. 

Molorchus, an old shepherd 
near Cleonse, who received Hercules 
with great hospitality. The hero, to re- 
pay the kindness he received, destroyed 
the Nemaean lion, which laid waste the 
neighbouring country, and therefore the 
Nemjean games instituted on this occa- 
sion are to be understood by the words 
Ludus Molorchi. There were two fes- 
tivals instituted in his honor, called Mo- 
lorcheae. Martial. Apollod. Virg. 

Molosst, a people of Epirus, 

who inhabited that part of the country 
called Molossia, from king Molossus. It 
had the bay of Ambracia on the south, 
and the country of the Perrhaebeans on 
the cast. The dogs of the place were 
famous, and received the name of Mo- 
lossi among the Romans. Dodona was 
the capital of the country. Some, how- 
ever, reckoned it as the chief city of 
Thesprotia. Liv. Virg. Herat. &c. 

MoLOssiA,orMoLossis. [Vid. 
Molossi.] 

Molossus, a surname of Ju- 
piter in Epirus. A son of Pyrrhus and 
Andromache. He reigned in Epirus 
after the death of Helenus, and part 
of his dominions received the name of 
Molossia from him. Pans. 

MoLPADiA,oneof the Amazons. 

Molpus, author of a history of 
Sparta. d£ j 

Moi/cs, a son of Deucalion.-— 
A son of Mars and Demonice. 

Momus, the god of pleasantry 
among the ancients, son of Nox, accord- 



ing to Hesiod. He was continually em- 
ployed in satirizing the gods, and what- 
ever they did was freely turned into ridi- 
cule. Vulcan, Minerva, Venus, &c. all 
alike experienced the shafts of his cen- 
sure and ridicule. Such illiberal reflec- 
tions, however, upon the gods, were the 
cause that Momus was driven from 
heaven. He is generally represented 
raising a mask from his face, and hold- 
ing a small figure in his hand. Hesiod. in 
Theog. Lueian. 

Most a, an island between Bri- 
tain and Hibernia, anciently inhabited 
by a number of Druids. It is supposed 
by some to be the modern island of An- 
glesey, and by others the island of Man. 
Tacit. 

Mo net a, a surname of Juno 

among the Romans. 

Mo n ima, a beautiful woman of 
Miletus, whom Mithridates the Great 
married. When his affairs grew despe- 
rate, Mithridates ordered his wives to 
destroy themselves. Monima attempted 
to strangle herself, but when her efforts 
were unavailing, she ordered one of her 
attendants to stab her. 

Moncecus, a town and port of 
Liguria, where Hercules had a temple, 
whence he is called Monoscius. Strab. 

Mons sacer, a mountain near 
Rome, where the Roman populace re- 
tired, in a tumult, which was the cause 
of the election of the tribunes. 

Monychus, a powerful giant, 
who could root up trees, and hurl them 
like a javelin. He receives his name 
from his horse s feet,as the word implies. 
Juv. 

Mo phis, an Indian prince, con- 
quered by Alexander. 

Mopsopia, an ancient name of 

Athens, from Mopsus, one of its kings. 
Ovid. Met. 

Mopsus, a celebrated prophet, 

son of Manto and Apollo, during the 
Trojan war. A jealousy subsisted be- 
tween Mopsus and Calehas, the sooth- 
sayer,rcspecting their skill in divination. 
A trial was then agreed upon, in which 
the inferiority of the prophetic know- 
ledge was fully manifested. Calchas 
confessed his ignorance, and died by ex- 
cess of grief which his defeat produced % 
and Mopsus, after death* was ranked 
among the gods. Strab. Pans. &c. — An- 
other prophet, a son of Ampyx and 
Chloris, born at Titaressa in Thes- 
saly. He was the prophet and sooth- 
sayer of the Argonauts, and died at his 
return from Colchis, by the bite of a 
serpent in Libya- Hy gin. Strab. — A shep- 
herd of that name in Virg. Eel. 

Moulin, a people of Beigie 
Gaul, on the shores of the British ocean. 
The shortest passage into Britain was 
from their territories. They were called 
extremi hominum by the Romans.* he- 



MUL 



MVS 



cause situate on the extremities of Gaul 
Virff. C<bs. 

Moritasgus, a king of the 
Senones, when Caesar went into Gaul. 

Mob p he us, a minister of the 
god Somnus, who naturally imitated the 
grimaces, gestures, words, and manners 
of mankind. He is sometimes called 
the god of sleep. He is generally repre- 
sented as a sleeping child of great corpu- 
lence, and with wings. He holds a vase 
in one hand, and in the other are some 
poppies. He is represented by Ovid as 
sent to inform, by a dream and vision, 
£he unhappy Halcyone of the fate of her 
husband Ceyx. Ovid. Met. 

Mors, one of the infernal dei- 
ties, born of Night, without a father. 
She was worshipped by the ancients with 
great solemnity, and represented not as 
an actually existing power, but as an 
imaginary being The moderns repre- 
sent her as a skeleton armedwith a scythe 
and a scimitar. 

Mosa, a river of Gaul, falling 
into the German ocean. 

Moschion, the name of four 
writers, of whom only some few verses 
remain, and a treatise de Morbis Mu- 
lierum. 

Moschus. A name common 
to four persons rem ark able "for their 
learning; the two following are the 
most celebrated : — A philosopher of Si- 
don, who is supposed to be the founder 
of anatomical philosophy. Strab. — A 
Greek Bucolic poet in the age of Ptole- 
my Philadelphus. The sweetness and 
elegance of his eclogues, which are still 
extant, make the world regret the loss 
Of poetical pieces no ways inferior to 
the productions of Theocritus. 

Mosella,how Moselle, & river of 
Belgic Gaul, falling into the Rhine. Flor. 

Moses, a celebrated legislator 
and general among the Jews,weli known 
in sacred history, &c. Diod. He was 
born in Egypt, 1571 B. C. and after he 
had performed his miracles before Pha- 
raoh, conducted the I raelites through 
the Red Sea, giving them laws and or- 
dinances, during their peregrination of 
40 years in the wildnerness of Arabia. H 
died at the age of 120. 

Mosyn^eci, a nation on the 
Euxine sea, in whose territories the 
30,000 Greeks staid on their return from 
C'unaxa. Xenoplt. 

Mot hone, a town of Magne- 
sia, in which Philip lost an eye. 

Mu ci an us, a general under 
Otho and Vitellius, remarkable for his 
facetious manners and intriguing dispo- 
sition. 

M uxcieer, a surname of Vul- 
can, (a mulcendo ferrum ,) from his oc- 
cupation. Ovid. Met. [Vid. Vulcaiws.] 



Mulucha, a river dividing 
Mauritania from Numidia. 
L. MuaiMius,a Roman consul, 

sent against the Acha?ans, whom he con- 
quered, B. C. 147. He destroyed Co- 
rinth, Thebes, and Chalcis, by order of 
the senate, and obtained the surname of 
Achaicus, from his victories. He re- 
turned home without any increase of 
fortune. He was so unacquainted with 
the value of the works of the most cele- 
brated artists of Greece, found in the 
plunder of Corinth, that he said to those 
who conveyed them to Rome, that if 
they lost them, or injured them, they 
should make others in their stead. Pa- 
tera. Strab. Plin. 

Munatius Plancus, an ora- 
tor and disciple of Cicero. He was with 
Caesar in Gaul, and was made consul 
with Brutus. He promised to favor 
the republican cause for some t ime, but 
he deserted again to Caesar. He was 
long Antony's favorite, but he left him 
at the battle of Actium to conciliate the 
favor of Augustus. The conqueror 
made him censor. Suet. — A friend of 
Horace. 

Munda, a small town of His- 

pania Baetica, celebrated for a battle 
fought thereon the 17th of March, B. C. 
45, between Caesar and the republican 
forces under young Pompey. Caesar 
obtained the victory, and by this blow 
put an end to the Roman republic. 
Pompey lost30,000 men.and Caesar only 
1000, and 500 wounded. Hirt. 

MuNYCHiiE, a port of Attica, 
between the Piraeus and the promon- 
tory of Sunium, called after king Mu- 
nychus, who built there a temple to 
Diana, and in whose honor he instituted 
festivals called Munychia. The temple 
was held so sacred, that whatever crimi- 
nals fled there for refuge were pardoned. 
Plat. Ovid. 

Murjena, a celebrated Roman, 
left at the head of the armies of the 
republic in Asia by Sylla. He invaded 
the dominions of Mithridates with suc- 
cess, but soon after met with a defeat. 
He was honored with a triumph at his 
return to Rome. He was ably defended 
in an oration by Cicero, when Ids cha- 
racter was attacked and censured. Cic 
p> n Mar. 

Murtia, a surname of Venus, 

because she presided over the myrtle. 
This goddess was the patron of idleness 
and cowardice. 

Muss, a Roman consul. [Vid. 
Decius.] 

Musa Antontus, afreedman 

and physician of Augustus. He cured 
his imperial master of a dangerous dis- 
ease under which belabored, by recom- 
mending to him the use of the cold bath. 
He was, for this celebrated cuie,honored 



MUT 



MUT 



with a brazen statue by the Roman 
senate, which was placed near that of 
/Esculapius, and Augustus permitted 
him to wear a golden ring, and to be 
exempted from all taxes. — A caughter 
of Nicomedes, king of Bithynia. She 
attempted to recover her father's king- 
dom from the Romans, but to no pur- 
pose, though Caesar espoused her cause. 
Paterc. Suet. 

MusMf certain goddesses who 
presided over poetry, music, dancing, 
and all the liberal arts. Th^y were 
generally supposed to be the daughters 
of Jupiter and Mnemosyne, and were 
nine in number, Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, 
Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Poly- 
hymnia, Calliope, and Urania. They 
have been severally called Castalides, 
Pierides, Aganippides, Lebethricles, 
Aonides, Heliconiades, &c. from the 
places where they were worshipped, or 
over which they presided. Apollo, their 
patron and conductor, has received the 
name of Musagetes, or leader of the 
Muses. The palm tree, the laurel, and 
all the fountains of Pindus, Helicon, 
Parnassus, &c. were sacred to the 
Muses. They were generally repre- 
sented as young, beautiful, and modest 
virgins, and commonly appeared in dif- 
ferent attire, according to the arts and 
sciences over which they presided. [Vid. 
Clio, Euterpe, &c] Their contest with 
the daughters of Pierus is well known. 
[Vid. Pierides.] The worship of the 
Muses was universally established, par- 
ticularly in the enlightened parts of 
Greece, Thessaly, and Italy. No sacri- 
fice was ever offered to them, though 
no poet ever began a poem without a 
solemn invocation to the goddess who 
presided over verse. Pint. Virg. Ovid. 
&c. There were festivals instituted in 
their honor in several parts of Greece, 
especially among the Thespians, every 
fifth year. The Macedonians observed 
also a festival in honor of Jupiter and 
the Muses. 

MuSiEus, an ancient Greek 
poet, supposed to have been son or dis- 
ciple of Linus or Orpheus, and to have 
lived about 1410 years before the Chris- 
tian era. Virgil, Mn. 6, has paid great 
honor to his memory, by placing him in 
the Elysian fields, attended by a great 
multitude, and taller by the head than 
his followers. None of the poet's com- 
positions are extant. — There were also 
two other poets of this name. 

Musoxius Rufus, a stoic of 

Etruria, in the reigns of Vespasian and 
Titus. 

Muta, a goddess that presided 

over silence, among the Romans. She 
is supposed by some to be the same as 
Lara and Larunda, daughter of the river 
Almon, who w-s punished by Jupiter, 
and ravished by Mercury. Ooid. 



Muthullus, a river of N ti- 
mid ia. 

MtfTiA, a daughter of Q. Mu- 

tius Scaevola, and sister of Metellus 
Celer. She was Pompey's third wife, 
and was afterwards divorced by her 
husband. She afterwards married M. 
Scaurus. Plin. — A wife of Julius Caesar, 
beloved by Clodius the tribune. Suet. 
— The mother of Augustus. 

Mutica, a town of Sicily, 
west of the Cape Pachynus. 

Mutillta, an intimate friend 
of Livia Augusta. 

Mutina, a Roman colony of 
Cisalpine Gaul, where M. Antony be- 
sieged D. Brutus, whom the consuls 
Pansa and Hirtius delivered. Two 
battles on the 15th of April B. C. 43, 
were fought there, in which Antony 
was defeated, and at last obliged to re- 
tire. Mutina is now called Modena. 
Lucan. Ooid. 

Mutines, Hannibal's general, 
who on delivering up Agrigentum was 
voted the freedom of Rome. 

Mutius, a name Common to 

some eminent Romans ; the most re- 
markable of whom are the following : 
— C. Scaevola, surnamed Cordus, be- 
came famous for his intrepidity. When 
Porsenna, king of Etruria, had besieged 
Rome, to reinstate Tarquin in all his 
rights, Mutius, determined to deliver 
his country, disguised himself in the 
habit of a Tuscan, and gained an easy 
introduction into the camp, and soon 
into the royal tent. Porsenna sat alone 
wiihhis secretary when Mutius entered, 
The Roman immediately rushed upon 
the secretary and stabbed him to the 
heart, mistaking him for the king. 
Mutius^ unable to e?cape, was seized, 
and brought before the king. He gave 
no answer to the inquiries of the cour- 
tiers, and only told them that he was a 
Roman, and to give them a proof of his 
fortitude, he laid his right hand on an 
altar of burning coals, and sternly look- 
ing at the king, boldly told him that 
300 young Romans like himself had 
conspired against his life, and entered 
his camp in disguise, determined either 
to destroy him, or perish in the attempt. 
This extraordinary confession asto- 
nished Porsenna ; he made peace with 
the Romans, and retired from their 
city. Mutius obtained the surname of 
Sccevola, because he had lost the use of 
his right hand, by burning it in the pre- 
sence of the Etrurian king. Pint. Flor. 
Liv. — Another, appointed proconsul of 
Asia, which he governed with so much 
popularity, that he was generally pro- 
posed to others as a pattern of equity 
and moderation. — Q. Scaevola.a Roman 
consul. He obtained a victory over the 
Dalmatians, and signalized himself 
greatly in the Marsian war. He is 



MYC 



31 YR 



highly commended by Cicero, whom he 
instructed in the study of civil law. Cic. 
Pint. 

MutuxuSj or Mutinus, a 
deity among the Romans, much the 
same as the Prlapus of the Greeks. 
The most obscene ceremonies were per- 
formed by the Roman women before 
the statue of this deity. 

Myagrus, or Myodes, a di- 
vinity among the Egyptians, called also 
Aehor. He was entreated by the inha- 
bitants to protect them from flies and 
serpents. His worship passed into 
Greece and Italy. Plin. Pans. 

Myc ale, a promontory of Asia, 
opposite Samos, celebrated for a battle 
which was fought there between the 
Greeks and Persians, on the 22d of Sep- 
tember, 479 B. C. the same day that 
Mardonius was defeated at Plataea. 
The Persians were about i-C9 : 000 men, 
but had just returned from the unsuc- 
cessful expedition of Xerxes in Greece. 
The Greeks obtained a complete vic- 
tory, slaughtered some thousands of 
the enemy, burned their camp, and 
sailed back to Samos with an immense 
booty. Herodot. Diod.—A famous ma- 
gician, who boasted, that he could 
draw the moon from her orb. 

Myc ale ss us, a town in Bceotia, 
in which was a temple, dedicated to 
Ceres. 

Mycen^s, a town of Argolis, in 

Peloponnesus, received its name from 
Mycene, a nymph of Laconia, and was 
once the capital of a kingdom. It was 
once the capital of a kingdom, whose 
kings reigned in the following order. — 
Acrisius ; — Perseus ; — Electryon, Mas- 
stor and Sthenelus ;— Sthenelus ; At- 
reus; Thyestes; — Agamemnon; ^Egys- 
thus, Orestes, iEgytus, who was dis- 
possessed by the Heraelida?. The town 
was taken and laid in ruins by the 
Argives, A. U. C. 185, and it was almost 
unknown where it stood in the age of 
the geographer Strabo. 

MycebInus, a son of Cheops, 

king cf Egypt. After the death of his 
father, he "reigned with great justice 
aud moderation. Herodot. 

3lYCiTHUS,a servant of Anaxi- 
laus, tyrant of Rhegiurn. He was en- 
trusted with the care of the kingdom, 
and of the children of the deceased 
prince., and he exercised his power 
with such fidelity, that he acquired the 
esteem of all the citizens, and at last 
restored the kingdom to his master's 
children when come to years of matu- 
rity. He is called by some Micalus. 
Justin ■ 

Myc ox, a celebrated painter, 

who, with others, assisted in making 
and perfecting the Pceciie of Athens. 
P!in. 

Myc one, one of the Cyclades 



between Delos and Icaria, which re- 
ceived its name from Myconus, an un- 
known person. It is about three miles 
at the east of Delos, and is thirty-six 
miles in circumference. Strabo observes , 
and his testimony is supported bv that 
of mc -ern travellers, that the inhabit- 
ants of Mycone became bald at the age 
of 20 or 25, from which circumstance 
they were called, by way of contempt, 
the bald heads of Myeone. 

Mydox, one of the Trojan 
chiefs who defended Troy against the 
Greeks. He was killed by Antiloehus. 
Homey. 

Mygdonia, a small province 

of Macedonia near Thrace, between the 
rivers Ax: us and Strymon. The inha- 
bitants,, called Mygdcnes, migrated into 
Asia, and settled near Troas, where the 
country received the name of their an- 
cient habitation. — A small province of 
Mesopotamia bears also the name of 
Mygdonia. Ovid. Horat. &c. 

Mygdoxus or Mygdon, a 

brother of Hecuba, Priam's wife, who 
reigned in part of Thrace. His son 
Corcebus was called Mygdonides from 
him. — A river running through Mesopo- 
tamia. 

Mylitta, a surname of Venus 

among the Assyrians, in whose temples 
ail the women were obliged to prostitute 
themselves to strangers. Plerodot. 

Myxes, a prince of Lyrnessus, 

who married Briseis. He was killed by 
Achilles, and his wife became the pro- 
perty of the conqueror. Homer. 

Myrexe, a beautiful woman of 
Greece, who after her father, mother, 
and brothers had been murdered by 
robbers, and their house plundered of 
their property, was carried away as the 
most valuable part of the booty. She 
was confined in a cave, from whence 
she escaped, and on her return was 
made priestess of Venus by her country- 
men. The goddess afterwards changed 
her into a plant of the same name called 
myrtle, which ^he ordered., as a proof of 
her affection, to continue green and 
odoriferous throughout every season of 
the year. _ 

Myrixa, a maritime town of 
yEolia,called also Sebastropoi is, and now 
Sanderlic. Strab.—The wife of Thoas, 
king of Lemnosj by whom she had 
Hypsipyle. 

MYRiNL T s,a surname of Apollo, 
from Myrina in J5olia, where he was 
worshipped. 

My rice, a town of Arcadia, 
called also Megalopolis. 

MYRMiDONEs,a people on the 
southern borders of Thessaly, who ac- 
companied Achilles to the Trojan war. 
They received their name from Myrmi- 
don, a son of Jupiter and Eurymedusa, 
N5 



MYR 



MYU 



who married one of the daughters of 
.Eolus, son of Helen. According to 
Ovid, &c.the Myrmidons received their 
name from their having been originally 
ants, ^.v^fJ-^ic. [Vid. /Eacus.] Accord- 
ing to Strabo, they received it from their 
industry, because they imitated the 
diligence of the ants. 

Myron, a celebrated statuary 
of Greece, peculiarly happy in imitating 
nature. He made a cow so much re- 
sembling life, that even bulls were de- 
ceived, and approached her as if alive, 
as is frequently mentioned by many 
epigrams in the Anthologia. He flou- 
rished about 442 years before Christ. 
Ovid. Pans. 

MYRRHA,a daughter of Cinyras* 
king of Cyprus. She became enamoured 
of her father, and introduced herself 
into his bed unknown. She had a son 
by him called Adonis. When Cinyras 
was apprized of the incest he had com- 
mitted, he attempted to stab his daugh- 
ter, and Myrrha fled into Arabia, where 
she was changed into a tree called myrrh. 
Hygin Ovid. &c. 

Myrsilus, the last of the 

Heraciida?, who reigned in Lydia : he 
is called also Candaules. 

Myrsus, the father of Candau- 
les. 

Myrtale, a courtezan of 

Rome, mistress to the poet Horace. 

M yrtea, a surname of Venus, 
because she presided over the myrtle. 

Myrtilus, a son of Mercury 
and Phaetusa or Cleobule, arm-bearer 
to (Enornaus, king of Pisa. He was so 
experienced in riding, and in the ma- 
nagement of horses, that he rendered 
those of GEnomaus the swiftest in all 
Greece. His infidelity proved at last 
fatal to him. Peiops, who had become 
a competitor in a chariot race with 
(Enomausfor his daughter Hippodamia, 
bribed him to give a broken chariot to 
his master, whereby he lost the race. 
When Myrtilus claimed the reward of 
his perfidy, Peiops threw him headlong 
into the sea, where he perished. {Vid. 
Hippodamia.] The body was carried 
to the sea shore, where he received an 
honorable burial, and, as he was the son 
of Mercury,he was made a constellation. 
Diod. Hygin. &c. 

Myrtis, a Greek poetess, who 

instructed Pindar and the celebrated 
Corinna in the rules of Versification. 

Myrtoltm Mare, a part of 

the iLgean sea, which lies between 
Euboea, Peloponnesus, and Attica. It 
receives this name from Myrto,a woman, 
or from Myrtos, a small "island in the 
neighbourhood ; or from Myrtilus, the 



son of Mercury, who was drowned there* 
Pans. Hygin. 

Myrtuntium, a name given 

to that part of the sea which lies on the 
coast of Epirus, between the bay of 
Ambracia and Leucas. 

MYRTUSA,a mountain of Libya, 

MYSCELLUS.Or MlSCELLUS,& 

native of Aehaia,who founded Crotona, 
in Italv, according to an oracle. Ovia. 

Strab. 

Mys, an artist who worked in 

silver. His most celebrated work was 
the representation of the battle of the 
Centaurs and Lapitha?, on a shield in 
the hand of Minerva's statue made by 
Phidias. 

Mysia, a country of Asia 

Minor, generally divided into Major 
and Minor. Mysia Minor was bounded 
on the north and west by the Propontis 
and Bithynia, and Phrygia on the 
southern and eastern borders. Mysia 
Major had ^Etolia on the south, the 
/Egean on the west, and Phrygia on the 
north and east. Its chief cities were 
Cyzicum, Larapsacus, &c. Strub. He- 
rad&t, — A festival in honor of Ceres, 
surnamed Mysia from Mysias, an Ar- 
give, who raised her a temple near 
Pallene, in Achaia. Some derive the 
word from (xveiay^ to cloy, or satisfy, 
because Ceres was the first who satisfied 
the wants of men by giving them com. 
The festival continued during seven 
days. 

Mys on, a native of Sparta, one 

of the seven wise men of Greece. When 
Anacharsis consulted the oracle of 
Apollo, to know who was the wisest 
man in Greece, he received for answer, 
" He who is now ploughing his fields.'' 
This was Myson. Diog. 

Mystes, a son of the poet 

Valgius, whose early death was so 
lamented by the father, that Horace 
wrote an ode to allay the grief of his 
friend. Horat. 

My THE CITS, a sophist of Sy- 
racuse, who passed over to Sparta and 
taught the art of cooking ; but was soon 
after expelled by the magistrates, who 
insisted, that hunger was the best sea- 
soning. 

Mytilene (vid. Mitylene). 

Myus, (Myuntis) a town of 
Ionia, on the confines of Caria, founded 
by a Grecian colony. It is one of the 
twelve capital cities of Ionia. Artaxerxes , 
king of Persia, gave it to Themistocles 
to maintain him in meat. Magnesia was 
to support him in bread, and Lampsacus 
in wine. C. Nep. Strab. &c. 



N/E 



NAR 



Nabathjea, a country of Ara- 
bia, of which the capital was called Pe- 
tra. The word is often applied to any 
of the eastern countries of the world by 
the poets, and seems to be derived from 
Nabath, the son of Isrnael. Ovid. Strab. 
-xc. 

Nabazanes, an oincer of Da- 
rius III., at the battle of Issus. He con- 
spired with Bessus to murder his royal 
master, either to obtain the favor of 
Alexander, or to seize the kingdom. He 
was pardoned by Alexander. Curt. 

NaBis, a celebrated tyrant of 
Lacedasmon, who, in all acts of cruelty 
and oppression, surpassed a Phalaris or 
a Dionysius. When he had exercised 
every art in plundering the citizens of 
Sparta, he made a statue, which was like 
his wife, and whenever any one refused 
to deliver up his riches, the tyrant led 
him to the statue, which immediately, 
by means of springs, seized him in its 
arms, and tormented him in the most 
excruciating mannerwith bearded points 
hid under the clothes. Nabis made an 
alliance with the Romans, and defeated 
Philopoemen in a naval engagement ; he 
was, however, himself defeated in his 
turn 5 and treacherously murdered as he 
attempted to save his life by flight, B.C. 
2 92, after an usurpation of 14 years. 
Poh/b. Justin- &c. 

Naboxassar, a king of Baby- 
lon, after the division of the Assyrian 
monarchy. From him the Nabonassa- 
rean epoch received its name, agreeing 
with the vear of the world 3237, or 746 
8. C. 

N^enia, the goddess of funerals 
at Rome, whose temple was without the 
gates of the city. The songs which were 
sung at funerals were also called Naenia. 
They were generally filled with the 
praise^ of the deceased ; but sometimes 
so unmeaning, that the word became 
proverbial to signify nonsense. 

Car. Njsvius. The. most re- 
markable of this name is an augur in the 
reign of Tarquin, who, in order to con- 
vince the king and the Romans of his 
power, as an augur, cut a flint with a 
razor, and turned the ridicule of the po- 
pulace into admiration. Tarquin re- 
Warded his merit by erecting him a sta- 
tue in the eomitium, which was still in 
being in the age of Augustus. The razor 
and flint were buried near it under an 
altar, and it was usual among the Ro- 
mans to make witnc "es, in civil causes, 
swear near it. This event is treated as 
labulous and improbable by Cicero. 



NAR 



Bionys. Hal. Lie— A Latin poet in the 
first Punic war. He was orignally in 
the Roman armies, but afterwards ap- 
plied himself to study, and wrote come- 
dies, besides a poetical acccuntof the nrst 
Punic war ,in whichhehad served. Some 
fragments of his poetry are extant, to 
the number of 308 lines, preservedin the 
Corpus Poetarum. 

Naharvali, a people of Ger- 
many. 

Naiades, certain inferior deities 
who presided over rivers, springs, wells, 
and fountains. They generally inhabited 
the country, and resorted to the woods 
or meadows near the stream over which 
they presided, whence the name (yas;v, 
to flow.) JEgle was the fairest of the 
Naiades, according to Virgil. [Vid. 
Nymphie.] They were held in great 
veneration among the ancients, and 
often sacrifices of goats and lambs were 
offered to them with libations of wine, 
honey, and oil. Sometimes they re- 
ceived only offerings of milk, fruit, and 
flowers. Virg. Ovid. Homer. 

Nais, one of the Oceanides, 
mother of Chiron or Glaucus, by Mag- 
nes. Apollod. — A nymph in an island of 
the Red Sea, who, "by her incantations, 
turned to fishes|all those who approached 
her residence after she had admitted 
them to her embraces. She was herself 
changed into a fish by Apollo. Ovid. 

Naissus a town of Mcesia, the 
birth-place of Constantine, now Nissa. 

Nantuates a people of Gaul, 
near the Alps. 

N a p je 2£, certain divinities 
among the ancients, who presided over 
the hills and woods of the country. 
Some suppose that they were tutelary 
deities of the fountains, and the Naiades 
of the sea. Their name is derived from 
v«7ryj, a grove. Virg. 

Nap at a, a town of Ethiopia. 

N April us, a river of Pelopon- 
nesus, falling into the Alpheus. 

Nar, a river of Umbria, whose 
waters, famous for their sulphureous 
properties, pass through the lake Veli- 
nus, and issuing from thence with great 
rapidity, fall into the Tiber. Ovid. Virg. 

NAiiBO,a town of Gaul, founded 
by the consul Marcius, A. U. C. 634. It 
became the capital of a large province of 
Gaul, which obtained the name of Gallia 
Narbonenris. Pater c. Plin. 

Narbonensis Gallia, one 



NAT 



NAU 



of the four great divisions of ancient 
Gaul, was bounded by the Alps, the Py- 
renean mountains, Aquitania, Belgi- 
cum, and the Mediterranean. 

Narcissus, a beautiful youth, 

son of Cephisus and the nymph Liriope, 
born at Thespis, in Boeotia. He saw his 
image reflected in a fountain, and be- 
came enamoured of it, thinking it to be 
the nymph of the place. His fruitless 
attempts to approach this beautiful ob- 
ject so provoked him, that he grew de- 
sperate, and killed himself. H is blood 
was changed into a flower, which still 
bears his name. Ovid. &c. —A freedman 
and secretary of Claudius, who abused 
his trust, and plundered the citizens cf 
Rome to enrich himself. Messalina, the 
emperor's wife, endeavoured to remove 
him, but Narcissus sacrificed her to his 
resentment. Agrippina, who succeeded 
Messalina, was more successful. Nar- 
cissus was banished by her intrigues,and 
compelled to kill himself, A. D. 54. 
Tacit.— 'There were others also of this 
name, but of inferior note. 

Narnia or Narna, anciently 
Nequmum, now Narni, a town of Um- 
bria, washed by the river Nar, from 
which it received its name. 

NARSES,a kingof Persia, A. D. 
294, defeated by Maximianus Galerius, 
after a reign of seven years. 

Narycia, a town of Magna 
Grsecia, built bv a colon v of Locrians 
after the fall of Troy. Virg. 

Nasamones, a savage people 
of Libya, near the Syrtes, who generally 
lived upon plunder. Curt. &e. 

Nascio or Nat jo, a goddess 
at Rome, who presided over the birth of 
children, and who was invoked by wo- 
men in childbed. She had a temple at 
Ardea. Cic. 

N asic a, the surname of one of 
the Scipios. Nasica was the first who 
invented the niearsuring of tim e by water, 
8. C. 159, about 134 years after the in- 
troduction of sun-dials at Rome. \_Vid. 
Scipio.1 — An avaricious fellow, who 
married his daughter to Coranus, a man 
as mean as himself, that he might not 
only not repay the money he had bor- 
rowed, but moreover become his cre- 
ditor's heir. Coranus, understanding 
his meaning, purposely alienated his 
property from him and his daughter, 
and exposed him to ridicule. Hm-at. 

NasidiInus, a Roman knight, 
whose luxury, arrogance, and ostenta- 
tion, exhibited at an entertainment he 
gave to Meeamas, were ridiculed Dy Ho- 
race. 

Naso, one of the murderers of 
J. Cse ar.— One of Ovid's names. \_Vid. 
Ovidius.] 

Natal is Ant on ius,a Roman 

knight, who conspired against Nero with 



Hso. He was pardoned for discovering 
the conspiracy, &c. Tacit. 

Natta, a man whose manner 
of living was so mean, that his name be- 
came almost proverbial at Rome. Horat. 

Nau crates, a Greek poet, who 
was employed by Artemisia to write a 
panegyric upon Mausolus. 

Naucratis, a city of Egypt, 
on the left side of the Canopic mouth of 
the Nile, celebrated for its commerce. 
No ship was permitted to land at any- 
other place, but was obliged to sail 
directly to the city, there to deposit its 
cargo. Herodot. 

Naumachius, a Greek poet, 

some of whose verses are quoted by an- 
cient writers. About 74 are preserved 
in the collection of Greek poets, con- 
taining useful directions to a woman 
that has entered into the marriage state 
with decorum and propriety. 

Nau p ac t tj s or Nau p ac t u m, 

a city of iEtolia, at the mouth of the 
Evenus. The word is derived from 
vocvs and nriyyvfju, because it was there 
that the Heraclidas built the first ship, 
which carried them to Peloponnesus. 
Strab. Pa as. &c. 

Nauplia, a maritime city of 
Peloponnesus, the naval station of the 
Argives. Strab. &c. 

Naupliades, a patronymic of 
Palamedes, son of Nauplius. Ovid. Met, 
[Vid. Nauplius.] 

Nauplius, a son of Neptune 

and Amymone, king of Eubcea. He 
war father to Palamedes, who was sa- 
crificed to the resentment of Ulysses, by 
the Greeks, during the Trojan war. The 
death of Palamedes irritated Nauplius. 
When the Greeks returned fropi fee 
Trojan war, Nauplius saw them with 
pleasure distressed in a storm on the 
coast of Euboea, and to make their dis- 
aster still more universal, he lighted fires 
on such places as were surrounded with 
the most dangerous rocks, that the fleet 
might be shipwrecked on the coast. 
This succeeded,but when he saw Ulysses 
and Diomedes escape, he threw himself 
into the sea. According to some my- 
thologists, there were two personsof this 
name. The second was an Argonaut, 
remarkable for his knowledge of sea 
affairs and of astronomy. Orph. Apollod. 
ApoIIon. &c. 

Nau sic aa, a daughter of AL 

cinous, king of the Phasaceans. She 
met Ulysses shipwrecked on her father 's. 
coasts, and it was to her humanity that 
he owed the kind reception he received 
from the king. She married, according 
to Aristotle and Dictys, Telemachus, 
the son of Ulysses, by whom she had a 
son, called Perseptolis, or Ptoliporthus. 
Homer, Od. 6. 

Nautes, a Trojan soothsayer, 



NEB 



NEL 



who comforted ./Eneas when his fleet had 
been burnt in Sicily. He was the pro- 
genitor of the Nautii at Rome, a family 
to whom the Palladium of Troy was 
afterwards entrusted. Virg. 

Naxos, a celebrated island in 
the iEgean sea, the largest and most fer- 
tile of all the Cyelades, about 105 miles 
in circumference, and 30 broad, received 
the name of Naxos from Naxus, who 
was at the head of a Carian colony, which 
settled in the island. Naxos abounds 
with all sorts of fruits, and its wines are 
still in great repute. Bacchus was the 
chief deity of the island. The chief city 
was also called Naxos, and near it, on 
the 20th of September, B. C. 377, the 
Lacedaemonians were defeated by Cha- 
brias. Thucyd. Herodot. Diod. &e— An 
ancient town on the eastern side of Sicily, 
founded 759 years before the Christian 
era. There was also another town at 
the distance of five miles from Naxos, 
which bore the same name, and was 
often called, by contradistinction, Tau- 
rominium. Plin. Diod. 

Nazianzus, a town in Cappa- 

docia, famous as being the birth-piace 
of St. Gregory. 

Nea, or Nova Insula, a small 

island between Lemnos and the Helles- 
pont, which rose out of the sea during 
x&n earthquake. Plin. 

Ne^era. The most remark- 
able of this name are the following : — A 
nymph, mother of Phaetusa and Lam- 
petia, by the Sun. Homer. — A woman 
mentioned in Virgil's Eel. — A daughter 
of Pereus, who married Aleus, by whom 
she had Cepheus, Lycurgus, and Auge. 
—A favorite of Horace. 

Ne^ethus, a river of Magna 
Grascia, near Crotona. Ovid. 

Ne Alices, a painter, whose 
most celebrated pictures were a sea fight 
between the Persians and Egyptians, 
Venus, and an ass drinking on the shore, 
with a crocodile preparing to attack it. 

Neapolts, a city of Campania, 
anciently called Parthenope, and now 
known by the name of Naples. Augus- 
tus called it Neapolis. Suet. — This 
name was common also to five other 
towns in Asia and Europe. 

Nearchus, an officer of Alex- 
ander, who was ordered to sail upon the 
Indian ocean with Onesicritus, and to 
examine it. He wrote an account of 
this voyage, and of the king's life, but 
his veracity has been called in question 
by Arrian. After the king's death, he 
was appointed over Lycia and Pam- 
phylia. Cm t. 

Nebo, a high mountain near 
Palestine, beyond Jordan, from the top 
of which Moses was permitted to view 
the promised land. 



Nebrodes, a mountain in 
Sicily, in which rises the Himera. 

Necessitas, a divinity who 
presided over the fates and destinies of 
mankind, and who was regarded as the 
mother of the Parcse. [? id. Parcse.] 
Her temple at Corinth was held so sa- 
cred, that only her priests were permitted 
to enter it. Pans. Pint. 

Nechos, a king of Egypt, who 
attempted to make a communication 
between the Mediterranean and Red 
Seas, B. C. 610. No less than 12,000 
men perished in the attempt. It was 
discovered in his reign that Africa was 
circumnavigable. Herodot. 

Necropolis, asuburb of Alex- 
andria. 

NECTANEBUS,andNECTANA- 
BIS, a king of Egypt, who defended his 
country against the Persians, and was 
succeeded by Tachos, B. C. 363. His 
grandson, of the same name, made an 
alliance with Agesilaus, king of Sparta, 
and with his assistance he quelled a re- 
bellion of his subjects. Sometime after 
he was joined by the Sidonians, Phoe- 
nicians, and inhabitants of Cyprus, who 
had revolted from the king of Persia. 
This powerful confederacy "was soon at- 
tacked by Darius, the king of Persia, 
who marched at the head of his troops. 
Nectanebus, to defend his frontiers, 
levied 20,000 mercenary soldiers in 
Greece, the same number in Libya, and 
60,000 were furnished in Egypt. This 
numerous body was not equal to the 
Persian forces, and Nectanebus, de- 
feated in a battle, fled into ^Ethiopia, 
B. C. 350. Egypt became from that 
time tributary to the king of Persia. 
Pint. Diod. &c. 

Necysia, a solemnity observed 

by the Greeks in memory of the dead. 

Neda, a nymph of Messenia, 
supposed to have been one of the nurses 
of Jupiter. She gave her name to the 
river Nedes, which flowed through Mes- 
senia. Pans. 

Neis, the wife of Endymion. 

Neleus, a son of Neptune and 
Tyro, was brother to Pelias with whom 
he was exposed by his mother. They 
were, however, preserved, and brought 
to Tyro, who had then married Cre- 
theus, king of Iolchos. After the death 
of Cretheus, Pelias and Neleus seized 
the kingdom of Iolchos which belonged 
to jEson, the lawful son of Tyro by 
the deceased monarch. After they had 
reigned for some time conjointly, Pe- 
lias expelled Neleus from Iolchos. Ne- 
leus came to Aphareus, king of Messe- 
nia, who treated him with kindness, and 
permitted him to build a city, which he 
called Pylos. Neleus married Chloris, 
the daughter of Amphion, by whom he 
had a daughter and twelve sons, who 



NEO 



NEO 



were all, except Nestor, killed by Her- 
cules, together with their father. Ne- 
leus promised his daughter in marriage 
only to him who brought him the bulls 
of Iphielus. Bias was the successful 
lover, f Vid. Melampus.] Ovid. Pans. 
&c. 

Nelo, one of the Danaides. 

Ne M^ea, a town of Argolis, be- 
tween Cleonfeand Pldius; with a wood, 
where Hercules, in the lGlh year of his 
age, killed the celebrated Nemaean lion, 
which was born of the hundred-headed 
Typhon, and infested the neighbour- 
hood of Nemaea, and kept the inhabit- 
ants under continual alarms. It was the 
first labor of Hercules to destroy it. 
The conqueror clothed himself in the 
skin, and the Nema?an games were in- 
stituted to commemorate so great an 
event : though some say that they were 
instituted by the Argives in honor of 
Archemorus, who died by the bite of a 
serpent, and Hercules ?ome time after 
renewed them. They were one of the 
four great and solemn games, which 
were observed in Greece. 

Nemesis, one of the infernal 
deities, daughter of Nox. She was the 
goddess of vengeance, always prepared 
to punish impiety, and, at the same 
time, liberally to reward the good and 
virtuous. She is made one of the Pame 
by some mythologists, and is represent- 
ed with a helm and a wheel. Her power 
did not only exist in this life, but she 
was also employed after death to find 
out the most effect ual and rigorous 
means of correction. Nemesis was par- 
ticularly worshipped at Rhamnus, in 
Attica, where she had a celebrated statue, 
ten cubits long, made of Parian marble, 
by Phidias. The Romans were also 
particularly attentive to her adorations. 
Her statue at Rome was in the capitol. 
According to Pausanias, there were 
more than one Nemesis. The goddess 
Nemesis was surnamed Rhamnusia, 
because worshipped at Rhamnus, and 
Adrastia, from the temple which Adras- 
tus, king of Argos, erected to her. The 
Greeks celebrated a festival, cailed Ne- 
mesia, in memory of deceased persons, 
as the goddess Nemesis was supposed to 
defend the relics and the memory of the 
dead from all insult. Hygin. Paus. 
Hesiod. <fec. 

NEMESTRixus,agod who pre- 
sided over the feasts celebrated at Rome 
under the name of Nemora. Arnobius 
is the only ancient writer who mentions 
this divinity. 

Ne moral i a, festivals obser- 
ved in the woods of Aricia, in honor of 
Diana, who presided over the country 
and the forests. 

Neoeule. [ Vid. Lycambes.] 
— A beautiful woman, to whom Horace 
addressed 3 Od. 12. 

Neocles, an Athenian philo- 



sopher, father, or, according to Cicero* 
brother to the philosopher Epicurus* 
Cic— The father of Themistocles. C. 
Nep. 

Neomexia, festivals observed 

by the ancients at the time of the new 
moon, in honor of all the gods, but 
especially of Apollo and Diana. The 
xVthenians spread tables in the streets, 
where the poor were abundantly sup- 
plied, and the Romans also honored the 
divinities by a public assembly, where 
all the senators were expected to attend. 
Horat. Isidor. 

Neon, one of the commanders 

of the ten thousand Greeks who assisted 
Cyrus against Artaxerxes. — This name 
was common also to two towns in Pho- 
cis. 

NEOPTOLEMUS,a king of Epi- 

rus, son of Achilles and Deidamia, cail- 
ed Pyrrhus,from the yellow color of his 
hair. He gave early proofs of his valor. 
After the death of Achilles, Calchas de- 
clared in the assembly of the Greeks* 
that Troy could not be taken without the 
assistance of his son. Ulysses and Phce- 
nix were then commissioned to bring 
Pyrrhus to the war, who returned w T ith 
them with pleasure, and received the 
name of Neoptolemus (new soldier.) He 
greatly signalized himself during the re- 
maining time of the siege, and was the 
first who entered the wooden horse. He 
was inferior to none of the Grecian war- 
riors in valor, and Ulysses and Nestor 
alone could claim a superiority over 
him in eloquence, wisdom, and address. 
His cruelty, however, was as great as 
that of his father. Without any regard 
to the sanctity of the place where Priam 
had taken refuge, he slaughtered him 
without mercy. He also sacrificed Asty- 
anax to his fury, and immolated Polyx- 
ena on the tomb of Achilles. When 
Troy was taken, Pyrrhus had for his 
share of the captives Andromache, the 
widow of Hector, and Helenus, the son 
of Priam. With these he departed for 
Greece, and took a different course from 
the rest of the Greeks, as be travelled 
over the greatest part of Thrace, where 
he had a severe encounter with queen 
Harpalyce. [Vid. Harpalyce.] The place 
of his retirement after the Trojan war 
is not known. He, however, lived with 
Andromache after his arrival in Greece. 
He had a son by this unfortunate prin- 
cess, called Molossus, and two others, if 
we rely on the authority of Pausanias. 
Besides Andromache, he married Her- 
mione, the daughter of Menelaus, as 
also Lanassa, the daughter of Cleodaeus, 
one of the descendants of Hercules. The 
cause of his death is variously related. 
According to Virgil, Paterculus, and 
Hyginus, he was murdered by Orestes 
in the temple of Delphi, because Her- 
mione, who had been betrothed to him, 
was given to Neoptolemus. The plun- 



NEP 



NEP 



tier of the rich temple of Delphi was, it 
is said, the object of the journey of Neo- 
ptolemus thither ; and it cannot but be 
observed that he suffered the same bar- 
barities, which he had inflicted, in the 
temple of Minerva , upon theagecl Priam 
and his wretched family. From this cir- 
cumstance arose the proverb of Neo- 
ptolemic revenge, when a person had 
suffered the same savage treatment 
which others had received from his 
hand. Virg. Homer. Sophoc. &c— A re- 
lation of Alexander. He was the first 
who climbed the walls of Gaza when 
that city was taken by Alexander. After 
the king's death, he received Armenia 
as his province, and made war against 
Eumenes. He was supported by Cra- 
terus, but an engagement with Eume- 
nes proved fata! to his cause. Craterus 
was killed, and himself mortally wound- 
ed by Eumenes, B. C. 321. C. Nep. — 
This name was common also to many 
others of inferior note. 

Neohts, a large country of 
Asia, near Gedrosia, almost destitute of 
waters. The inhabitants were called 
Neoritse, and it was usual among them 
to suspend their dead bodies on the 
bough. s of trees. Biod. 

Nepe, one of the constellations, 
generally called scorpio. 

Nephal i a, festivals in 
Greece, in honor of Mnemosyne, the 
mother of the Muses and of Aurora, 
Venus, &e. No wine was used during 
the ceremony, but merely a mixture of 
water and honey. 

N E phele, the first wife of 
Athamas, king of Thebes, and mother 
of Phryxus and Helle, was repudiated 
on pretence of being subject to fits of 
insanity, and Athamas married Ino, 
daughter of Cadmus. Ino became jea- 
lous of Nephele, because her children 
would succeed to the throne by right of 
seniority, and she resolved to destroy 
them. Nephele was apprised of this, 
and she removed her children from the 
reach of Ino, by giving them a celebra- 
ted ram , on whose back , they escaped 
to Colchis. [Vid. Phr.yxus.] Nephele 
was afterwards changed into a cloud, 
whence her name is given by the 
Greeks to the clouds. The fleece of the 
ram, which saved the life of Nephele's 
children, is often called the Nephelian 
rieece. Hijgin. Ovid. &c. 

Nephelis, a cape in Ci- 
licia. 

NepherItes, a king of 
Egypt, who assisted the Spartans against 
Persia, when Agesilaus was in Asia. 
He sent them a fleet of 100 ships, which 
were intercepted by Conon, as they 
were sailing towards Rhodes, &c. Diod. 

Nepheus, one of the sons of 
Hercules. 

Corn. Nepos, a celebrated 



historian in the reign of Augustus. He 
was born at Hostilia, and shared the 
favors and enjoyed the patronage of the 
emperor. He was the intimate friend of 
Cicero and of Atticus. Of all his valu- 
able compositions nothing remains but 
his lives of the illustrious Greek and 
Roman generals, which have often been 
attributed to yEmylius Probus. The 
language of Cornelius has always been 
admired, and he is entitled to many 
commendations for the delicacy of his 
expressions, the elegance of his style, 
and the clearness and precision of his 
narrations. 

Nepotianus, Flavins Po- 
pilius, a son of Eutropia, the sister of 
the emperor Constantine. He proclaim- 
ed himself emperor after the death of 
his cousin Ccnstans, and rendered him- 
self odious by his cruelty and oppres- 
sion. He was murdered by Anieetus, 
after one month's reign, and his family 
were involved in his ruin. 

Nepthys, wife of Typhon, 
became enamoured of Osiris, her bro- 
ther-in-law, and introduced herself to 
his bed. She had a son called Anubis 
by him. Pint. 

Neptunia, a colony in 
Magna Grsecia, having a town of the 
same name. 

Neptunium, a promontory of 
Arabia, at the entrance of the gulf. 

Neptuxius, an epithet ap- 
plied to Sext. Pompey, because he be- 
lieved himself to be god of the sea, 
&c. 

Neptunus, a god, son of Sa- 
turn and Ops, and brother to Jupiter, 
Pluto, and Juno. He was devoured by 
his father the day of his birth, and 
again restored to life by means of Me- 
tis, who gave Saturn a certain potion. 
Neptune shared with his brothers the 
empire of Saturn, and received as his 
portion the kingdom of the sea. This 
did not seem equivalent to the empire 
of heaven and earth, which Jupiter had 
claimed, therefore he conspired to de- 
throne him. The conspiracy was dis- 
covered, and Jupiter condemned Nep- 
tune to build the walls of Troy. [Vid. 
Laomedon.] A reconciliation was soon 
after made, and Neptune was re-insti- 
tuted to all his rights and privileges. 
Neptune disputed with Minerva the 
right of giving name to the capital of 
Cecropia, but he was defeated. \_Vid. 
Minerva.] Neptune, as being god of 
the sea, was entitled to more power 
than any of the other gods, except Ju- 
piter. Not only the ocean, rivers, and 
fountains were subjected to him, but 
he also could cause earthquakes at his 
pleasure, and raise islands with a blow 
of his trident. The worship of Nep- 
tune was established in almost every 
part of the earth. The Greeks and Ro- 
mans were also attached to his worship, 



XER 



NER 



and they celebrated their Isthmian 
games and Consualia with the greatest 
solemnity. He was generally represent- 
ed sitting in a chariot made of a shell, 
and drawn by sea horses or dolphins. 
Sometimes he is drawn by winged 
horses, and holds his trident in his 
hand, and stands up as his chariot flies 
over the surface of the sea. Homer re- 
presents him as issuing from the sea, 
and in three steps crossing the whole 
horizon. The ancients generally sacri- 
ficed a bull and a horse on his" altars. 
The amours of Neptune are numerous. 
He obtained, by means of a dolphin, 
the favors of Amphitrite, who had 
made a vow of perpetual celibacy, and 
he placed, among the constellations, 
the fish which had persuaded the god- 
dess to become his wife. Neptune be- 
came a horse to enjoy the company of 
Ceres. [Vid. Arion.J To deceive Theo- 
phane he changed himself into a ram. 
[Vid. Theophane.] He assumed the 
form of the river Enipeus to gain the 
conficenee of Tyro, by whom he had 
Pelias and Neleiis, He was also father 
of Polyphemus, by Thoosa, and of 
many other children by different mis- 
tresses, &c. The word Neptunus is 
often used metaphorically by the poets, 
to signify sea water. Pans. Homer. Cic. 
Hesiod. &c. 

Nereides, nymphs of the sea, 

daughters of Nereus and Doris. They 
were 50, according to the greater num- 
ber of tiie rcythologists, and were em- 
ployed as the rest of the deities. They 
had altars chiefly on the coasts of the 
sea, where milk," oil, honey, and often 
the flesh of goats were offered up. Their 
duty was to attend upon the more pow- 
erful deities of the sea, and to be sub- 
servient to the will of Neptune. They 
are represented as young and handsome 
virgins, sitting on dolphins, and hold- 
ing Neptune's, trident in their hand, or 
sometimes garlands of flowers. They 
were particularly fond of halcyons, and 
as they had the power of ruffling or 
calming the waters, they were always 
addressed by sailors, who implored their 
protection that they might grant them 
a favorable voyage and a prosperous re- 
turn. Ovid. Hesiod. Homer. &c. 

Nereius, a name given to 
Achilles, as son of Thetis, who was one 
of the Nereides. Horat. 

Nereus, a deity of the sea, 
son of Oceanus and Terra. He married 
Doris, by whom he had 50 daughters, 
called the Nereides. [ Vid. Nereides.] 
Nereus was generally represented as an 
old man, with a long flowing beard, and 
hair of an azure color. The chief place 
of his residence was in the iEgean sea, 
where he was surrounded by his daugh- 
ters, who often danced in choruses 
round him. He had the gift of pro- 
phecy, and informed those that con- 
sulted him with the different fates that 



attended them. The word Nereu> i- 
often taken for the sea itself. Xereus 
is sometimes calied the most ancient of 
all the gods. Hesiod. Hygin. Homer. 
&c. 

Nerio, the wife of Mars. 
Neritos, a mountain in the 

island of Ithaca, as also a small island 
in the Ionian sea, according to Mela. 
The word Neritos is often applied to 
the whole island of Ithaca, and Ulysses, 
the king of it, is called Neritius dux, 
and his ship Neritia navis. Virg. &c. 
— A desert island near the Thracian 
Chersonesus. 

Nerittjm, a Calabrian town, 

now called Nardo. 

Nerium, or Ar TAB RUM, a 
promontory of Spain, on the Atlantic, 
now Cape Finisterre. Sttab. 

Nerius, an usurer in Nero's 

age, so eager to get money, that he 
married as often as he could, and as 
soon destroyed his wives by poison, to 
possess himself of their estates. Pers. 
—A silversmith mentioned by Horace 
in the third satire of his second book. 

Nero, Claudius Domitius 
Caesar, a celebrated Roman emperor, 
son of Caius Domitius Ahenobarbus 
and Agrippina, the daughter of Germa- 
nicus. He was adopted by the emperor 
Claudius, A. D. 50, and four years after 
he succeeded to him on the throne. The 
beginning of his reign was marked by 
acts of trie greatest kindness, affability, 
and popularity. Being once desired to 
sign his name to a list of malefactors 
that were to be executed, he exclaimed, 
I ivish to Heaven I could not write. 
These virtues were soon discovered to 
be artificial, and Nero displayed the 
propensities of his nature. He deliver- 
ed himself from the sway of his mo- 
ther, and at last ordered her to be as- 
sassinated. This unnatural act of bar- 
barity was, however, applauded by the 
senate, and the people signified their 
approbation. Many of his courtiers 
shared the unhappy fate of Agrippina, 
and Nero sacrificed to his fury or ca- 
price all such as obstructed his plea- 
sure, or diverted his inclination. He 
also turned actor, and publicly appear- 
ed on the Roman stage in the meanest 
characters. The celebrity of the Olym- 
pian games attracted his notice. "He 
passed into Greece, and was defeated 
in wrestling, but the flattery of the 
spectators adjudged him the victory, 
and Nero returned to Rome, attended 
by a band of musicians, actors, and 
stage dancers, from every part of the 
empire. These amusements of the em- 
peror were indeed innocent; his cha- 
racter was injured, but not the lives of 
the people. But his conduct soon be- 
came more abominable; he was pub- 
licly married to one of his eunuchs, and 



NER 



NES 



soon after celebrated his nuptials -with 
one of his meanest catamites. But now 
his cruelty was more fully displayed ; 
he sacrificed to his wantonness his wife 
Octavia Poppsea, and the celebrated 
writers Seneca, Lucan, Petronius, &c. 
The Christians also did not escape his 
barbarity. Wishing to renew the dis- 
mal scene of Troy, he caused Rome to 
be set on fire in different places. The 
conflagration became soon universal, 
and during nine successive days the 
fire was unextinguished. All was de- 
solation, and Xero was the only one 
who enjoyed the general consternation. 
He placed himself on the top of a high 
tower, and he sang on his lyre the de- 
struction of Troy. The continuation 
of cruelty, debauchery, and extrava- 
gance, at last roused the resentment of 
the people. Many conspiracies were 
formed against him, but were generally 
discovered. The most dangerous con- 
spiracy was that of Piso, from which he 
was delivered by the confession of a 
slave. The conspiracy of Galba proved 
more successful. The conspirator, when 
informed that his plot was known to 
Nero, declared himself emperor. The 
unpopularity of Xero favored his cause ; 
he was acknowledged by all the Roman 
empire, and the senate condemned 
Nero to be dragged naked through the 
streets of Rome, and whipped to death, 
and afterwards to be thrown from the 
Tarpeian rock. Xero, by a voluntary 
death, prevented the execution of the 
sentence. He killed himself, A. D. 68, 
in the 32d year of his age, after a reign 
of 13 years" and eight months. Rome 
was filled with acclamations at the in- 
telligence, and the citizens, more strong- 
ly to indicate their joy, wore caps, such 
as were generally used by slaves who 
had received their freedom. It is ne- 
cessary to observe, that the name of 
Nero is even now used emphatically to 
express a barbarous and unfeeling op- 
pressor. Plut. Suet. PHn. &c— Clau- 
dius, a Roman general, sent into Spain 
to succeed the two Scipios. He suffer- 
ed himself to be imposed upon by As- 
drubal, and was soon after succeeded by 
young Scipi.o. He was afterwards made 
consul, and intercepted Asdrubal, who 
was passing from Spain into Italy with 
a large reinforcement for his brother 
Annibal. An engagement was fought 
near the river Metaurus, in which 
55,000 of the Carthaginians were left 
dead on the field of battle, and great 
numbers taken prisoners, 207 B. C. 
Asdrubal, the Carthaginian general, 
was also killed, and his head cut ofFand 
thrown into his brother's camp by the 
conquerors. Appian. Liv. &c. The 
Nero's were of the Claudian family, 
which, during the republican times of 
Rome, was honored with 28 consul- 
ships, 5 dictatorships, 6 triumphs, 7 
censorships, and 2 ovations. — The Clau- 
dian family assumed the surname of 



Nero, which in the language of the Sa- 
bines, signifies strong and warlike. 

Nero xi a, a name given to 
Artaxata by Tiridates, who had been 
restored to his kingdom by Nero, whose 
favors he acknowledged by calling the 
capital of his dominions after the name 
of his benefactor. 

NEROXIAX^E THER3LE, Ro- 
man baths, so named after Nero, who 
constructed them. 

Nerva Cocceitjs, a Roman 
emperor after the death of Domitian, 
A. D. 96. He rendered himself popular 
by his mildness, his generosity, and the 
active part he took in the management 
of affairs. In his civil charaeter~he was 
the patron of good manners, of sobrie'y, 
and temperance. He made a solemn 
declaration, that no senator should suf- 
fer death durirtg his reisjn, and this he 
observed with such sanctity, that when 
two members of the senate had con- 
spired against his life, he was satisfied 
to tell them that he was informed of 
their wicked machinations. Yet, as 
envy and danger are the constant, com- 
panions of greatness, the praetorian 
guards at last mutinied, and Nerva 
nearly yielded to their fury. Having at 
length 'been obliged to surrender to 
them some of his friends and support- 
ers, the infirmities of his age obliged 
him to fix upon a successor. Trajan, a 
man of approved integrity, was the ob- 
ject of his choice, which was confirmed 
bv the approbation of the people. He 
died on the 27th of July, A. D. 98, in 
his 72d year, and his successor showed 
every mark of respect for his merit and 
for his character, by raising him altars 
and temples in Rome, and in the pro- 
vinces, and by ranking him in the 
number of the gods. Nerva was the 
first Roman emperor who was of fo- 
reign extraction, his father being a na- 
tive of Crete. Plin. Diod.— This name 
was also common to two consuls under 
the emperors Tiberius and Vespasian. 

Nervii, a warlike people of 
BelgicGaul, who continually upbraided 
the neighbouring nations for submit- 
ting to the power of the Romans. They 
attacked 1. Caesar, and were totally de- 
feated. La can. Cats. 

Nerulum, a town of Luca- 
nia. 

Nesactum, a town of Istria, 
now Castel Nuovo. 

Nes.ea, one of the Nereides. 
Virg. Mn. 

Nest mac hits, the father of 
Hippodemon, a native of Argos, who 
was one of the seven chiefs who made 
war against Thebes. Hygin. 

Nesis, an island on the coast 
of Campania, famous for asparagus. 
Plin. 



NES 



NIS 



Ness us, a celebrated centaur, 
-son of Ixibn and the clo ud. He offered 
violence to Dejanira, whom Hercules 
had entrusted to his care, with orders 
to carry her across the river Even us. 
[Fid. Dejanira.] Hercules saw the dis- 
tress of his wife from the opposite shore 
of the river, and immediately shot a 
poisoned arrow, which struck the Cen- 
taur to the heart. Nessus, as he ex- 
pired, gave his tunic to Dejanira, as- 
suring her that it had the power of call- 
ing a husband away from unlawful 
loves. Dejanira received it with plea- 
sure, and this mournful present after- 
wards caused the death of Hercules. 
iVid. Hercules. J Apollod. Ovid. Scnec. 

&CC. 

Nestocles, a famous sta- 
tuary of Greece, rival to Phidias. 
Nestor, a son of Neleus and 

Chloris, nephew to Pelias, and grand- 
son to Neptune. He had li brothers, 
who were all killed, with his father, by 
Hercules. The conqueror spared his 
life, and placed him on the throne of 
Pylos. He married Eurydice, the daugh- 
ter of Clymenes, or, according to others, 
Anaxibia. the daughter of Atreus. He 
early distinguished himself in the field 
of battle, and was present at the nup- 
tials of Pirithous, when a bloody battle 
was fought between the Lapithse and 
Centaurs. As king of Pylos and Mes- 
senia, he led his subjects to the Trojan 
war, where he distinguished himself 
among the rest of the Grecian chiefs, 
by eloquence, address, wisdom, justice, 
and an uncommon prudence of mind. 
After the Trojan war, Nestor retired to 
Greece, where he enjoyed the peace 
and tranquillity due to his wisdom and 
old age. The "manner and the time of 
his death are unknown ; the ancients 
all agreed that he lived three genera- 
tions of men, which length of time 
some suppose to be 300 years, though 
more probably only 90, allowing thirty 
years for each generation. From that 
circumstance, therefore, it w r as usual 
among the Greeks and Latins, when 
they wished a long and happy life to 
their friends, to wish them to see the 
years of Nestor. He had two daugh- 
ters, Pisidice and Polycaste ; and seven 
sons, Perseus, Straticus, Aretus, Eche- 
phron, Pisistratus, Antilochus, and 
Trasimedes. Nestor was one of the Ar- 
gonauts, according to Valerius Flaccus. 
Homer. Hoy at. &c. 

Nestorius, a bishop of Con- 
stantinople, degraded from his episco- 
pal dignity for entertaining heretical 
opinions. 

Nestus, or Nessus, a small 
river of Thrace, rising in mount Rho- 
dope, and failing into the /Egean sea, 
above the island of Thasos. It was for 
some time the boundary of Macedonia 
on the east. 



Nic^e a, a widow of Alexander, 

who married Demetrius — A city of In- 
dia, built by Alexander on the very spot 
where he had obtained a victory over 
king Porus. — A town of Bithynia", built 
by Antigonus, son of Philip, king of 
Macedonia. It was originally called 
Antigonia, and afterwards Nicsea by 
Lysimachus, who gave it the name of 
his wife, who was the daughter of Anti- 
pater. — A town of Liguria. 

Nicagoras, a sophist of 
Athens, in the reign of the emperor 
Philip. He wrote the lives of illustrious 
men, and was reckoned one of the 
greatest and most learned men of his 
age. 

Nicander, a king of Sparta, 

son of Charilius, of the family of the 
Proclidsc. He reigned thirty-nine years, 
and died B. C. 770. P««*— A Greek 
grammarian, poet, and physician of Co- 
lophon, 137 B. C. Two of his poems, 
entitled Theriaca, on hunting, and 
Alexipharmica, on antidoies against 
poison, are stil! extant. 

Nicaxor, a name common to 
many Greeks, the most remarkable of 
whom are, a governor of Media, con- 
quered by Seleucus. He had been go- 
vernor over the Athenians under Cas- 
rander, by whose orders he was put to 
death. — A governor of Munyehia, whp 
seized the Piraeus, and was at last put 
to death by Cassander, because he wish- 
ed to make himself absolute all over 
Attica. Diod. — A general of Antiochus, 
king of Syria. He made war against 
the Jews, and showed himself uncom- 
monly cruel. — A servant of Atticus. — 
Also a surname of Demetrius II. 

Nicerati, s, a poet who wrote 
a poem in praise of Lysander. 

Nicet as, one of the Byzantine 
historians. 

Niceteria, a festival at 
Athens, in memory of the victory which 
Minerva obtained over Neptune, in 
their dispute about giving a name to 
the capital of the country. The same 
name was applied to contests about 
drinking, and among them the one 
which Alexander gave is mentioned as 
the most remarkable. The monarch 
wished to honor the memory of Cala- 
nus, the gymnosophist, and therefore, 
to please his Indian subjects, he pro- 
posed rewards to the best drinkers ; one 
talent to the- first, 30 rninse for the se- 
cond, and ten for the third. Proma- 
chus obtained the first prize by drink- 
ing four measures of wine, about 24 
pints, but he survived his victory only 
three or four days, and 35 of his com- 
petitors fell likewise a sacrifice to their 
intemperance. Plut. in Alex. 

Nicias, an Athenian general, 
celebrated for his vaior and for his mis- 
fortunes. He established his military 



NIC 



NIC 



character by taking the island of Cy- 
thera from the power of Lacedaemon. 
When. Athens determined to make war 
against Sicily, Nicias was appointed, 
with Alcibiades and Lamachus, to con- 
duct the expedition, which he repro- 
bated as impolitic, and as the future 
cause of calamities to the Athenian 
power. In Sicily he behaved with great 
firmness, but he often blamed the quick 
and inconsiderate measures of his col- 
leagues. The success of the Athenians 
remained long doubtful. Alcibiades 
was recalled by his enemies to take his 
trial, and Nicias was left at the head of 
affairs. Syracuse would have surren- 
dered to him, had not the sudden ap- 
pearance of Gylippus, the Corinthian 
ally of the Sicilians, cheered up the 
courage of the besieged at the critical 
moment. Gylippus proposed terms to 
the Athenians, 'which were refused ; 
some battles were fought, in which the 
Sicilians obtained the advantage; and 
Nicias at last desponding, demanded of 
the Athenians a reinforcement or a suc- 
cessor. Demosthenes, upon this, was 
sent with a powerful fleet ; but the ad- 
vice of Nicias was despised, and the ad- 
miral, by his eagerness, ruined his fleet 
and the interest of Athens. Nicias at 
last found himself surrounded on every 
side by the enemy, without hope of 
escaping. He gave himself up to the 
conquerors with all his army, with the 
assurances of safety, but he was no 
sooner in the hands of the enemy than 
he was shamefully put to death, with 
Demosthenes, 413 B. C. His troops 
were sent to quarries, where the plague 
and hard labor soon destroyed them. 
The Athenians lamented in Nicias a 
great and valiant, but unfortunate ge- 
neral. Plut. C. Nep.—A. physician' of 
Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who made an 
offer to the Romans of poisoning his 
master, for a sum of money. The Ro- 
man general disdained his offers, and 
acquainted Pyrrhus with his treachery. 
He is often called Cineas. 

Nictppe, daughter to Pelops, 
and wife to Sdienelus. 

Nicippus, a tyrant of Cos, 
one of whose sheep brought forth a 
lion, which was considered as portend- 
ing his future greatness, and his eleva- 
tion to the sovereignty. Milan V. H. 

Nico, one of the Tarentine 
chiefs who conspired against the life of 
Annibal. Liv. — The name of the ass, 
which Augustus met before the battle 
of Actium, which he construed into a 
favorable omen. — The name of an ele- 
phant, famous for its fidelity to its 
master, Pyrrhus.— A celebrated archi- 
tect and geometrician. He was father to 
the celebrated Galen, the prince of phy- 
sicians. 

N ico chares, a comic poet, 

cotemporary with Aristophanes. 

NxcOCLES. Ancient writers 



have recorded many of this name, the 
most celebrated of whom are, a king of 
Paphos, who reigned under the protec- 
tion of Ptolemy, king of Egypt. He 
revolted from his friend to the king of 
Persia, upon which Ptolemy ordered 
one of his servants to put him to death, 
to strike terror into the other dependent 
princes. The servant, unwilling to 
murder the monarch, advised him to 
kill himself. Nicocles obeyed, and all 
his family followed his example, 330 
years before the Christian era. — A king 
of Cyprus, who succeeded Evagoras on 
the throne, 374 years B. C. It was with 
him that the philosopher Isoerates cor- 
responded. 

Nicocrecw, a tyrant of Sa- 
lamis, in the age of Alexander the 
Great. He ordered the philosopher 
Anaxarchus to be broken to pieces in a 
mortar. 

Nicode.5mtjs, a son of Her- 
cules and Nice. — An Athenian, who in- 
vaded vEgina, &c. 

Nicolatjs, a celebrated Syra- 

cusan, who endeavoured in a pathetic 
speech, to dissuade his countrymen 
from offering violence to the Athenian 
prisoners who had been taken with Ni- 
cias, their general. \_Vid. Nicias.] His 
eloquence was unavailing. 

Nicomachus, the father of 
the philosopher Aristotle. — An ancient 
poet, who esteemed physicians happy, 
because the light published their good 
deeds, and the earth their evil ones. 

Nicomedes 1st, a king of Bi- 

thynia, about 278 years before the Chris- 
tian era. It was by his exertions that 
•this part of Asia became a monarchy. 
He behaved with great crue'ty to his 
brothers, arrd built a town which he 
called by his own name, Nicomedia. 
Justin. Paus. &c. — The 2d was ironi- 
cally surnamed Philopater, because he 
drove his father Prusias from the king- 
dom of Bithynia, and caused him to be 
assassinated, B. C. 149. He reigned 59 
years. — The 3d, son and successor of 
the preceding, was dethroned by his 
brother Socrates, and afterwards by the 
ambitious Mithridates. The Romans 
re-established him on his throne, but 
he was again expelled his dominions, 
till Sylla came into Asia, who restored 
him to his former power. Strab* Ap- 
pian. — The 4th of that name was son 
and successor to Nicomedes 3d. He 
died B. C. 75, without issue, and left 
his kingdom, with all his possessions, to 
the Roman people. Strab. &c. — This 
name was common also to others of less 
celebrity. 

Nico media, a town of Bithy- 
nia, founded by Nicomedes 1st. It was 
the capital of the country, and it has 
been compared, for its beauty and great- 
ness, to Rome, Antioch, or Alexandria. 
It became celebrated for being the re- 



NIG 



NIN 



sidence of the emperor Constantine, 
and most of his imperial successors. 

Nicon, an athlete of Thaso?, 
who obtained the victory 14 times at 
the Olympic games. The statue which 
his countrymen had erected to his ho- 
nor was insulted after his death by one 
of his rivals, and, as if it were to avenge 
his wrongs, it fell upon the intruder, 
and crushed him to pieces. Suidas. 

Nicophanes, a celebrated 
painter of Greece. 

Nicophron, a comic poet of 
Athens, some time after the age of Ari- 
stophanes. 

Nicopolts, a town in Arme- 
nia, built by Pompey, in memory of a 
victory he had acquired over the forces 
of Mithridates. — A town of Epirus, 
built by Augustus to commemorate the 
battle of Actium.— A town in Dacia, 
founded by Trajan to record the me- 
mory of a battle he had obtained over 
the Dacians. — A town near the bay of 
Issus, built by Alexander. — A town in 
Thrace, built by Trajan to immortalize 
a victory over the barbarians. 

Nicostratus, a general of 
the Achaoans, who defeated the Mace- 
donians. — A native of Argos of great 
strength, famous for his desire of imi- 
tating Hercules. He clothed himself in 
a lion's skin, and committed many 
other imitative extravagances. — A name 
common to many other persons, in 
whose lives, &c. nothing very remark- 
able has occured. 

Niger, C. Pescennius Justus, 
a celebrated governor in Syria, well 
known by his valor in the Roman ar- 
mies, while yet a private man. At the 
death of Pertinax, he was declared em- 
peror of Rome, and he supported that 
elevated situation, by prudence of mind, 
moderation, courage, and virtue. He 
was remarkable for his fondness of an- 
cient discipline, and never suffered his 
soldiers to drink wine. He forbade the 
use of silver or gold utensils in his 
camp. In his punishments Niger was 
inexorable. Such qualifications seemed 
to promise the restoration of ancient 
discipline, but the death of Niger frus- 
trated every hope of reform. Severus, 
who had also been invested with the im- 
perial purple, marched against him, 
and Niger was, at last, defeated, A. D. 
394. His head was cut off, and alfixed 
to a long spear, and carried in triumph 
through the streets of Rome. He reign- 
ed about one year. Hercdian. 

Niger or Nigris, (itis), a 

river of Africa, which rises in /Ethio- 
pia, and falls by three mouths, into the 
Atlantic, little "known to the ancients, 
and not yet satisfactorily explored by 
the moderns. Mela. Ptol. 

P. Nigidius Figulus, a ce- 
lebrated philosopher and astrologer at 



Rome, one of the most learned men of 
his age. He was intimate with Cicero, 
and followed the interest of Pompey, 
for which he was banished by the con- 
queror. He died hi the place of his 
banishment, 47 years B. C. Cic. 

Nile us, a son of Codrus, who 

conducted a colony of Ionians to Asia, 
where he built Ephesus, Miletus, Pri- 
ene, Colophon, Myus, Teos, Lebedos, 
Clazomenae, &c. Paus. 

Nil lis, a king of Thebes, who 

gave his name to the river which flows, 
through the middle of Egypt, and falls 
into the Mediterranean sea. The >*ile 
anciently called iEgyptus, is one of the 
most celebrated rivers in the world. Its 
sources were unknown to the ancients. 
It flows through the middle of Egypt in 
a northern direction, and at Cereaso- 
rum divides itself into several streams, 
and falls into the Mediterranean by 
seven mouths. The most eastern is 
called the Pclusian, and the most west- 
ern is called the Canopic mouth. The 
other canals are the Sebennytican, that 
of Sais, the Mendesian, Bolbitinie, and 
I Bucolic. They have all been formed 
by nature, except the two last, which 
] have been dug. The space between the 
Pelusian and Canopic streams is called 
the Delta of Egypt, from its resem- 
blance to the Greek letter of that name. 
The Nile yearly overflows the country, 
and it is to those regular inundations 
that the Egyptians are indebted for the 
fertile produce of their lands. If it rises 
no higher than 1G cubits, a famine is 
expected ; but if it exceeds this by 
many cubits, it is of the most danger- 
ous consequence. The causes of the 
overflowings of the Nile, unknown to 
the ancients, are owing to the heavy 
rains which regularly fall in ^Ethiopia. 
These causes, as some people suppose, 
were well known to Homer, as he seems 
to show it, by saying that the Nile 
flowed from heaven. The inhabitants 
of Egypt, near the banks of the river, 
were called Niliaci, Niligenae, &c. and 
large canals were also, from this river, 
denominated Nili, or Euripi. Strab. 
Mela. Herodot. 

Ninus, a son of Belus, who 

built a city to wh ; ch he gave his own 
name, and who founded the Assyrian 
monarchy, B. C. 2059. He was very 
warlike, and extended his conquests 
from Egypt to the extremities of India 
and Bactriana. He became enamoured 
of Semiramis, the wife of one of his of- 
ficers, and he married her after the 
death of her husband. Ninus reigned 
52 years, and left his kingdom to the 
care of his wife Semiramis, by whom 
he had a son. The history of Ninus is 
very obscure. Justin. Herodot. — A ce- 
lebrated city, the capital of Assyria, 
built on the banks of the Tigris by 
Ninus, and called Nineveh in Scrip- 
ture. It was, according to the relation 



NIS 



NOC 



of Dior'orus Siculus, fifteen miles long, 
nine broad, and forty-eight in circum- 
ference. Strab. Herodot. &c. 

Ninyas, a son of Ninus and 
Semiramis, king of Assyria, succeeded 
his mother, who had voluntarily abdi- 
cated the crown. The reign of Ninyas 
is remarkable for its luxury and extra- 
vagance. His successors imitated ths 
example of his voluptuousness, and 
therefore their name is little known till 
the age of Sardanapalus. Justin. Diod. 

Niobe, a daughter of Tanta- 
lus, king of Lydia, by Euryanassa or | 
Dione. She married Amphion the son 
of Jasus, by whom she had, according 
to different writers and mycologists, a 
different number of children. The 
most received opinion is, that she had 
seven sons and seven daughters. This 
number increased her pride, and she 
had the imprudence not only to prefer 
herself to Latona who had only two 
children, but even to ridicule the" wor- 
ship paid to her, observing that she had 
a better claim to sacrifices than the mo- 
ther of Apollo and Diana. This inso- 
lence provoked Latona. She entreated 
her children to punish the arrogant 
Niobe. Her prayers were heard, and 
immediately all the sons of Niobe ex- 
pired by the darts of Apollo, and all 
the daughters, except Chloris, were 
equally destroyed by Diana ; and Niobe, 
struck at the suddenness of her misfor- 
tunes, was changed into a stpne. The 
carcasses of Niobe's children, according 
to Homer, were left unburied for nine 
days, because Jupiter changed into 
stones all such a*' attempted to inter 
them. On the tenih day they were ho- 
nored with a funeral by the gods. Ho- 
mer- Apollod. Ovid. &c. 

Nip hates, a mountain of 
Asia, which divides Armenia from As- 
syria. The sources of the Tigris were 
in its neighbourhood. Virg. Strab.— A 
river of Armenia, falling into the Ti- 
gris. Horat. 

NiE-EUS, a king of Naxos, son 
of Charops and Aglaia, celebrated for 
his beauty. He was one of the Grecian 
chiefs during the Trojan war. Homer. 
Horat. 

N I s A, a celebrated plain of 
Media, near the Caspian sea, famous 
for its horses. 

NisiBis, a town of Mesopo- 
tamia, on the Tigris : it was the barrier 
between the provinces of Home and the 
Persian empire, during the reign of 
the Roman emperors. Strab. 

Nisus, a son of Hyrtacus, born 
on mount Ida, near Troy. He came to 
Italy with /Eneas, and signalized him- 
self bv his valor. He was joined in the 
closest friendship with Euryalus, and 
with him he entered, in the dead of 
a>ight, the enemy's camp. As they were 



returning victorious, they were per- 
ceived by the Rutulians, who attacked 
Euryalus. Nbus, in endeavouring to 
rescue his friend from the enemy's 
darts, perished himself with him, and 
their heads were cut off and fixed on a 
spear, and carriei in triumph to the 
camp. Their death was greatly lament- 
ed by all the Trojans. Virg. — A king 
of Megara, son of Mars, or more pro- 
perly of Pandion. He inherited his fa- 
ther's kingdom with his brothers, and 
received as his portion the country of 
Megaris. The fate of Nisus depended 
totally upon a yellow lock, which, as 
long as it continued on his head, ac- 
cording to the words of an oracle, pro- 
mised him life and success to his affairs. 
His daughter Scylla stele away the fatal 
hair from her father's head as he was 
asleep, and delivered it to Minos, king 
of Crete, who was then at war with the 
Athenians, and had actually besieged 
Megara. Scylla had, previously to this 
action, which was the cause of the sur- 
render of Megara, fallen in love with 
Minos, upon seeing him from the walls 
of the town. Minos disregarded the 
services of Scylla, and she threw her- 
self into the sea. The gods changed 
her into a lark, and Nisus assumed the 
nature of the hawk, at the very mo- 
ment that he gave himself death not to 
fall into the enemy's hands. These two 
birds have continually been at variance 
with each other, and Scylla, by her 
apprehensions at the sight of her fa- 
ther, seems to suffer the punishment 
which her perfidy deserved. Apollod. 
Pans. Virg. &c. 

Nisyros, an island in the 

.Egean sea, at the west of Rhodes, with 
a town of the same name. It was ori- 
ginally joined to the island of Cos, and 
it bore the name of Porphyris. Nep- 
tune, who was supposed to have sepa- 
rated them with a blow of his trident, 
was worshipped there, and called Nisy- 
tens. Sttab.Mcla. 

Nitockis, a celebrated queen 
of Babylon, who built a bridge across 
the Euphrates, in the middle of that 
city, and dug a number of reservoirs 
for the superfluous waters of that river. 
Herodot. 

N i x i, a name given by the 

Romans to such divinities as presided 
over the delivery of women, &c. There 
were three statues sacred to them in the 
Capital. 

Nixus, one of the signs of the 

zodiac, called by the Greeks Engonasis, 
represented in a bending posture, hold- 
ing a stick in one hand, and a drapery 
in the other. Some suppose that is Her- 
cules, whilst others apply it to The- 
seus. Cic. in Arato. 

Noctiluca, a surname of 

Diana. She had a temple at Rome, on 
Mount Palatine. Horat. 



NOR 



NUM 



Nocturnus, a god, supposed 

to be the same as Vesper cr IN ox, and 
who was said to preside over the night. 
Vug. Horat. 

Nqla, an ancient town of Cam- 
pania, which became a Roman colony 
before the first Punic war. It was 
founded by a Tuscan, or, according to 
others, by an Eubcean colony. Au- 
gustus died there on his return from 
Neapolis to Rome. Bells were first in- 
vented there in the beginning of the 
fifth century. Paterc. Suet, in Aug. 

No made s, a name given to 
those uncivilized people who had no 
fixed habitation, and who continually 
changed the place of their residence, to 
go in quest of fresh pasture for the 
numerous cattle which they tended. 
Strab. Virg. &c. 

No me tct an us, an epithet ap- 
plied to L. Cassius, as a native of 
.N omentum. He is mentioned by Ho- 
race as a mixture of luxury and dissipa- 
tion. 

No me xt um, a town of the 
Sabines, in Italy. The dictator, Q. 
Servilius Pri-cus, gave the Veientes and 
Fidenatcs battle there, A. U. C. 312, 
and totally defeated them. Ovid. Virg. 

No Mil, several mountains in 
Arcadia. 

Nomius, a surname given to 
Apollo, because he fed the flocks' of 
king Admetus in Thessaly. The same 
name was aLo applied to Mercury , who 
was some time also considered as the 
god of shepherds, or because he had es- 
tablished the laws (vop»Of) f elo- 
quence. 

No n Ac R is, a town, and 

mountain of Arcadia, near which Evan- 
der and Atalanta were born. 

Nondina, a goddess who pre- 
sided over the lustrations made for 
children before they received their 
name. The ceremony of lustration was 
to carry the child round the fire which 
blazed cn the altar of the divinity, and 
to sprinkle it with water. Pint. 

Nonius, a soldier, who for 
paying respect to Galea's statues, was 
cast into prison. 

Nonnus, a Greek writer of 
the 5th century, author of the Diony- 
siaca, and an account of an embassy he 
undertook to /Ethiopia. 

Nonus, a physician of Greece, 
author of " Omnium morborum eura- 
tione." 

No rax, a son of Mercury and 

£urytha?a, who led a colony of Iberians 
into Sardinia. Pans. 

C. Norbanus, a young and 

ambitious Roman, who opposed Sylla, 
and joined his interest to that of young 



Marius. In his consulship he marched 
against Sylla, by whom he was defeat- 
ed, &c. J*hii. 

Norjcum, a country of ancient 
Illyricum, which now forms a part of 
modern Bavaria and Austria. It ex- 
tended between the Danube, and part of 
the Alps, and Vindelicia. Its inhabit- 
ants made many incursions upon the 
Romans, and were at last conquered 
under Tiberius. The iron that was 
drawn from Norieum was esteemed ex- 
cellent, and thence Noricus . ensis, to 
express the goodness of a sword. Dion. 
Pcrieg. Strab. Horat. &c. 

Nortia, a name given to the 
goddess of Fortune among the Etru- 
rians. Liv. 

Nothus, a surname of Da- 
rius, king of Persia, from his illegiti- 
macy. 

Not us, the south wind, called 

also Auster, and occasionally applied by 
the poets to all the winds indiscrimi- 
nately. It is described by Ovid with 
wet wings, the forehead covered with 
dark clouds, and the beard heavy and 
swollen with mists. [F7tf. Venti.] 

Novatus, a man who severely 
attacked the character of Augustus, 
under a fictitious name. The emperor 
discovered him, and only fined him a 
small sum of money. 

NovensIles, a name applied 
to those divinities whose worship was 
introduced at Rome from foreign count 
tries. 

Novius Priscus, a person 

who attempted to assassinate Claudius. 
— A person banished from Rome by 
Isero on suspicicn of being accessary to 
the conspiracy of Piso. 

Nox, one of the most ancient 
deities among the heathens, daughter of 
Chaos. From her union with her bro- 
ther Erebus, she gave birth to the Day 
and the Light. She was also the mo- 
ther of the^Parcae, Hesperides, Dreams, 
of Discord, Death, Momus, Fraud, &c. 
She is called by some of the poets, the 
mother of all things, of gods as well as 
of men, and therefore ' she was wor- 
shipped with great solemnity by the 
ancients. She had a famous statue in 
Diana's temple at Ephesus. It was 
usual to offer her a black sheep, as she 
was the mother of the Furies. Virg. 
Ovid. Hes. Theog. 

Nu biped alia, sacrifices of- 
fered to the gods in time of public cala- 
mity, when the suppliants appeared 
with naked feet in humiliation/whence 
the name. 

Nuithones, Germans, occu- 
pying the country, now called Pomera- 
nia and Mecklenburg. 

Numa IUartius, son to Nu- 
ma Pompilius, father to Ancus >Iar- 



NUM 



NXJM 



tius, and made governor of Rome by 
Tullus Hostiiius. 

Numa Pompilits, a cele- 
brated philosopher of Cures, who mar- 
ried Tatia, the daughter of Tatius, the 
king of the Sabines. At the death of 
Romulus, the Romans fixed upon him 
to be their king, and two senators were 
sent to acquaint him with the decision. 
Xuma at first refused their offer, and 
was at length with difficulty prevailed 
upon to accept the crown. He was not, 
like Romulus, fond of war, but he 
applied himself to tame the ferocity of 
his subjects, to inculcate a reverence 
for the deity, and to quell their dissen- 
sions, by dividing all the citizens into 
different classes. He established differ- 
ent orders of pries*s, and encouraged 
the report which was spread of his pay- 
ing regular visits to the nymph Egeria, 
and made use of her name to give sanc- 
tion to the laws and institutions which 
he had introduced. He told the Ro- 
mans that the safety of the empire 
depended upon the preservation of the 
sacred ancyle or shield, which, as was 
generally believed, had dropped down 
from heaven. \_Vid. Ancyle. J He de- 
dicated a temple to Jauus^ which, dur- 
ing his whole reign, remained shut, as 
a mark of peace and tranquillity at 
Rome. Xuma died after a reign of 43 
years, in which he had given every 
possible encouragement to the useful 
arts, and in which he had cultivated 
peace, B. C. 672. He left behind one 
daughter called Pompilia, who mar- 
ried Xuma Marcius, and became the 
mother of Ancus Martius, the fourth 
king of Rome. Pint. Varro. L i v. Plin. 

NtJMAKTiA, a town of Spain, 
near the sources of the river Durius, 
celebrated for the long war which it 
maintained against the Romans. It was 
taken by Scipio Afrieanus, B. C. 133. 
He began the siege with an army of 
60,000 men, and was bravely opposed 
by the besieged, though they had no 
more than 4000 men able to bear arms. 
Both armies conducted themselves with 
almost incredible valor. The besieged 
were at last necessitated to kill and de- 
vour each other, and it is said that not 
even one survived to adorn the triumph 
of the conqueror. The fall of Numantia 
was more glorious than that of Carthage 
or Corinth, though inferior to them. 
The conqueror obtained the surname of 
^.umantinus. Flor, Appian. Paterc. 
&c. 

Xumaxus Remulus, a Ru- 

tulian who accused the Trojans of effe- 
minacy. He had married the youngest 
sister of Turnus and was killed by As- 
canius during the Rutulian war. Virg. 

Ntjmexia, or Neomexia, a 

festival observed by the Greeks at the 
beginning of every lunar month, in 



honor of all the gods, but especially of 
Apollo, or the Sun, who is justly deem- 
ed the author of light > and of whatever 
distinction is made in the months, sea- 
sons, days, and nights. It was observ- 
ed with games and p.ubiic entertain- 
ments, which were provided at the ex- 
pense of rich citizens, and which were 
always frequented by the poor. The 
demigods, as well as the heroes of the 
ancients, were honored-and invoked in 
the festival. 

Nu3iEXius, a philosopher who 
supposed that Chaos, from which the 
world w r as created, was animated by an 
evil and maleficent soul. He lived in 
the second century. 

Net me ri a, a goddess who pre- 
sided over numbers among the Ro- 
man<=. 

Numeriaxus, M. Aurelius, 

a son of the emperor Cams. He accom- 
panied his father into the East with the 
title of Caesar, and at his death he suc- 
ceeded him with his brother Carinus s 
A. D. 282. His reign was short. Light 
months after his father's death he was 
murdered in his litter by his father-in- 
law Arrius Aper, who accompanied him 
in an expedition. Xumerianus has been 
admired for his learning as well as his 
moderation. He was naturally an elo- 
quent speaker, and in poetry he was 
inferior to no writer of his a^e. 

Numicia via, one of the great 
Roman roads which led from the capi- 
tal to the town of Brundusium. 

Numjcus, a small river of 
Latium, near Lavinium, where the dead 
body of rEneas was found, and wdiere 
Anna, Dido's sister, drowned herself. 
Virg. Ovid. &c. 

Net mid i a, an inland country of 

Africa, which now forms the kingdom 
of Algiers and Bildulgerid. It. was 
bounded on the north by the Mediter- 
ranean sea, south by Gaetulia, west by 
Mauritania, and east by a part of Libya, 
which was called Africa Propria. The 
inhabitants were called Nomades, and 
afterwards Xumidoe. It was the king- 
dom of Masinissa, who was the occasion 
of the third Punic war. The Numi- 
dians were excellent warriors, and rode 
without saddles or bridles, whence they 
have been called infrceni. Sallust. Flor. 
Strab. &c. 

Nl t mitor, a son of Procas, 
king of Alba, who inherited his father's 
kingdom conjointly with his brother 
Amulius. Amulius expelled his brother, 
and that he might more safely secure 
the crown, he put to death his son Lau- 
sus, and consecrated his daughter Ilia 
to the service of the goddess Vesta, 
whieh demanded perpetual celibacy, 
These great precautions were rendered, 
abortive. Ilia became pregnant ; and 
though the two children whom she 



NYM 



NYS 



brought forth were exposed in the river., 
by order of the tyrant, their life was 
preserved, and Numitor was restored to 
his throne by his grandsons, \_Vid. Ro- 
mulus and Remus] and the tyrannical 
usurper was put to death. Liv. Pint. 
Virg. 

NundIna, a goddess whom the 
Romans invoked when they named 
their children. This happened the 
niii h day after their birth, whence the 
name of "the goddess, Nona dies. 

Ku^djnjE, [ Vidi Feriffi.] 

Nurscia, a goddess who pa- 
tronized the Etrurians. Juv. 

Nursia, a town of Picenum, 
whose inhabitants are called Nursini. 
Virg. 

Nycteis, a patronymic of 

Antiope, the daughter of Nycteus, mo- 
ther of Amphion and Zethus by Jupi- 
ter. Ovi<L 

Nyctelta, festivals in honor 
of Bacchus, [ Vid. Nyctelius] observed 
on iTkmnt Ciihseron. 

Nyctelius, a surname of 
Bacchus, because his orgies were cele- 
brated in the night ( v v%, 7io>v, c^Xaw, 
perflcio). The words latex Xyctelius 
thence signify wine. 

Nycteus. The most remark- 
able of this name is — A son of Neptune 
by Ceiene, daughter of Atlas, king of 
Lesbos, or of Thebes, according to the 
more received opinion. Hemariied a 
nymph of Crete, called Polyxo or Amal- 
thsea, by whom he had two daughters, 
Nyctimene and Antiope. The first of 
these disgraced herself by her criminal 
amours with her father, into whose bed 
she introduced herself by means of her 
nurse. When the father knew the in- 
cest he had committed, he attempted to 
stab his daughter, who was imme- 
diately changed by Minerva into an 
owl. Nycteus made war against Epo- 
peus, who had carried away Antiope, 
and died of a wound which he received 
in an engagement. [Vid. Antiope.] 
Hi/gin. Ovid. &c. 

Nyctimene. [ Fid. Nycteus.] 
Nymphs, certain female 
deities among the ancients. TItey were 
generally divided into two classes, 
nymphs of the land, and nymphs of the 
sea. Of the nymphs of the earth, some 
presided over woods, and were called 
Dryades and Hamadryades ; others pre- 
sided over mountains, and were called 
Oreades ; some presided over hills and 
dales, and were called Napsere, &c. Of 
the sea nymphs, some were called 
Oceanides, Nereides, Naiades, Potami- 
des, &c. These presided not only over 
the sea, but also over rivers, fountains, 
streams, and lakes. The nymphs were 



immortal, according to some mythclo- 
gists. They lived for several thousand 
years, according to Hesiod. The num- 
ber of nymphs is not precisely known. 
They w'ere above 3000, according to 
Hesiod, whose power was extended 
over the different places of the earth, 
and the \ arious functions and occupa- 
tions of mankind. They were gene- 
rally represented as young and beauti- 
ful virgins, veiled up to the middle, and 
sometimes holding a vase, from which 
they seemed to pour water. Ovid. He- 
siod. Homer. &c. 

Nymphjeum, a port of Mace- 
donia. Cces. — A place near the walls of 
Apollonia, sacred to the nymphs, where 
Apollo had also an oracle. The place 
was also celebrated for the continual 
flames of fire which seemed to rise at a 
distance from the plains. It was there 
that a sleeping satyr was once caught 
and brought to Sylla, as he returned 
from the Mithridatic war. This mon- 
ster had the same features as the poets 
ascribe to the satyr. — The building at 
Rome where the nymphs were wor- 
shipped bore also this name. 

Nymph idius, one of Nero's 

favourites, who was raised to the dig- 
nity of consul, and afterwards disputed 
the empire with Galba. 

Nymph is, a native of Hera- 

clea, who wrote a history of Alexander's 
life and actions, divided into twenty- 
four books. JElian. 

Nymproleptes, or Nym- 
ph O M A N E S, possessed by the 
nymphs. This name was given to the 
inhabitants cf mount Cithaeron, who 
believed that they were inspired by the 
nymphs. Pint. 

Nypsitjs, a general of Diony- 
sius, the tyrant, who took Syracuse, 
and put all the inhabitants to the sword. 
Diod. 

Nysa or Nyssa, a town of 

^Ethiopia, at the south of Egypt, or, 
according to others, of Arabia. This 
city, with another of the same name in 
India, was sacred to the god Bacchus. 
The god made the latter place the seat 
of his empire, and the capital of the 
conquered nations of the East. I>iOg. 
Mela. Virg. &c — According to some 
geographers, there were no less than 
ten places of the name of Nysa. — A city 
seated on the top of mount Parnassus, 
and sacred to Bacchus. Juv. 

Nys^eus, a surname of Bac- 
chus, because he was worshipped at 
Nysa. 

Nysiades, a name given to 

the nymphs of Nysa, to whose care Ju- 
piter entrusted the education of his son 
Bacchus, Ovid. 



OCH 



OCT 



OCH 



Oasis, a town about the middle 

of Libya, at the distance of seven days' 
journey from Thebes in Egypt. He- 
rod. 

Oaxes, a river of Crete, which 
received its name from Oaxus, the son 
of Apollo. Virg. 

Oaxus, a town of Crete, where 
T^tearchus reigned, who founded Cy- 
rene. 

Ocalea or Ocalia, a daugh- 
ter cf Mautineus, who married Anas, 
son of Lynceus and Hyperrnnestia, by 
whom she had Acrisius and Prcetus. 
Apollod. 

Oceanides and OceanT- 

TID ES, sea nymphs, daughters of 
Oeeanus, from whom they received 
their name, and of the goddess Tethys. 
They were 3000 in number according 
to Apollodorus, who mentions seven of 
them. Hesiod speaks of the eldest of 
them, and reckons forty-one. Hyginus 
mentions sixteen, whose names are 
almost all different from those of Apol- 
lodorus and Hesiod. The Oceanicles, 
as the rest of the inferior deities, were 
honored with libations and sacrifices. 
Prayers were offered to them, a; d they 
were entreated to protect sailors from 
storms and dangerous tempests. When 
the sea is tranquil, sailors offered a 
young pig or a lamb : in storms, a black 
bull. Horn. Horat. Virg. Hesiod. Apol- 
lod. 

Oceanus, a powerful deity of 

the sea, son of Ccelus and Terra. He 
married Tethys, by whom he had the 
most principal rivers, such as the Al- 
pheus T Peneus, Strymon, &c. with a 
number of daughters, who are called 
from him Oceanides. {Fid. Oceanides.J 
According to Homer, Oceanus was the 
father of all the gods, and, on that 
account, he received frequent visits 
from the rest of the deities. He is 
generally represented as an old man, 
with a long flowing beard, and sitting 
upon the .waves of the sea. Oceanus 
presided over every part of the sea, and 
even the rivers were subjected to h's 
power. When the sea was calm, the 
sailors generally offered a lamb or a 
young pig, but if it was" agitated by the 
winds, and rough, a black bull was 
deemed the most agreeable. Homer. 
Horat. Virg. &e. 

Ocelum, a town in Gaul. 
Ocha, a sister of Ochus, whom 
he paused to be buried alive. 



OCT 



Ochus, a surname given to 

Artaxerxes, the third king of Persia. 
IVid. Artaxerxes.]— A king of Persia, 
who exchanged his name for that of 
Darius. [ Vid. Darius Nothus.] 

Ocnus, a son of the Tiber and 

of Manto, who assisted iEneas against 
Turnus. He built a town which 
he called Mantua, after his mother's 
name. Some suppose that he is the 
same as Bianor. Virg. — A man remark- 
able for his industry. He had a wife as 
remarkable for her profusion. She 
always lavished whatever the labors of 
her husband had earned. He is repre- 
sented as twisting a cord, which an ass 
standing by eats up as soon as made, 
whence the proverb of " the cord of 
Ocnus," often applied to labor that is 
totally lost. Prop. 

Ocridiox, a king of Rhodes, 
who was reckoned among the number 
of the gods after death. He had a 
temple at Rhodes, where heralds were 
not suffered to enter, because, by the 
treachery of a herald, he lost Cydippe, 
daughter of Ochimus, whom he was 
going to marry. Plut. 

Ocrisia, the wife of Cornicu- 
lus, was one of the attendants of Tana- 
quil, the wife of Tarquinius Priscus, 
and the mother of Servius Tullius, the 
sixth king of Rome, whom, according 
to Plutarch, Pliny, &c. she brought 
forth from a miraculous conception. 

Octacillius, a manumitted 
slave, who became a teacher of rheto- 
ric, and had Pompey for his pupil. 

Octavia, a Roman lady, 
sister to the emperor Augustus, and ce- 
lebrated for her beauty and virtues. 
She married Claudius Marcellus, and, 
after his death, M. Antony. Her mar- 
riage with Antony was a political step 
to reconcile her brother and her hus- 
band. Antony proved for some time 
attentive to her, but he soon after des- 
pised her for Cleopatra ; and. when she 
attempted to withdraw him from this 
unlawful amour by going to meet him 
at Athens, she was totally banished 
from his presence. This affront was 
highly resented by Augustus, who re- 
solved to revenge her cause by arms, 
which he ultimately did. Marcellus, 
her son by her first husband, was mar- 
ried to a niece of Augustus, and was 
publicly intended as a successor to his 
uncle; but his sudden death plunged 
all his family into the greatest grief. 
Virgil, upon this occasion, in his 
O 



OBE 



CEB 



iEneid, paid a melancholy tribute to 
the memory of a young man whom 
Rome regarded as her future father. 
He was desired to repeat his composi- 
tion in the presence of Augustus and of 
his sister. Octavia burst into tears as 
soon as the poet began ; but when he 
mentioned Tu Marcellus eris, she 
swooned away. This pathetic enco- 
mium upon the -virtues of young Mar- 
cellus was liberally rewarded by Octa- 
via, and Virgil received 10,000 sesterces 
for every one of the verses. Octavia 
had two daughters by Antony, Antonia 
Major and Antonia Minor. The death 
of Marcellus continually preyed upon 
the mind of Octavia, who died of me- 
lancholy about ten years before the 
Christian era. Suet. Pint.— A daugh- 
ter of the emperor Claudius by Messa- 
lina. She was betrothed to Silanus, 
but by the intrigues of Agrippina, she 
was married to' the emperor Nero, in 
the sixteenth year of her age, but was 
soon after divorced on pretence of bar- 
renness. She was afterwards, by the 
intrigues of Poppasa, banished, and was 
ordered to kill herself by opening her 
veins. Her head was cut off", and car- 
ried to Poppaea. Suet. Tacit. 

Octavianus, or Octavius 

CiF.SAR. \Vid. Augustus.] 

Octavius. This name was 

common to many eminent Romans, 
but of celebrity inferior to Octavius 
Caesar, afterwards Augustus. — A man 
who opposed Metellusni the reduction 
of Crete, by means of Pompey. He 
was obliged to retire from the island. 

Ocypete, one of the Harpies, 
who infected whatever she touched. 
The name signifies swift-flying. He- 
si od. Theog. 

Ocyroe, a daughter of Chiron, 
who had the gift of prophecy. She 
was changed into a mare. [Vid. Mela- 
nippe.] Ovid. 

Odates, a daughter of Hor- 
mates, king of part of Asia Minor, so 
beautiful in person , that she was con- 
sidered as the daughter of Venus and 
Adonis. 

Odenatus, a celebrated prince 

of Palmyra. He early inured himself to 
bear fatigues, and accustomed himself 
to the labors of a military life. He was 
faithful to the Romans; and when Va- 
lerian had been taken prisoner by Sa- 
por, king of Persia, Odenatus warmly 
interested himself in his cause. Sapor 
ordered him, in consequence of his so- 
licitations in favor of Valerian, to ap- 
pear before him, on pain of being de- 
voted to instant destruction, with all 
his family. Odenatus disdained the 
summons of Sapor, opposed force to 
force, and obtained some advantages 
over the troops of the Persian monarch. 
For these services, Gailienus, the then 
reining emperor, named Odenatus as 



his colleague on the throne, and gave 
the title of Augustus to his children, 
and to his wife, the celebrated Zenobia. 
He perished some time after by the 
dagger of one of his relations, at Emes- 
sa, about the 267th year of the Chri- 
stian era. Zenobia succeeded to all his 
titles and honors. 

Odessus, a river, with a 
mountain of the same name, hear the 
Euxine sea, in Asia Minor. Ovid. 

Odeum, a theatre at Athens, 
for music. 

Odinus, a celebrated hero of 
antiquity, who flourished about 70 
years B. C. in the northern parts of 
ancient Germany, or the modern king- 
dom of Denmark. He was at once a 
priest, a soldier, a poet, a monarch, 
and a conqueror. He imposed upon the 
credulity of his superstitious country- 
men, by the manner of his death, and 
made them believe, as he expired, that 
he was going into Scythia, where he 
should become one of the immortal 
gods. 

Odites, a son of Ixion, killed 

by Mopsus, at the nuptials of Piri- 
thous. Ovid. 

ODOACEit,a king of theHeruli, 
who destroyed the western empire of 
Rome, and called himself king of Italy, 
A. D. 476. 

Odomanti, a people of 

Thrace. 

Odones, a people of Thrace. 

Odrys^:, an ancient people of 
Thrace, between Abdera and the river 
Ister. The epithet of Odrysius is often 
applied to a Thracian. Ovid* 

Odvssea. [ Vid. Homerus.] 

Odysseum, a promontory of 

Sicily 

(Ea, a place in ^Egina. — A city 

of Africa, now called Tripoli. 

. CE a. g r u s or CE a & e it, the 

father of Orpheus by Calliope. He was 
king of Thrace, and from him the He- 
brus, one of the rivers of the country, 
has received the appellation of CEa- 
grius. Ovid. Virg. &c. 

CEanthe, a Phocian town, m 

which Venus had a temple. 

(Eax, son of Nauplius and 
Clymene, and brother to Palamedes, 
whom he accompanied to the siege of 

Troy. . * 

CEbalia, the ancient name 01 

Laconia, which it received from king 
CEbalus. Pans. &c. — A country of Italy, 
in whose territories Tarentum was 
built by a colonv of Lacomans. V %rg. 

(Ebalides, a patronymic ap- 



GED 



piied to Castor and Pollux, the grand- 
sons of (Ebalus, and also to Hvacinthus. 
Oeid. " 

(Ebalus, a son of Telon and 

the nymph Sebethis, who reigned in 
the neighbourhood of Xeapolis in Italy. 

OEbares, a groom of Darius, 

son of Hystaspes. He was the cause 
that his master obtained the kingdom 
of Persia, by his artifice in making his 
horse neigh" first. \_Vid. Darius.] He- 

rOdot. 

CEchalia, a country of Pelo- 
ponnesus in-Laconia, with a small town 
of the same name. — A small town of 
Eubcea. Vhg. Ovid. 

(Edipus, a son of Laius, king 
of Thebes, and Jocasta. Laius. the 
father of (Edipus, was informed by the 
oracle, as soon as he married Jocasta, 
that he must perish by the hands of his 
son. Such dreadful intelligence awak- 
ened his fears, and to prevent the ful- 
filling of the oracle, he resolved never 
to approach Jocasta : but his resolu- 
tions were -riolated in a fit of intoxica- 
tion. The queen became pregnant, and 
Lams ordered his wife to destroy her 
child as soon as born. The mother did 
not obey, yet she gave the child to one 
of her domestics, with orders to expose 
him on the mountains. The servant 
bored the feet of the child, and sus- 
pended him with a twig by the heels to 
a tree on mount Cithasrbn, where he 
was soon found by one of the shep- 
herds of Polybus,king of Corinth. The 
shepherd carried him home, and Peri- 
bcea, the wife of Polybus, who had no 
children, educated him as her own 
child. The accomplishments of the in- 
fant, who was named (Edipus, on ac- 
count of the swelling of his feet, (oiOsw 
fximeo, 7ro5=f, pedes) soon became the 
admiration of the age. His companions 
envied him, and one of them told him 
he was- an illegitimate child. This 
raised his doubts, and he went to con- 
sult the oracle of Delphi, and was there 
told not to return home, for if he did, 
he must necessarily be the murderer of 
his father, and the husband of his mo- 
ther. This answer terrified him ; he 
knew no home but the house of Poly- 
bus, therefore he resolved not to return 
to Corinth. He travelled towards Pho- 
cis, and in his journey, he met in a 
narro'.v road Laius on a chariot with his 
arm-bearer. Laius ordered (Edipus to 
make way for him. (Edipus refused, 
and a contest ensued, in which Laius 
and his arm-bearer were both killed. 
(Edipus, ignorant of the rank of the 
men whom he had killed, continued 
lm. journey, and was attracted to 
Thebes by the fame of the Sphinx. 
[Vid. Sphinx.} The cruelty of the 
Sphinx vow became an object of public 



concern ; and as the successful explana- 
tion of an enigma would erd in the 
death of the Sphinx, Creon, who at the 
death of Laius, had ascended the throne 
of Thebes, promised his crown and Jo- 
casta to him who succeeded in the at- 
tempt. The enigma proposed was this : 
" What animal in the morning walk> 
upon four feet, at noon upon two, and 
in the evening upon three ?" This was 
left for (Edipus to explain : he came to 
the monster, and said, that man, in the 
morning of life, walks upon his hands 
and his feet ; when he has attained the 
years of manhood, he walks upon his 
two legs : and in the evening, he sup- 
ports his old age with the assistance of 
a staff. The monster was mortified at 
the true explanation, and dashed his 
head against a rock and perished. (Edi- 
pus then married Jocasta, by whom he 
had two sons, Polynices and Eteoeles, 
and two* daughters, Ismeneand .Anti- 
gone. Some years after, the Theban 
territories were visited with a plague ; 
and the oracle declared that it should 
cease only when the murderer of king 
Laius was banished from Bceotia. As 
the death of Laius had never been ex- 
amined, (Edipus wished to discover the 
murderer, and at length found that 
himself had killed his father, and con- 
sequently that he had married his mo- 
ther. In the excess of his grief, he put 
out his eyes, as unworthy to see the 
light, and banished himself from 
Thebes, or, as some say, was banished 
by his own sons. The manner of his 
death is rather miraculous : it is said 
that the earth opened, and (Edipus dis- 
appeared. Apollod. Eitrip. Sophocl. &zc. 

(Eneus, a king of Calydon, 
in (Etolia, son of Parthaon and Euryte. 
He married Althaea, the daughter of 
Thestius, by whom he had Clymenus, 
ii el eager, Gorge, and Dejanira. After 
Altha?a*s death, he married Periboea, 
the daughter of Hipponous, by whom 
he had Tydeus. In a general sacrifice 
which (Eneus made to all the gods upon 
reaping his fields, he forgot Diana, and 
the goddess, to revenge this neglect, 
sent a wild boar to lay waste the coun- 
try of Calydonia. The animal was at 
last killed by Meleager, in a celebrated 
chase. Some time after, Mel eager died, 
and (Eneus vras driven from his king- 
dom. Diomedes, however, his grand- 
son, soon restored him to his throne ; 
but the continual misfortunes to which 
he was exposed rendered him melan- 
choly. He exiled himself, and left his 
crown to his son-in-law Andremon. He 
died as he was going to Argolip. His 
body was buried by the care of Didrr.e- 
des, in a town of Argolis, which from 
him received the name of (Enoe. It is 
reported that (Eneus received a visit 
from Bacchus, and that be suffered the 
god to enjoy the favors of Althaea, arvt 
to become the father of Dejanira, for 
which Bacchus permitted that the 
O 2 



(EN 



OIC 



of which he was the patron should be 
called among the Greeks by the name of 
CEneus (oivog). Homer, Ovid. &c 

(ExiADiE, a town of Acarna- 
nia. 

(Exoe, a nymph, who married 
Sicinus, the son of Thoas, kingofLem- 
nos. From her the island of Sicinus 
has been called (Enoe. 

(Exomaus, a son of Mars, by 
Sterope, the daughter of Atlas. He was 
king of Pisa, in Elis, and father of Hip- 
podamia. He was succeeded by Pelops, 
who "obtained Hippodamia iu marriage, 
in consequence of having conquered 
her father in a chariot race, through the 
perfidy of his charioteer Myrtilus. Apol- 
lod. Diod. Gvid. &c. 

(ExOxa, a town of Troas, the 
ancient name of iEgina. 

(En one, a nymph of mount 
Ida, daughter of the river Cebrenus, in 
Phrygia. As she had received the gift 
of prophecy, she foretold to Paris, 
whom she had married, that his voyage 
into Greece would be attended with the 
toiAl ruin of his country, and that he 
should have recourse to her medicinal 
knowledge at. the hour of death. All 
these predictions were fulfilled, and 
(Enone, upon seeing the dead body of 
Paris, stabbed herself to the heart. She 
was mother of Cory thus by Paris, and 
this son perished by the hand of his fa- 
ther, when he attemp ed, at the instiga- 
tion of his mother, to persuade him to 
withdraw his affection from Helen. 
Ovid. Propert. &c. 

CEnopia, one of the ancient 

names of the island iEgin.a. Quid. 

(Enopides, a mathematical 
philosopher at Chics. 

<E no pi on, a son of Ariadne, 
by Theseus, or, according to ethers, by 
Bacchus. He married Helic-e, by whom 
he had a daughter called Hero," or Me- 
tope, of whera the giant Orion became 
enamoured. The father, afraid of pro- 
voking him by an open refusal, evaded 
his applications, and at last put out his 
eyes when he was intoxicated. Pint. 
Apollod. &c. 

(Exotri, the inhabitants of 

(EnotPvIA, a part of Italy, 
which was afterwards called Lucania. 
It received this name from GZnotrus, 
the son of Lycaon, who settled there 
with a colony of Arcadians. The name 
of (Euoiria is sometimes applied to 
Italy. Dionrjs. Hal. Virg. &c. 

(E x o t R i jy e s, two islands, 
called Ischia and Pontia, whither many 
Romans were banished by the empe- 
rors. 

(Enotp.us, a son of Lycaon of 
Arcadia. He passed into Magna Graecia 
with a colony, and gave the name of 



CEnotria to that part of the country 
where he settled. Virg. 

(En use, several small islands 
on the coast of Peloponnesus. 

(E o n u s, son of Licymnius, 
who having been slain at Sparta, Her- 
cules burnt his body, and presented his 
ashes to his father fas he had promised 
to bring his son back. Hence arose the 
Greek custom of burning the dead. 

(E r o E, an island of Bceotia, 
formed by the Asopus. 

(E t a, a celebrated mountain 
between Thessaly and Macedonia, upon 
which Hercules burnt himself. Its 
height has given occasion to the poets 
to reign that the sun, moon, and stars, 
rose behind it. The straits of mount 
GZta are called Thermopylae from the 
hot baths in the neighbourhood. These 
passes are not mere than 25 feet in 
breadth. Apcllod. Pans. &c. — A small 
town at the foot of mount CEta, near 
Thermopylae. 

Ofellus, a man whom, 

though unpolished, Horace represents 
as a character exemplary for wisdom, 
economy j and moderation. 

Ogmius, a name of Hercules, 
among the Gauls. 

O g o A, a deity worshipped in 

Caria, under whose temple the waters 
of the sea were supposed to pass. 

Ogyges, the most ancient 

monarch that reigned in Greece. He 
was son of Terra, or, as some suppose, 
of Neptune. He reigned in Baotia, 
which, from him, is £ometimes called 
Ogygia, and his power was aiso extend- 
ed over Attica. Jn the reign of Ogyges 
there was a deluge, v. r hich so inundated 
the territories of Attica, that they re- 
mained waste for near 200 years. This, 
though it is very uncertain, is supposed 
to have happened about 1764 years be- 
fore the Christian era, previous to the 
deluge of Deucalion. According to some 
writers, it was owing to the overflowing 
of one of the rivers of the country. The 
reign of Ogyges was also marked by an 
uncommon appearance in the heavens, 
and, as reported, the planet Venus 
changed her color, diameter, figure, and 
her course. Varro. Pans. &e. 

Ogygia, one of the seven 

gates of Thebes, in Boeotia. 

Ogygia, an ancient name of 
Bceotia, from Ogyges, who reigned 
there. — The island of Calypso, oppo- 
site to the promontory of Laeidium, in 
Magna Graecia, where "Ulysses was ship- 
wrecked. The situation, and even the. 
existence of Calypso's island, is dis-. 
puted. Plin. Homer. 

Oicleus, a son of Antiphates 

and Zeuxippe, who married fiyrer- 



OLY 



OLY 



mnestra, daughter of Thestius, by 
whom he had Iphianira, Polyboea, and 
Amuhiaraus. Homer. &c. 

O Ileus, a king of the Locri- 

ans, who married Eriope, by whom he 
had Ajax, called Oil eus, from his fa- 
ther, to discriminate him from Ajax, 
the son of Telamon. He had also an- 
other son called Medon, by a courtezan 
called Rhene. Oileus was one of the 
Argonauts. Virg. Homer. &c. 

0l3ia. This name is com- 
mon to four different towns; the most 
remarkable are the following : — A town 
of Sarmatia, at the eojfluence of the 
Hypanis and the Borysthenes, about 15 
miles from the sea, according to Pliny. 
Strab. Piin. — The capital of Sardinia. 
Claudian. 

Olearos, or Oliros, one of 

the Cyclades, about 16 miles in circum- 
ference, separated from Paros by astrait 
of seven miles. f£irg e &.e, 

Olex, a Greek poet of Lycia, 

who flourished some time before the 
age of Orpheus, and composed many 
hymns, some of which were regularly 
sung at Delphi on solemn occasions. 
Herodoi. 

Olenus, a man who married 
Lethasa, a beautiful woman, who pre- 
ferred herself to the goddesses. She and 
her husband were changed into stones 
by the deities. Ovid. Met. 

Olekus, or Olenum, a town 
of Peloponnesus, between Patrse and 
Cyllene. The goat Amalthaea, which 
was made a constellation by Jupiter, is 
called Olemvfrom its residence there. 
Ooid. Strab. 

Olisipo, now Lisbon, a town 
of ancient Spain on the Tag us, sur- 
named Felicitas Julia, (Plin.J and call- 
ed by some Ulygsippo, and said to be 
founded by Ulysses. Mela. 

Ollovico, a prince of Gaul, 
called the friend of the republic by the 
Roman senate. Oes. 

Olmius, a river of Bceotia, 
sacred to the Muses. Stat. 

Olympia forum), celebrated 
games, which received their name either 
f romO 1 y m pia, wh ere th ey were obs erved , 
or fromJupitcrOlympius, to whom they 
were dedicated. The opinion most ge- 
nerally received is, that they were first 
established by Hercules in honor of Ju- 
piter Olympius, after a victory obtained 
over Aiigias, B. C. 1222. But they were 
neglected after their first institution by 
Hercules, and Iphitus, in the age of the 
• iwgi ver of Sparta, renewed them. This 
re-institution, which happened B. C. 884, 
forms a celebrated epoch in Grecian hi- 
story, an. I is the beginning of the Olym- 
piads. IVid. Olympias:] They, how- 
ever, were neglected for some time after 
the age of Jphitns, till Corcebus, who 



obtained a victory B. C. 776, re-insti- 
tuted them to be regularly and con- 
stantly celebrated. The care and super- 
intendence of the games were intrusted 
to the people of Elis, till they were ex- 
cluded by the Pisaeans, B. C. 3G4, after 
the destruction of Pisa. The presidents 
of the games were obliged solemnly to 
swear, that they would act impartially, 
and not take any bribes , or discover why 
they rejected some of the combatants. 
They generally sat naked, and held be- 
fore them the crown which was prepared 
for the conqueror. There were also 
certain officers to keep good order and 
regularity, called a"hvT<x.i. No women 
were permitted to appear at the cele- 
bration of the Olympian games. This 
rule, however, was sometimes neglected. 
The preparations for these festivals 
were great. No person was permitted 
to enter the lists if he had not regularly 
exercised himself ten months before the 
celebration at the public gymnasium of 
Elis. The wrestlers were appointed by 
lot. In these games were exhibited run- 
ning, leaping, wrestling, boxing, and 
the throwing of the quoit, which was 
called altogether TrsvTaSAcv, or quin- 
quertium. Besides these, there were 
horse and chariot races, and also con- 
tentions in poetry, eloquence, and the 
fine arts. The only reward that the 
conqueror obtained was a crown of olive. 
So trifling a reward stimulated courage 
and virtue, and was more the source of 
great honors than the most unbounded 
treasures. The statues of the conquerors, 
called Olympionieee, were erected at 
Olympia, "in the sacred wood of Jupiter. 
Their return home was that of a war- 
like conqueror; they were drawn in a 
chariot by four horses, and every where 
received with the greatest acclamations. 
Painters and poets were employed iu ce- 
lebrating their names. The combatants 
were naked. The Olympic games were 
observed every fifth year, or rather at 
the expiration of four years ; they con- 
tinued for five successive day.,, and 
drew together not only the inhabitants 
of Greece, but of the neighbouring 
islands and countries. Find. Strab. 
Paus. &c— A town of Elis, in Pelopon- 
nesus, where Jupiter had a temple with 
a celebrated statue 50 cubits high, reck- 
oned one of the seven wonders of the 
world. The Olympic games were cele- 
brated in the neighbourhood. Strab. 
Paus. 

Olympias, a certain space of 

time which elapsed between the cele- 
bration of the Olympic games. The 
Olympic games were celebrated after 
the expiration of four complete years, 
whence some have said they were ob- 
served every fifth year. This period of 
time was called Olympiad, and became 
a celebrated era among the Greeks, who 
computed their time by it: but the 
custom of reckoning by the celebration 
of the Olympic games was not intro- 



OLY 



ONE 



duced at the first institution of these 
festivals, but to speak accurately, only 
the year in which Corcebus obtained 
the prize. This Olympiad, which has 
always been reckoned the first, fell, 
according to the accurate and learned 
computations of some of the moderns, 
exactly 776 years before the Christian 
era, in the year of the Julian period 
3938, and 23 years before the building 
of Rome. The computations by Olym- 
piads ceased, as some suppose, after the 
36ith, in the year 440 of the Christian 
era. To the Olympiads history is much 
indebted, as they have served to fix the 
time of many momentous events. — A 
celebrated woman, who was daughter 
of a king of Epirus, and who married 
Philip, king of Macedonia, by whom 
she had Alexander the Great. Her 
haughtiness obliged Philip to repudiate 
her. Olympias was sensible of this in- 
jury, who, it is said, caused Philip to 
be murdered. At the death of Alexander 
she seized the government of Mace- 
donia, and cruelly put to death Aridseus 
and his wife Eurydice, also Nicanor, the 
brother of Cassander, with 100 leading 
men of Macedon, who were inimical to 
her interest. Such barbarities did not 
long remain unpunished; Cassander be- 
sieged her in Pydna, and obliged her to 
surrender after an obstinate siege. She 
was at last massacred by those whom 
she had cruelly deprived of their chil- 
dren, about 316 years before the Chris- 
tian era. Justin. JPlut. Curt. Paus. 

Olympiodortts, a musician, 
who taught Epaminondas music. C. 
Nep. — A native of Thebes, in Egypt, 
who flourished under Theodosius II. 
and wrote twenty-two books of history, 
in Greek, beginning with the 7th con- 
sulship of Honorius, and the second of 
Theodosius, to the period when Valen- 
tin ian was made emperor. 

Olympius, a surname of Ju- 
piter at Olympia, where the god had a 
celebrated temple and statue, which 
passed for one of the seven wonders of 
the world. It was the work of Phidias. 
Paus. 

Olympus, a name common to 

several mountains in Asia and Europe ; 
the most remarkable of which is that of 
Macedonia and Thessaly. The ancients 
supposed that it touched the heavens 
with its top ; and, from that circum- 
stance, they have placed the residence 
of the gods there, and have made it the 
court of Jupiter. It is about one mile 
and a half in perpendicular height, and 
is covered with pleasant woods, caves, 
and grottoes. On the top of the moun- 
tain, according to the notion of the 
poets, there was no wind, no rain, no 
clouds, but an eternal spring. Homer. 
Virg. Ovid. &c. — A physician of Cleo- 
patra, author of several treatises on sub- 
jects of history. — A poet and musician 
of Mysia, disciple to Marsyas, who lived 
before the Trojan war, and some of 
Wot Sfi'^f 4 iffqifeG lo tiJb6TO sifi hsilus. i <zi 



whose elegies, hymns, and airs, were 
preserved in the times of Plato and Ari- 
stotle. — This name is common also to 
some persons, but of no considerable 
note. 

Olothus, a celebrated town 

and republic of Macedonia, on the isth- 
mus of the peninsula of Pallene. It 
became famous for its flourishing situa- 
tion, and for its freqaent disputes with 
the Athenians, Lacedaemonians, and 
king Philip. Cic. Pint. Rerodot. &c 

Olyras, a river near Thermo- 
pylae 

Ombi and Tejttyra, two 

neighbouring cities of Egypt, whose 
inhabitants were in discord one with 
another. Juv. 

Omole, a mountain of Thes- 
saly. 

O310PHAGIA, a festival, held 

in honor of Bacchus. 

Omphale, a queen of Lydia, 

daughter of Jardanus. She married 
Tmblus, who, at his death, left her mis- 
tress of his kingdom. She purchased 
Hercules, who had been sold as a slave 
for the recovery of his senses after the 
murder of Eurytus. Omphale soon re- 
stored her slave to liberty, and the hero 
became enamoured of his mistress. The 
queen favored his passion, and had a 
son by him. Hercules is represented 
by the poets as so desperately ena- 
moured of the queen, that, to conciliate 
her esteem, he spins by her side among 
her women, while she covers herseff 
with the lion's skin, and arms herself 
with the club of the hero, and often 
strikes him with her sandals for the 
uncouth manner with which he holds 
the distaff, &c. Their fondness was 
mutual. Gvid. Apollod. Diod, &c. 

Omphis, a king of India, who 

delivered himself up to Alexander the 
Great. Curt. 

Ojtarus, a priest of Bacchus, 
who is supposed to have married Ari- 
adne after she had been abandoned bv 
Theseus. Plut. 

Oxatas, a famous statuary of 
iEgina, son of Micon. He made a statue 
of Ceres for the people of Phigalia, and 
also a brazen chariot drawn by two 
horses, which was consecrated by Dina- 
medes, according to the wishes of Hiero 
his father, to Jupiter Olympius, and 
which long continued to be the admira- 
tion of travellers. He also madeeques- 
trian statues for the Tarentines, which 
were placed in the temple of Delphi. 
Plin. Paus. ; a 

Oxesicrit us, a cynic philo- 
sopher of.-Egina, who went with Alexan- 
der into Asia, and was sent to the Indian 
Gymnosophists. He wrote an history 
of the king's life, which has been cen- 
sured for the romantic, exaggerated, and 



OPP 



ORA 



improbable narrative it gives. Pint. 
Curt. 

Oxesimus, a Macedonian no- 
bleman, treated with great kindness by 
the Roman emperors. He wrote an ac- 
count of the life of the emperor Probus 
and of Cams, with great precision and 
elegancev 

Onochonus, a river of Thes- 
saly, falling into the Peneus. It was 
dried up bv the armv of Xerxes. He- 
rodot. 

Oxomacilites, a soothsayer 
of Athens. It is generally believed that 
the Greek poem, on the Argonautic 
expedition, attributed to Orpheus, was 
written by Onomaeritus. The elegant 
poems of Musseus are also, by some, 
supposed to be his production. He 
flourished about 516 years before the 
Christian era, and was expelled from 
Athens by Hipparchus, one of the sons 
of Pisistratus.* Herodot. 

Oxo marches, a Phocian ge- 
neral, distinguished during the sacred 
war. He died 353 B. C. 

Oxophas, one of the seven 
Persians who conspired against the 
usurper Smerdis. Ctesias. 

Opalia, festivals celebrated by 
the Romans, in honor of Ops, on the 
14th of tiie calends of January. [Vid. 
Ops.] 

Opheltes, the father of Eu- 

ryalus, whose friendship with Nisus is 
proverbial. Virg. 

Ophioxeus, an ancient sooth- 
saver in the age of Aristodernus, born 
blind. ^ 

Opici, the ancient inhabitants 
of Campania. Juv. 

Opicoxcia, a festival in honor 

of Vesta, celebrated at Rome/the eighth 
of the calends of September. No per- 
sons except the vestals and the priest 
were permitted to enter into her sanctu- 
ary. Varvy. 

Ofilius, a grammarian, author 

of Eibri Musarum. 

Opimies, a Roman consul, who 
showed himself a most inveterate enemy 
to C. Gracchus and his adherents, and 
behaved, during his consulship, like a 
dictator. He was accused of bribery, 
and banished. He died of want at Dyr- 
rachium. Cic. Plat. — A lich usurer at 
Rome in the age of Horace. 

Opis, a nymph who was among 
Diana's attendants. Virg.— -One of Cy- 
rene's attendants. Virg. 

Opites, a native of Argos, 
killed by Hector at the siege of Troy. 

Oppia, a vestal virgin, buried 
alive for her incontinence. 

Oppia lex, a law made 

A. U. C. 540, to restrain women frcm 
wearing above half an ounce of gold, 
from having party-coloured garments. 



and from being carried to any place 
within the distance of a mile. This law 
was repealed 1 8 years after. 

Oppiaxus, a Greek poet of 
Cilicia in the second century. He wrote 
some poems, celebrated for their ele- 
gance and sublimity. Two of them are 
now extant, called Alieuticon, and Cy- 
negeticcn. The emperor Caracalla was 
so pleased with his poetry, that he gave 
him a piece of gold for every verse of 
his Cynegeticon x from which circum- 
stance the poem received the name of 
the golden verses of Oppian. The poet 
died of the plague in the 30th year of 
his age. 

Oppidius, a rich old man in- 
troduced by Horace, 2 Sat. 3, v. 168, as 
wisely dividing his possessions among 
his two sons, and warning them against 
those follies and that extra vagance which 
he believed he saw rising in them. 

C. Oppius. The most remark- 
able of this name is a friend of Julius 
Caesar, celebrated for his life of Seipic 
Afrieanus, and of Pcmpey the Great. 

Ops (ojpn), a daughter of Cce- 
lus and Terra., the same as the Rhea of 
the Greeks, marriedSatuvn, and became - 
mother of Jupiter. She was known 
among the ancients by the different 
names of Cybele, Bona Dea. Magna 
Mater, Thya, Tellus, Proserpina, and 
even of Juno and Minerva; and the 
worship paid to these apparently several 
deities was offered merely to one and the 
same person, mother of the gods. Tatius 
built her a temple at Rome, where her 
festivals were called Opalia, &c. Va n-. 
Diomjs. Hal. &c. 

Op times Maxim us, epithets 

given to Jupiter to denote his greatness 
and omnipotence. 

Opus (opnntis), a city of Lo- 
cris, on the Ascpus, destroyed by an 
earthquake. Strab. occ. 

Oraculem, an answer of the 
gods to the questions of men, or the 
place where those answers were given. 
Nothing is more famous than the an- 
cient oracles of Egypt, Greece, Rome, 
&c. They were supposed to be the will 
of the gods themselves, and they were 
consulted, not only upon every import- 
ant matter, but even in the affairs of 
private life. The most celebrated ora- 
cles of antiquity were those of Bodona, 
Delphi, Jupiter Ammon, <fec. [ Vid. Do- 
dona, Delphi, Ammon.] The temple of 
Delphi seemed to claim a superiority 
over the other temples ; its fame was 
once more extended, and its riches were 
so great, that not only private persons, 
but even kings and numerous armies, 
made it an object of plunder and of ra- 
pine. The answers were sometimes 
given in verse, or written on tablets, but 
their meaning was always obscure, and 
often the cause of disaster to such as 
consulted them. Croesus, when he con- 
sulted the oracle of Delphi, was told, 



PRC 

that if he crossed the Halys, he must 
destroy a great empire; he supposed 
that empire was the empire of his ene- 
my, but unfortunately it was his own. 
The words of " Credo te, Maeida, Ro- 
manos vince?-e posse " which Pyrrhus re- 
ceived when he wished to assist the 
Tarentir.es against the Romans, by a 
'favorable interpretation for himself, 
proved his ruin. Nero was ordered, by 
the oracle of Delphi, to beware of 73 
years ; but the pleasing idea that he 
i should live to that age rendered him 
careless, and he was soon convinced of 
his mistake, when Galba, in his 73d 
year, had the presumption to dethrone 
him. The oracles often suffered them- 
selves to be bribed. Alexander did it, 
but Lysander failed in the attempt. 
Herodotus, who first mentioned the cor- 
ruption which often prevailed in the 
oracular temples ^f Greece and Egypt, 
has been reverely treated for his remarks 
by the historian Plutarch. Demosthenes 
also observed, that the oracles of Greece 
were servilely subservient to the will of 
Philip, king of Macedonia, as he beauti- 
fully expresses it by the word QiXm- 
tfi^eiv. If some of the Greeks and other 
European nations paid so much atten- 
tion to oracles, and were so fully per- 
suaded of their veracity, and even di- 
vinity, many of their leading men and 
of their philosophers were apprized of 
the deceit, and paid no regard to the 
command of priests whom money could 
corrupt, and interposition silence. 

Oma, certain solemn sacrifices 
of fruits offered in the four seasons of 
the year, to obtain mild and temperate 
weather. They were offered to the god- 
desses who presided over the seasons, 
who attended upon the sun, and who 
received divine worship at Athens. 

Orbilius Pupillus, a gram- 
marian of Beneventum. who was the 
first instructor of the poet Horace. He 
came to Rome in the consulship of Ci- 
cero, and there, as a public teacher, ac- 
quired more fame than money. He was 
naturally of a severe disposition. He 
lived almost to his 100th year, and lost 
his memory some time before his death. 
Suet. Horat. 

Qrbona, a mischievous god- 
dess at Rome, who, as it was supposed, 
made children die. Cic. 

Orcades, islands on the north- 
ern coasts of Britain. They were un- 
known till Britain was discovered to be 
an island by Agricola, who presided 
there as governor. Now called the Ork- 
neys. Tacit. Juv. 

Orckamus, king of Assyria, 
father of Leucothoe, by Eurynome. He 
buried his daughter alive for her amours 
with Apollo. Ovid. 

ORCHOMENUS, orORCHOME- 
NUM, a town of Bosotia, anciently 
called Minyeia, and, from that circum- 



ORE 



stance, the inhabitants were often called 
Minyans of Orchomenos. There was at 
Orchomenos a celebrated temple, sacred 
to the Graces. Herodot. Plin.—X town 
of Arcadia, at the north of Mantinea. 
Homer. — A son of Minyas, king of Boe- 
otia, who gave the name of Orchomeni- 
ans to his subjects. Paus. 

Orcus, one of the names of the 
god of hell, the same as Pluto, though 
confounded by some with Charon. The 
word Orcus is generally used to sigriiry 
the infernal regions. Horat. Virg. Sec. 

Orcynia, a place of Cappa- 
docia, where Eumenes was defeated by 
Antigonus. 

Ordessus, a river in Scythia, 
which emptied itself into the Ister. 

Ordo vices, a people of Bri- 
tain, occupying that part now called 
Psjorfh Wales. 

Oreadf.s, nymphs of the 

mountains, daughters of Phorbneus and 
Hecate. Some call them Orestiades, 
and give them Jupiter for father. They 
generally attended upon Diana, and ac- 
companied her In hunting. It was by 
their influence and example, according 
to Mnasias, that mankind exchanged 
human flesh for the fruit, of trees, and 
the roots of the earth. Virg. Homer. &c. 

Orest^e, a people of Epirus. 
They received their name from Orestes, 
who' fled to Epirus when cured of his 
insanity. Lucan. 

Orestes, a son of Agamemnon 

and Clytemnestra. When his father was 
murdered by Clytemnestra and .-Egis- 
thus, he was saved by his sister Electra, 
called Laodicea by Homer, and was pri- 
vately conveyed to the house of Stro- 
phius, king of Phocis. He was tenderly 
treated by Strophius, who carefully 
educated him with his son Pylades. 
Erom the familiarity between the two 
young princes soon arose the most in- 
violable friendship. When Orestes ar- 
rived to years of manhood, he visited 
Mycenae and avenged his father's death, 
by assassinating his mother Clytemnes- 
tra and her adulterer JSgisthus. The 
manner in which he committed this 
murder is variously reported, but the 
people immediately after acknowledged 
him as king. In consequence of the 
parricide, Orestes is represented as tor- 
mented by the Furies, and exiles himself 
to Argos,where he is still pursued by the 
avengeful goddesses. Apollo himself 
purifies him, and he is acquitted by the 
unanimous opinion of the Areopagites. 
Euripides says, that Orestes, after the 
murder of his mother, consulted the 
oracle of Apollo at Delphi, where he 
was informed that nothing could deliver 
him from the persecutions of the Furies* 
if he did not bring into Greece Diana's 
statue, which was in the Taurica Cher- 
sonesus, and which, as it is reported, 
had fallen from heaven. This was aa 



ORG 



OKI 



arduous enterprise. The king of the 
Chersonesus always sacrificed all such 
as entered the borders of his country. 
Orestes and his friend were both carried 
before Thoas, the king of the place, and 
doomed to be sacrificed. Iphigenia, then 
priestess of Diana, was to immolate 
these strangers. The intelligence that 
they were Grecians delayed the prepara- 
tions, and iphigenia was anxious to learn 
something about the country which had 
given her birth. [Fid. Iphigenia.] She 
offered to spare the life of one of them, 
provided he would convey letters to 
Greece from her hand. This was a dif- 
ficult trial; never was friendship more 
truly displayed, but at last Pylades gave 
way to the pressing entreaties of his 
friend, and consented to carry the letters 
of Iphigenia to Greece. These were ad- 
dressed to Orestes himself, and therefore 
these circumstances soon led to a disco- 
very of th? connexions of the priestess 
with Orestes. Iphigenia, convinced that 
he was her brother Orestes, resolved, 
with the two friends, to fly from Cher- 
sonesus, and to carry away the statue of 
Diaua. Their flight was discovered, 
and Thoas prepared to pursue thern ; 
but Minerva interfered, and told him 
that all had been done by the will and 
approbation of the gods. After these ce- 
lebrated adventures, Orestes ascended 
the throne of Argos, where he reigned 
in perfect security, and married Her- 
mione, the daughter of Menelaus, and 
gave his sister to his friend Pylades. 
The marriage of Orestes with Hermione 
is, however, a matter of dispute among 
the ancients. His old age was crowned 
with peace and security, and he died in 
Arcadia, in the 90th year of his age, 
weaving his throne to his son Tisamenes, 
by Hermione. The friendship of Ores- 
tes and Pylades became proverbial. — An 
ambassador from Attiia, king of the 
Huns, to the emperor Theodosius. — 
One of Alexander's generals. Enrip. 
Svptwcl. Mschyl. Herodot. Homer. Paus. 
Paterc. Apoiiod. Strab. Ovid. &c. 

Orestejim, a town of Arcadia, 
about 18 miles from Sparta. It was 
founded by Orestheus,a son of Lycaon, 
and originally called Oresthesium, and 
afterwards Oresteum, from Orestes, the 
son of Agamemnon, who resided there. 
Paus. Eurip. 

Orestid^e, the descendants or 

subjects of Orestes, the son of Agamem- 
non. They were driven from the Pelo- 
ponnesus Iry the Heraelida?. 

Oretani, a people of Spain. 

Ouetil ia, a woman who mar- 
ried Caligula, by whom she was soon 
after banished. 

Oreum, one of the chief towns 
of Eubcea. 

Org a, a river of Phrygia, emp- 
tying itself into the Mseander. 

Orgetorix, one of the chief 



men of the Helvetii, while Caesar was 
in Gaul. He formed a conspiracy against 
the Romans, and when accused, he de- 
stroyed himself. Cess. 

Orgia, festivals in honor of 
Bacchus. They are the same as the 
Bacchanalia, Dionysia, &e. which were 
celebrated by the ancients to comme- 
morate the triumph of Bacchus in India. 
[Vid. Diony da.] 

Oribasus, a celebrated physi- 
cian, greatly esteemed by the emperor 
Julian, in whose reign he flourished. 
He abridged the works of Galenus, and 
of all the most respectable writers on 
physic, at the request of the emperor. 
He accompanied the emperor Julian 
into the east ; after whose death he fell 
into the hands of the barbarians. 

Oricum, or Oricus, a mari- 
time town of Macedonia, founded by a 
colony from Colchis, according to Pliny. 
It had a celebrated harbour, and w T as 
greatly esteemed by the Romans on ac- 
count of its situation, but it was not 
well defended. ^ 

Oriens, in ancient geography, 
h taken for all the most eastern parts of 
the world, such as Parthia, India, Assy- 
ria, &c. 

Orige a Greek writer, equally 
celebr 'tedfor his humility, his learning, 
and the sublimity of hi's genius. He 
was surnamed Adamantus, from his as- 
siduity. He suffered martyrdom for his 
firm adherence to the Christian tenets, 
in his 69th year, A. D. 254. His works 
were excellent and numerous, and con- 
tained a number of homilies, comment- 
aries on the holy scriptures, and differ- 
ent tieatises, besides the Hexapla,which 
famous work first gave the hint for the 
compilation of our Polyglot Bibles. 

Oriobates, one of Darius's 

generals at the battle of Arbela. 

Orion", a celebrated giant, 

sprung from the urine of Jupiter, Nep- 
tune, and Mercury. These three gods, 
pleased with the" hospitality they re- 
ceived from the peasant Hyreius.and 
the piety he exhibited as they travelled 
through Boeotia in disguise, premised to 
grant him whatever he required; and 
the old man desired a son without au- 
other marriage. The gods consented, 
and they ordered him to bury in the 
ground the skin of the victim, into 
which they had all three made water. 
Kyreius did as they commanded, and 
when, nine months after, he dug for the 
skin, he found in it a beautiful child, 
whom he called Uriou, ab urina. The 
name was changed into Orion by the 
corruption of one letter, as Ovid says, 
Per didit antiquum littera prima somtm. 
Orion soon rendered himself celebrated, 
and Diana took him among her attend- 
ants, and even became deeply enamour 
ed of him. His gigantic stature, how- 
ever,displeased OInopion, king of Chios, 



ORN 

who promised to make him his son-in- 
law as soon as he delivered his island 
from wild beasts. This task was soon 
performed by Orion, but (Enopion in- 
toxicated his guest, and put out his eyes 
on the sea-shcre, where he had laid 
himself down to sleep. Orion, however, 
miraculously recovered his sight, it is 
said, by turning his face to the rising 
sun, and amply punished the perfidy of 
(Enopion. It is said, that Orion was an 
excellent workman in iron, and that he 
fabricated a subterraneous palace for 
Vulcan. Aurora, whom Venus had in- 
spired with love, carried him away into 
the island of Deios, to enjoy his" com- 
pany with greater security ; but Diana, 
who was jealous of this, destroyed Orion 
with her arrows. According to Ovid, 
Orion died of the bite of a scorpion, 
which the earth produced, to punish his 
vanity in boasting that there was not on 
earth any animal which he could not 
conquer. After death, Orion was placed 
in heaven, where one of the constella- 
tions still bears his name. The constel- 
lation of Orion, placed near the feet of 
the bull, was composed of seventeen 
stars, in the form of a man holding a 
sword, which has given occasion to the 
poets often to speak of Orion's sword. 
As the constellation of Orion is gene- 
rally supposed to be accompanied, at its 
rising, with great rains and storms, it 
has acquired the epithet ofaquosus, 
given it by Virgil. Orion was buried in 
the island of Dclos. Horn. Virg. Apollod. 

' Objthyia. The most remark- 
able of this name is a daughter of Erech- 
theus, king of Athens, by Paraxithea. 
She was courted and carried away by 
Boreas, king of Thrace, as she crossed 
the llissus, and became the mother of 
Cleopatra, Chione, Zetus, and Calais. 
Apcllod. Ovid. 

Oilmen us, a king of Thessaly, 
son of Cercaphus. He built a town, 
which was called Ormenium. 

Or mis tab is, a name under 
which the Persians worshipped God, 
whom they considered as the author of 
all good. The god whom they dreaded 
as the source of all evil was called Ari- 
mar.es, and they believed these two di- 
vinities were perpetually at war together, 
and that therefore it was necessary to 
sacrifice to the one for his protection, 
and to the other to escane his resent- 
ment. Pint, de Is. Sf Os. 

Ornea, a town of Argolis, 
where a battle was fought between the 
Argives and Lacedaemonians. 

Orneus, a centaur, son of 
Ixion and the cloud. Ovid. —A son of 
Erechtheus, king of Athens, who built 
Ornea, in Peloponnesus. He was father 
of Peteus. Paus. 

Ornithic, the north wind in 
spring. 

Ornitrok, a Phoenician town, 
situated between Tyre and Sldon. 



ORP 

O ii x i t u s, one of iEne&s's 
friends, who was killed by Camilla. 
Virg. JEn. Jnmatte 

Or5des. The most celebrated 

of this name is a prince of Parthia, who 
murdered his brother Mithridates, and 
ascended his throne. He defeated Cras- 
sus, the Roman triumvir, and poured 
melted gold down his throat. He fol- 
lowed the interest of Cassius and Brutus 
at Philippi. When Orcdes became old 
and infirm, his thirty children applied 
to him, and disputed, in his presence, 
their right to the succession. Phraates, 
the eldest, obtained the crown, and then 
attempted to poison his father. The 
poison having no effect, Phraates stran- 
gled him with his own hands, about 37 
years before the Christian era. Orodes 
had then reigned about 50 years. Justin. 
&c. 

Orietes, a governor of Sardis, 

who put Polycrates to a most cruel 
death. 

Oromebon, a mountain in 

the island of Cos. 

Orontes, a king of the Ly- 
rians during the Trojan war, who fol- 
lowed iEneas, and perished in a ship- 
wreck. Virg. — A river of Syria, rising 
in Ccelosyria, and falling, after a rapid 
course, into the Mediterranean, below 
Antioch. According to Strabo, who 
mentions some fabulous account con- 
cerning it, the Orontes disappeared under 
ground for the space of five miles. Dio- 
nys. Perieg. Ovid. 

Oropus, a town of Boeotia, on 
the borders of Attica, near the Euripus, 
which received its name from Oropus 
a son of Macedon. It was the frequent 
cause of quarrels between the Boeotians 
and the Athenians. Amphiaraus had a 
temple there. Paus. 

Orositjs, a Spanish writer, 
A. .D. 416, who published an universal 
history, in seven books, from the cre- 
ation to his own time. His knowledge 
of historical facts and of chronology "i* 
much disputed. 

Orpheus, a son of (Eager, by 

the muse Calliope. Some suppose him 
to be the son of Apollo, to render his 
birth more illustrious. He received a 
lyre from Apollo, or, according to some, 
from Mercury, upon which he played 
with such a masterly hand, thatev en 
the most rapid rivers ceased to flow, the 
savage beasts of the forest forgot thei? 
wildness, and the mountains moved to 
listen to his song. All nature seemed 
charmed and animated, and the nymphs 
were his constant companions. Eury- 
dice was the only one who made a deep 
impression on the musician, and theii 
nuptials were celebrated. Their hap- 
piness, however, was short. Aristaeus 
became enamoured of Eurydice, and 
as she fled from her pursuer, a serpent, 
lurking in the grass, bit her foot, and 



CRT 



OSI 



she died of the wound. Orpheus re- 
solved to recover her, or perish m the 
attempt. With his lyre in his hand, he 
entered the infernal regions, and gained 
admission to Pluto. The king of hell 
was charmed with his strains, the wheel 
of Ixion stopped, the stone of Sisyphus 
stood still, Tantalus forgot his thirst, 
and even the Furies relented. Pluto and 
Proserpine were moved, and consented 
to restore him Eurvdice, provided he 
forbore looking behind till he had come 
to the extremest borders of hell. The 
condition was accepted, and Orpheus 
was already in sight of the upper regions 
of the air, when he forgot his promises, 
and turned back to look at his long lost 
Eurvdice. He saw her, but she instantly 
vanished from his eyes. He attempted 
to follow her, but he was refused ad- 
mission. He then separated himself 
from the societv of mankind, and the 
Thracian women, offended by his cold- 
ness to their amorous passion, having 
torn his body to pieces, threw his head 
into the Hebrus, which still articulated 
the words Eurydice ! Eurydice! as it 
was carried down the stream into the 
^Egean sea. Orpheus was one of the 
Argonauts, of which celebrated expe- 
dition he wrote a poetical account, still 
extant. This, however, is doubted by 
Aristotle. Orpheus, after death, received 
divine honors ; the Muses gave an ho- 
norable burial to his remain-;, and his 
lyre became one of the constellations in 
the heavens. Virg. Ovid. Horat. &c. 

Orphic a, a name by which 

the orgies of Bacchus were called, be- 
cause they had been introduced in Eu- 
rope by Orpheus. 

ORPHNE, a nymph of the in- 
fernal regions, mother of Ascalaphus, 
by Acheron. The word signifies ob- 
scurity. Ovid. Met. 

Orsippus, a man of Megara, 

who was prevented from obtaining a 
prize at the Olympic games, because 
his clothes were entangled as he ran. 
This circumstance was the cause that, 
for the future, all combatants were 
obliged to appear naked. Pavs. 

Ortalus, M., the grandson of 
Hortensius,whom Augustus induced by 
a present to marry, lest the family of so 
eminent a man as Hortensius should be- 
come extinct. 

Orthagoras, a musician in 
the time of Pelopidas. — A tyrant of Si- 
cyon, in whose family the sovereignty 
remained more than a hundred years. 
Orthe, a town in Magnesia. 
Orthia, a surname of Diana 
at Sparta. In her sacrifices it was usual 
for boys to be whipped. [Vid. Diamas- 
tigosis.] Pluc. 

Orthosia, a town in Phoeni- 
cia. — A town in Caria. 

Orthrus, or Orthos. a dog 



which belonged to Geryon. He had 
two head:, and was sprung from the 
union of Echidna and Typhon. ! He 
was destroyed by Hercules. Hesiod. &c. 

Ortygia, a small island of Si- 
cily, within the bay of Syracuse, which 
formed once one of the four quarters of 
that great city. It was in this island 
that the celebrated fountain Arethusa 
arose. Virg.-— An ancient name of the 
island of Delos. Some suppose that it 
received this name from Latona, who 
fled thither when changed into a quail 
(opTv£) by Jupiter, to avoid the pur. 
suits of Juno. Diana was called Ortygia, 
as being born there. Ovid. Virg. 

Orus, or Horus, one of the 

gods of the Egyptians, son of Osiris and 
of Isis. He assisted his mother in aveng- 
ing his father, who had been murdered 
by Typhon. Orus was skilled in me- 
dicine, he was acquainted with futurity, 
and he made the good and the happiness 
of his subjects the sole object of his go- 
vernment. He was the emblem of the 
sun among the Egyptians, and he was 
generally represented as an infant, 
swathed in variegated clothes. In one 
hand he held a staff, which terminated 
in the head of a hawk, in the other a 
whip with two thongs. Herodot. Pint. 
Diod. — The first king of Trcezene- Paus. 

Oschophoria, a festival ob- 
served by the Athenians. It received 
its name onro tod (pspeiv rag ocyjxc^ 
from carrying boughs hung up with 
grapes, called oa-yjxi. The origin of 
this festival is given at considerable 
length in Plutarch's life of Theseus,\vho 
first instituted it. 

Osci, a people between Cam- 
pania and the country of the Volsci ,'who 
assisted Turnus against vEneas. Some 
suppose that they are the same as the 
Opici, the word Osci being a diminution 
or abbreviation of the other. The lan- 
guage, the plays, and ludicrous expres- 
sions of this nation are often mentioned 
by the ancients, and from their indecent 
tendency some suppose the word ob- 
sccenum {quasi oscenum) is derived. 

Osinius, a king of Clusium, 

who assisted JEneas against Turnus. 
Virg. _ 

Osiris, a great deity of the 

Egyptians, son of Jupiter and Niobe. 
All the ancients greatly differ in their 
opinions concerning this celebrated god, 
but they all agree, that as king of Egypt, 
he took particular care to civiliize his 
subjects, and to teach them agriculture. 
After he had accomplished a reform at 
home, Osiris resolved to go and spread 
civilization in the other parts of the 
earth. He left his kingdom to the care 
of his wife Isis ; and in his expedition 
was accompanied by his brother A poho, 
and by Anubis - Macedo, and Pan, His 



OSS 



OTH 



march was through /Ethiopia. He after- 
wards passed through Arabia, mid visited 
the greatest* part of the kingdoms of 
Asia and of Europe, where he enlight- 
ened the minds of men by introducing 
among them the worship of the gods, 
and a reverence for the wisdom of a su- 
preme being. At his return home, Osi- 
ris found the minds of his subjects agi- 
tated. His brother Typhon, who had 
raised seditions, murdered him in a se- 
cret apartment, and cut his body to 
pieces, which were divided among the 
associates of his guilt. This cruelty in- 
censed Isis ; she revenged her husband's 
death, and with her son Orus she de- 
feated Typhon and the partizans of his 
conspiracy- She recovered the mangled 
pieces of "her husband's body, the geni- 
tals excepted, which the murderer had 
thrown into the sea. Isis then directed 
the different Egyptian priests to choose 
whatever animal they pleased to repre- 
sent the person and the divinity of Osiris, 
and they were enjoined to pay the great- 
est reverence to that representative of 
divinity, and to bury it, when dead, 
with the greatest degree of solemnity. 
To render their establishment more pb- 
puTar, each sacerdotal body had a certain 
pt xtion of land allotted to them to de- 
fray the expenses attending the cere- 
monial rites. That part of the body of 
Osiris which had not been recovered, 
was treated with more particular at- 
tention by Isis. [Vid, Phallica.] As 
Osiris had particularly instructed his 
subjects in cultivating the ground, the 
priests chose the ox to represent him, 
and paid the most superstitious venera- 
tion to that animal. [Vid. Apis ] Osiris, 
according to the opinion of some my- 
thologists, is the same as the sun, and 
the adoration which is paid by different 
nations to an Anubis, a Bacchus, a Dio- 
nysius, a Jupiter, a Pan, &c. is the same 
as that which Osiris received in the 
Egyptian temples. Nothing can give a 
clearer idea of the greatness of Osiris 
than this inscription, found on some 
ancient monuments : " Saturn, the 
youngest of all the gods, was my father; 
I am Osiris, who conducted a large and 
numerous army as far as the deserts of 
India, and travelled over the greatest 
part of the world, and visited the 
streams of the Ister, and the remote 
shores of the ocean, diffusing benevo- 
lence to ail the inhabitants of the earth.'-' 
Osiris was generally represented with a 
cap on his head like a mitre, with two 
horns ; he held a stick in his left hand, 
and in his right a whip with three 
thongs. Sometimes he appears with the 
head of a hawk, as that bird, by its 
quick and piercing eyes, is a proper'em- 
blem of the sun. Plut. Herodot. Ho- 
rner. &c. 

OsRHOENE, a country of Me- 
sopotamia, which received this name 
from one of its kings, called Osrhoes. 

Ossa, a lofty mountain of Thes- 



saly. It was formerly joined to mount 
Olympus, but Hercules, as some report, 
separated them, and made between them 
the celebrated valley of Tempe. Ossa 
was one of those mountains which the 
giants, in their wars against the gods, 
heaped up one on the other, to scale the 
heavens with more facility. Mela- Ovid. 

Ostia, a town built at the 

mouth of the river Tiber, by Ancus 
Martius, king of Rome, about'io miks 
distant from Rome. It had a celebrated 
harbour, and was so pleasantly situated 
that she Romans generally spent a part 
of the year there, as in a country seat. 
Ostia and her harbour, called Poitus, 
became gradually separated, and are 
now at a considerable distance from the 
sea. Flor. Liv. Mela. &c. 

Ostorius Scapula, a ge- 
neral, made governor of Britain by the 
emperor Claudius. He defeated and 
took prisoner the famous Caractacus, 
an 1 died A. D. 55. Tacit. Ann. 

Osymandyas, a king of 
Egypt in very ancient times, much ce- 
lebrated for his magnificence. 

Otastes, a noble Persian, one 
of the seven who conspired against the 
usurper Smerdis. It was through him 
that the usurpation was first discovered. 
He was afterwards appointed by Darius 
over the sea-coast of Asia Minor. He 
took Byzantium. Herodot. 

Otho, M.Salvius, a Roman 

emperor, descended from the ancieni 
kings or Etruria. He was one of Nero's 
favorites, and as such he was raised to 
the highest offices of the state. After 
Nero's death, Otho conciliated the fovor 
of Galba, the new emperor : but when 
Galba had refused to adopt him as hi? 
successor, he resolved to make himself 
absolute. The great debts which he 
had contracted encouraged his avarice, 
and he caused Galba to be assassinated, 
and made himself emperor. He was ac- 
knowledged by the senate and the Ro- 
man people, but the sudden revolt of 
Vitellius in Germany rendered his situa- 
tion precarious. Otho obtained three 
victories over his enemies, but in a ge- 
neral engagement near Brixellum, his 
forces were defeated, and he stabbed 
himself when all hopes of success were 
vanished, after a reign of about three 
months, on the 20th of April, A. D. 60. 
Plut. Suet. <fcc. — Roscius, a tribune of 
the people, who, in Cicero's consulship, 
made a regulation to permit the Roman 
knights at public spectacles to have the 
14 first rows after the seats of the se- 
nators. 

Othryades, one of the S00 

Spartans who fought against 300 Ar- 
gives, when those two nations disputed 
their respective right to Thyrea. Two 
Argives, Alcinor and Cronius, and Oth- 
ryades, survived the battle. The Ax- 



OVI 



ozo 



gives went home to carry the news of 
their victory, but Oihryades, who harl 
been reckoned among the number of 
the slain, recovered himself, and carried 
some of the spoils of which he had strip- 
ped the Argives into the camp of his 
countrymen ; and after he had raised a 
trophy, and had written with his o.vn 
blood the word vici on his shield, he 
killed himself, unwilling to survive the 
death of his countrymen. Val. Max. 
Pint. ParaU.—A patronymic given to 
Pantheus, the Trojan priest of Apollo, 
from his father Othryas. Virg. 

Othryoseus, a Thracian, 

who came to the Trojan war in hopes of 
marrying Cassandra. He was killed by 
Idomeneus. Homer. 

Othrys, a mountain, or rather 
a chain of mountains in Thessaly, the 
residence of the Centaurs. Strati. Hero 
dot. Virg. 

O the us, a Phrygian king, 
brother to ticcuba. 

Otcs and Ephialtes, sons 
of Neptune. [Vid. Aloises.] 

Otys, a Paphlagonian prince, 
who went over to Agcsuaus to the Per- 
sians. 

P. Ovid i us Naso, a celebrated 

Roman poet, born at Sulmo. As he was 
intended for the bar, his father sent him 
early to Rome, and removed him to 
Athens in the teth year of his age. But 
as he was born a poet, nothing could de- 
ter him from pursuing his natural in- 
clination. Every thing he wrote was 
expressed in poetical numbers. A lively 
genius and a fertile imagination soon 
gained him admirers ; the learned be- 
came his friends. Virgil, Propertius, 
Tibullus,and Horace honored him with 
their correspondence, and Augustus pa- 
tronized him with the most unbounded 
liberality. These favors, however, were 
but momentary, as the poet was soon 
after banished to Tomes, on the Euxine 
sea, by the emperor. The true cause of 
this sudden exile is unknown. In his 
banishment, Ovid betrayed great pusil- 
lanimity, and prostituted his pen and 
his time to adulation ; yet the emperor 
proved deaf to ail entreaties. Tiberius 
proved as regardless as his predecessor 
to the entreaties which were made for 
Ovid, and the poet died in the seventh 
or eighth year of his banishment, in the 
59th year of his age, A. D. 17, and was 
buried atTomos. "The remaining works 
of Ovid are the Metamorphoses, in 15 
books; the Fasti, in 12 books, six of 
which are lost; theTristia, in five books, 
the Heroides ; his three books of Amo- 
rura, and the same number de Arte 



Amandi, witli the other de Remedio 
Amoris; and the Ibis. {Vid. Ibis.] His 
Fasti are allowed to be the best written 
of all his poems. His Epistles to Pcntus 
are the language of an abject and pusil- 
lanimous flatterer. However critics may 
censure the indelicacy and the inaccu- 
racies of Ovid, it is to be acknowledged 
that his poetry contains great sweetness 
and elegance, and, like that of Tibul- 
lus, charms the ear and captivates the 
mind. 

Ovixius Qeintus, a senator 

of Rome, who was punished by Au- 
gustus, for having disgraced his rank in 
the court of Cleopatra. 

Oxathres, brother to Darius, 
whom Alexander greatly valued, and to 
whom he gave a command in his own 
army. 

Oxidates, a Persian, whom 

Darius condemned to death. Alexander 
took him prisoner, and some time after 
made him governor of Media. He be- 
came oppressive, and was removed. 
Curt. 

Oxiox^E, a nation of Germans, 

whom superstitious traditions represent- 
ed as having the countenance human, 
and the rest of the body like that of 
beasts. Tacit. 

Oxus, a river in Scythia A 

river in Bactriana, falling into the Cas- 
pian sea. 

Oxyares, a king of Bactriana, 
in the time of Alexander, to whom he 
surrendered. 

Oxyderce, a surname of Mi- 
nerva, from the sharpness and penetrat- 
ing power of her eyes. She was wor- 
shipped under that name, in a temple 
erected at Argos by Diome.les, whom, 
in the Trojan war, she had relieved 
from the darkness with which he was 
surrounded in battle. Pans. Plut. 

Oxylus, a leader of the Hera- 

elida?,when they recovered the Pelopon- 
nesus. He was rewarded with the king- 
dom of Elis. Paus. 

Oz jl^e, or Ozoli, a people 

who inhabited the eastern parts of JEto- 
lia, which were called Ozolea. This 
tract of territory lay at the north of the 
bay of Corinth, and extended about 12 
miles northward. They received their 
name, it is said, from the bad stench 
(o^) of the stagnated water in the 
neighbouring lakes and marshes. The 
name of Ozolse, on account of its indeli- 
cate signification, highly displeased the 
inhabitants, aud they exchanged it soon 
for that of jEtolians. Pans. &c. 



PAD 



PAD 



Pacatianus, Titus Julius, a 

Roman general, who proclaimed himself 
emperor in Gaul, about the latter part 
of Philip's reign. He was soon after 
defeated, A. D. 249, and put to death. 

Pachinus, or Pachynus, a 
promontory of Sicily, projecting about 
two miles into the sea, in the form of a 
peninsula, at the south-east corner of 
the island, with a small harbour of the 
same name. Strab. Virg. 

P ac onus, the eldest of the 30 
sons of Orodes, king of Parthia, sent 
against Crassus, whose army he de- 
feated, and whom he took prisoner. He 
supported the republican party of Pom- 
pey, and of the murderers of Julius Cae- 
sar, and was killed in a battle by Venti- 
dius Bassus, B. C 39, on the same day, 
(9th of June) that Crassus had been de- 
feated. Flo?: Horat.—A king of Par- 
thia, who made a treaty of alliance witli 
the Romans, &c. 

Pactolus, a celebrated river 
of Lydia, rising in mount Tmolus, and 
falling into the^Hermeus, after watering 
the city of Sardes. It was in this river 
that Midas washed himself when he 
turned into gold whatever he touched, 
and from that circumstance it ever after 
rolled golden sands, and received the 
name of Chrysorrhoas. It was called 
Tmolus by Pliny. Strabo observes, 
that it had no golden sands in his age. 
Strab, Virg. &c. 

Pactyas, a Lydian, entrusted 
with the care of the treasures of Crcesus 
at Sardes. The immense riches which 
he could command corrupted him, and 
to make himself independent, he ga- 
thered a large army. He laid siege to 
the citadel of Sardes, but the arrival of 
one of thePersian generals soon put him 
to flight. He returned to Cumse, and 
afterwards to Lesbos, where he was de- 
livered into the hands of Cyrus. Hero- 
dot. &c. 

Pacuvius, M. a native of 

Brundusium, who distinguished himself 
by his skill in painting, and his poetical 
talent. His style was rough, and with- 
out purity or elegance. He retired to 
Tarentum, where he died in the 90th 
year of his age, about 131 years B. C. 
Cic. Horat. &c. 

Pad^ei, an Indian nation, who 
devoured their sick before they died. 
Herodot. 

Padua, a town called also Pa- 

taviurn, inthe country of theVenelians, 
founded by Antenor immediately after 
the Trojan war. It was the native place 
of the historian Livy, 

Pad us, (now the Po), a river 
in Italy, known also by the name of 



Eridanus, which forms the northern 
boundary of the territories of Italy. It 
rises in mount Vesulus, one of the high- 
est mountams of the Alps, and dis- 
charges itself in an eastern direction into 
the Adriatic sea by seven mouths, after 
collecting in its course the waters of 
above 30 rivers. The Po is famous for 
the death of Phaeton, who, as the poets 
mention, was thrown down there by the 
thunderbolts of Jupiter. Ovid. Virg: 
Strab. &e. 

Padusa, the same as the Po. 

Vhg. 

PiEAN, a surname of Apello, 
derived from the word psean, an/hyrnn 
which was sung in his honor, because 
he had killed the serpent Python, which 
had given cause to tne people to exclaim 
lo Pa?a:i ! The exclamation of io Psean 
was made use of in speaking to the other 
gods, as it often was a demonstration of 
joy- Juv. Ovid. &c. 

PiEDARlTus, a Spartan, who, 
on not being elected in the number of 
the 300 sent on an expedition, &t». de- 
clared, that, instead of being mortified, 
he rejoiced that 300 men better than 
himself could be found in Sparta. Plut . 
in Lye. 

PiEDius, one of Csesar's lieu- 
tenants in Spain, remarkable for having 
proposed a law to inflict death on alV 
Csesar's murderers. 

Pjeox, a celebrated physician, 
who cured the wounds which the gods 
received during the Trojan war. From 
him, physicians are sometimes called 
Paeonii, and herbs serviceable in me- 
dicinal processes, Pasonise herb:e. Virg. 
Odd. 

Phones, the inhabitants of ~ 
PiEONiA, a country of Macedo- 
nia, on the borders of the Strymon. It 
received its name from Pa?on, a son of 
Endymion, who settled there. 

PiEONiDES, a name given to 
the daughters of Pierus, who were de- 
feated by the Muses, because their mo- 
ther was a native of Peeonia. Ovid. 

P^esos, a town of the Helles- 
pont, whose inhabitants emigrated to 
JLampsacus, on its being destroyed. 

P.estum, a town ofLucania, 

called also Nepiunia, where the soil pro- 
duced roses which blossomed twice a 
year. The ancient walls of the town, 
about three miles in extent, are still 
standing, and likewise venerable re- 
mains of temples and porticoes. The 
Sinus Paestinus on which it stood is now 
called the gulf of Salerno. Virg. Ovid, 
&c. 

P^etus, C^cinnaj the hus- 



PAL 



PAL 



band of Arria.— One of the partakers in 
Caroline's conspiracy. 

Pag^e, a town of Locris. — A 

town of Megaris. 

Pag an alia, festivals among 
the Romans, yearly celebrated in honor 
of Ceres, in the villages and in the coun- 
try, when processions were made, and 
waters of lustration were sprinkled on 
the corn, as if to purify it. Dionysius 
attributes the institution to king Tulius. 
Ovid. Fast. 

Pagas^e, or Pagasa, a town 
of Magnesia, in Macedonia, with a har- 
bour and a promontory of the same 
name. The ship Argo was built there, 
as some suppose, and according to Pro- 
pertius, the Argonauts set sail from that 
harbour. From that circumstance, not 
only the ship Argo, but also the Argo- 
nauts themselves, were ever after dis- 
tinguished by the epithet of PagasEeus. 
Ovid. Strab. Mela. 

Palacium, or Palatium, a 

small village on the Palatine hill, where 
Rome was afterwards built. 

Pal^mon, or Pale mo it, a 

sea deity, son of Athamas and Ino. His 
original name was Melicerta. [Vid. Me- 
licerta.] — A noted grammarian at Rome, 
in the age of Tiberius, who made him- 
self ridiculous by his arrogance and lux- 
ury. Juv. 

Pal^estina, a province of Sy- 
ria, which afterwards was called Judaea, 
though Judaea, properly so named, 
formed only a part of the ancient Pales- 
tine. Strab. Mela. 

Palamedes, a Grecian chief, 
son of Nauplius, king of Euboea by Cly- 
mene. He was sent by the Greek 
princes, going to the Trojan war, to 
bring Ulysses to the camp, who, to avoid 
the expedition, pretended insanity, and 
used to sow salt instead of barley in the 
furrows. The deceit was soon perceived 
by Palamedes, and to demonstrate it, he 
took Telemachus, his son, and put him 
before the plough of his father. Ulysses 
showed that he was not insane, by turn- 
ing the plough a different way not to 
hurt his child. This having been dis- 
covered, Ulysses was obliged to attend 
the Greek princes to the war, but an 
immortal enmity arose between Ulysses 
and Palamedes. The king of Ithaca 
bribed one of his servants, and made 
him dig a hole in his master's tent, and 
there conceal a large sum of money. 
After this Ulysses forged a letter, which 
king Priam was supposed to have sent 
to Palamedes, desiring that, according 
to the conditions which were previously 
agreed upon when he received the mo- 
ney, he should betray the Grecian army. 
This letter was carried before the Gre- 
cian princes. Palamedes wassummoned, 
^nd protested hi3 innocence, but all was 
ia vain, the money was discovered in 



his tent. He was found guilty by all the 
army, and stoned to death. Homer is 
silent about the miserable fate of Pala- 
medes. Palamedes was a learned man 
as well as a soldier, and according to 
some he completed the alphabet of Cad- 
mus by the addition of the four letters 
£, (p, during the Trojan war. To 
him also is attributed the invention of 
dice and backgammon ; and it is said 
that he was the first who regularly 
ranged an army in a line of battle, 
and who placed sentinels round the 
camp, and excited their vigilance and 
attention by giving them a watchword. 
Hi/gin. Apollod. Ovid. &c. 

Palatijtus mons, the largest 

of the seven hills on which Rome was 
built. Upon it Romulus laid the first 
foundation of the capital of Italy, and 
there also he kept his court, as well as 
Tulius Hostilius, and Augustus, and all 
the succeeding emperors, from which 
circumstance the word Palatium has 
since been applied to the residence of a 
prince. The Palatine hill received its 
name from Pales, or Palatini, or the 
word palantes, wandering, because 
Evander, when he came to settle in 
Italv, gathered all the inhabitants, and 
made them all one society. — Apollo, who 
was worshipped on the Palatine hill, 
was also called Palatinus. His temple 
there had been built by Augustus, who 
had enriched it with a library, valuable 
for the various collections of Greek and 
Latin manuscripts which it contained, 
Horat. 

Pal ei s, a town in the island of 

Cephallenia. 

Pales, the goddess of sheep- 
folds and pastures among the Romans, 
was worshipped with great solemnity at 
Rome, and her festivals, called Palilia, 
were celebrated the very day that Ro- 
mulus began to lay the foundation of 
the city of Rome. Servius considers 
her the same as Vesta, but Varro calls 
her a god, and not a goddess. Virg. 
Ovid. &e. 

Palirothra, an Indian city, 

now called Patna. 

PALici,orPALiscx,two deities, 

sons of Jupiter by Thalia, whom yEs- 
chylus calls yEtna, in a tragedy now 
lost. According to Macrobius, iEtna, 
when pregnant, entreated Jupiter to 
remove her from the pursuits of Juno* 
The god concealed her in the bowels of 
■A\e earth, and when the time of her 
delivery was come, the earth opened » 
and brought into the world two children, 
who received the name of Palici, quasi, 
aw tqu 7nxkiv jxscrS'a.', because they 
came again into the world from the 
bowels of the earth. These deities were 
worshipped with great ceremonies by 
the Sicilians. Virg. Ovid. Diod. &c 

Palilia, a festival celebrated 
by the Romans, in honor of the goddess 



PAL 



PAL 



Pales. The ceremony consisted in 
burning heaps of straw, and in leaping 
over tlieni. The purification of the 
flocks was made with the smoke of sul- 
phur, of the olive, the pine, the laurel, 
and the rosemary. Offerings of mild 
cheese, boiled wine, and cakes of millet, 
were afterwards made to the goddess. 
This festival was observed on"the2ist 
of April. Some call this festival Pariha, 
quasi a pariendn , because the sacrifices 
were offered to the divinity for the 
fecundity of the flocks. Ovid. 

Palinurus, a skilful pilot of 
the ship of y£neas. He fell into the sea 
in his sleep, and was three days exposed 
to the tempests and agitation of the sea, 
and at last came safe to the sea shore, 
where the cruel inhabitants of the place 
murdered him. ./Eneas, when he visited 
the infernal regions, saw Palinurus, and 
assured him, that though his bones 
were deprived of a funeral, yet the place 
where his body was exposed, should 
soon be adorned with a monument, and 
bear his name, and accordingly a pro- 
montory was called Palinurus. Virg. 
&c. 

Paliurus, a river of Africa, 

emptying itself into the Mediterranean, 
now called Napil. 

Pallades, certain virgins who 

were consecrated to Jupiter by the 
Thebans of Egypt. It was required 
that they should prostitute themselves, 
an infamous custom, which was con- 
sidered as a purification, during which 
they were publicly mourned as dead, 
and afterwards they were permitted to 
marry. Strab. 

Palladium, a celebrated sta- 
tue of Pallas, representing the goddess 
as sitting and holding a pike in her 
right hand, and in her left a distaff and 
a spindle. It is said it fell down from 
heaven near the tent of Ilus, as that 
prince was building the citadel of 
Ilium. Others give it a different origin, 
but however discordant their opinions 
be about this famous statue, it is uni- 
versally agreed, that on its preservation 
depended the safety of Troy. This 
fatality was well known to the Greeks 
during the Trojan war, and therefore 
Ulysses and Diomedes were commis- 
sioned to steal it away, which they 
effected, it is asserted, by the assistance 
of Helenus, the son of Priam, who 
proved, in this, unfaithful to his coun- 
try. Minerva was displeased with the 
violence offered to her statue, and ac- 
cording to Virgil, the Palladium itself 
appeared to have received life, and by 
the flashes from its eyes, and sudden 
springs from the earth, indicated the 
resentment of the goddess. Some af- 
firm, that the true Palladium was not 
taken by Ulysses and Diomedes, but 
that -^Eneas carried it with him into 
Italy. Ovid. Virg. Homer. &c. 



Pal lad iu s, a Greek physician, 

author of a treatise on fevers. 

Pallaxtetjm, a town of Italy, 
supposed to derive its name from Pallas, 
the son of Evander. Virg. 

Pallantia, a town of Spain, 
now called Palentia. 

Pall an tides, the fifty sons 

of Pallas, the brother of yEgeus. They 
were all killed by Theseus, the son o'f 
iEgeus, whom they opposed when he 
came to take possession of his father's 
kingdom. This opposition they showed 
in hopes of succeeding to the throne, as 
vEgeus left no children except Theseus, 
whose legitimacy was even disputed, as 
he was born at Troezene. Plat, in Thes. 

Pallas, a freedman of Clau- 
dius, famous for his power and richest. 
He advised the emperor to marry Agrip- 
pina, and to adopt her son Nero. It was 
by his means, and those of Agrippina, 
that the death of Claudius was hastened, 
and that Nero was raised to the throne. 
Nero afterwards discarded Pallas, and 
some time after caused him to be put 
to death, that he might make himself 
master of his great riches, A. D. CI. 
Tacit. 

Pallas (adis), the same as 

Minerva. She received this name either 
because she killed the giant Pallas, or 
from the spear which she seems to 
brandish in her hands, (7raXA?iv.) \Vid. 
Minerva.] 

Pallas (antis), a son of king 
Evander, sent with some troops to assist 
./Eneas. He was killed by Turnus, the 
king of the Rutuli, after he had made a 
great slaughter of the enemy. Virg. — 
One of the giants, son of Tartarus and 
Terra. He was killed by Minerva. 
Apollod. 

/ Pallene, a small peninsula 

of Macedonia, formerly called Phlegra, 
situate above the bay of Thermse on the 
iEgean sea, and containing five cities, 
the principal of which is called Pallene. 
It was in this place, according to some 
of the ancients, that an engagement 
happened between the gods and the 
giants. Virg. Ovid.— A village of Attica, 
where Minerva had a temple, and where 
the Pallantides chiefly resided. Herod. 

Pallor, the goddess of pale- 
ness, daughter of Mars and Venus, who 
was one of the attendants of Fear. As 
the word is masculine among the Latins, 
she was considered as a god, to whom 
Tullus Hostilius devoted and erected a 
temple, when he saw his troops thrown 
into flight in a battle. The sacrifices 
offered were a dog or sheep. Hesiod. 
Plut. Liv. 

Palmyra, the capital of Pal- 
myrene, a country on the eastern boun- 
dary of Syria, now Tadmor. It is fa- 
mous for being the seat of the celebrated 



PAN 



PAN 



Zenobia and Odeaatus. It is now in 
ruins, and the splendor and magnificence 
of its porticoes, temples, and palaces 
are now visited with astonishment and 
rapture by the curious and the learned. 
Plin. 

Pamphilus, a celebrated 
painter of Macedonia, in the age of 
Philip. He was founder of the school 
for painting at S icy oil. Apelles was one 
of his pupils. Biog. 

Pamph ylia, a province of Asia 
Minor, anciently called Mopsopia, and 
bounded on the south by a part of the 
Mediterranean, called the Pamphylian 
sea, west by Lucia, north by Fisidia, 
and east by Cilicia. It abounded with 
pastures, vines, and olives. Strab. Mela. 
&c. 

Pan was the god of shepherds, 

of huntsmen, and of all the inhabitants 
of the country. He was the son of Mer- 
cury, by Dryope, according to Homer. 
Different authors have given him dif- 
ferent parents. Pan, however, was a 
monster in appearance; he had two 
small horns on his head, his complexion 
was ruddy, his nose fiat, and his legs, 
thighs, tail, and feet, were those of a 
goat. His education was entrusted to a 
nymph of Arcadia, called Sinoe, but the 
nurse, according to Homer, terrified at 
the monster, fled away and left him. 
He was wrapped up in the skin of 
beasts by his father, and carried to 
heaven, where Jupiter and the gods 
long entertained themselves with the 
oddity of his appearance. There Bac- 
chus gave him the name of Pan. The 
god of shepherds chiefly resided in 
Arcadia, where the woods and the most 
rugged mountains were his habitation. 
He invented the flute with seven reeds, 
which he called Syrinx, in honor of a 
nymph of the same name, who was 
changed into a reed. He was conti- 
nually employed in decei ving the ne igh- 
bouring nymphs, and captivated Diana 
by transforming himself into a beautiful 
white goat. He was also enamoured of 
a nymph of the mountains called Echo, 
by whom he had a son called Lynx. He 
also paid his addresses to Omphale, 
queen of Lydia. The worship of Pan 
was well established, particularly in Ar- 
cadia, where he gave oracles on mount 
Lycaeus. His festivals, called by the 
Greeks Lycaea, were brought to Italy 
by Evander, and they were well known 
at Rome by the name of the Lupercalia, 
[V'ul. Lupercalia.] The worship, and 
the different functions of Pan, are de- 
rived from the mythology of the ancient 
Egyptians. As Pan usually terriricd 
trie inhabitants of the neighbouring 
country, that kind of fear which often 
seizes men, and which is only ima- 
ginary, has received from him the name 
of panic fadi . This kind of terror has 
been exemplified not only in indi- 
viduals, but in numerous armies, such 
as that of Brennus, which was thrown 



into the greatest consternation at Rome, 
without any cause or plausible reason. 
Ovid. Virg. Juv. &e. 

Panacea, a goddess, daughter 
of iEsculapius,who presided over health. 
Lucan. 

Panotitis, a stoic philosopher 

of Rhodes, 138 B. C. He studied at 
Athens for some time ; thence he came 
to Rome, where he reckoned among his 
pupils Lgelius and Scipio, the second 
Africanus. To the latter he was at- 
tached by the closest ties of friendship 
and familiarity, he attended him in his 
expeditions, and partook of all his plea- 
sures and amusements. Paneetius wrote 
a treatise on the duties of man, the me- 
rit of which can be ascertained from the 
encomiums which Cicero bestows upon 
it. Cic. 

Pan Athene a, festivals in ho- 
nor of Minerva, the patroness of Athens, 
first instituted byErechtheus orOrpheus, 
and called Athenaea, but Theseus after- 
wards renewed them, and caused them 
to be celebrated and observed by all the 
tribes of Athens, which he had united 
into one, and from this reason the festi- 
vals received their name. Some sup- 
pose that they are the same as the Ro- 
man Quinquatria, as they are often 
called by that name among the Latins. 
In the first years of the institution, they 
were observed only during one day, but 
afterwards the time was prolonged, and 
the celebration was attended with greater 
pomp and solemnity. The festivals were 
two; the great Panathengea, or jueyaha, 
observed every fifth year, and the lesser 
Panathengea, fxtxpa^ which were kept 
every third year, or rather annually. 
For a minute description of the manner 
of their celebration, the student is re- 
ferred to Lempriere's larger Dictionary, 
or Potter's Antiquities. 

Panch^ea, Panchea, OrPAN- 
CHAIA, an island of Arabia Felix, 
where Jupiter had a magnificent temple. 
— Also a part of Arabia Felix, celebrated 
for the myrrh, frankincense, and per- 
fumes which it produced. Virg. Ovid. 
&c. 

Panda, two deities at Rome : 

one presided over the openings of roads j 
the other over the openings of towns. 
The former of these was first wor- 
shipped by Tatius, who invoked her 
assistance to open to him and to his 
troops the way to the capitol, and she 
afterwards presided also over travellers. 
Some imagine that Panda was the same 
as Ceres, but they are distinguished as 
different deities by most authors. Varro* 
&c. 

Pandareus, father of Philo- 
mela, who was changed into a night- 
ingale, after he had by mistake killed 
her son Itylus. 

Pandarta, a small island in 

the Tyrrhene sea. 



PAN 



PAN 



Pandarus, a son of Lycaon, 

is remarkable for having broken the 
truce which had been agreed upon be- 
tween the Greeks and Trojans. He also 
wounded Menelaus and Diomede:-, and 
showed himself uncommonly coura- 
geous. He was at last killed' by Dio- 
medes ; and ^Eneas, who then carried 
him in his chariot, by attempting to 
revenge his death, nearly perished by 
the hand of the furious enemy. Hornet. 
Virg. 6lc. — A son of Alcanor, killed 
with his brother Bitias by Turnus. 
Virg. Mn. — A native of Crete, punished 
with death for being accessary to the 
theft of Tantalus. What this theft was 
is unknown. Some, however, suppose 
that Tantalus stole the ambrosia and 
the nectar from the tables of the gods, 
to which he had been admitted, or that 
he carried away a dog which watched 
Jupiter's temple in Crete, in which 
crime Pandarus was concerned, and for 
which he suffered. Pandarus had two 
daughters. \_Vid. Camiro and Clytia.] 

Pandemia, a surname of Ve- 
nus, expressive of her great power over 
the affections of mankind. 

Pandemus, one of the sur- 
names of the god of love among the 
Egyptians and the Greeks, who distin- 
guished two Cupids, one of whom was 
the vulgar, called Pandemus, and an- 
other of a purer and more celestial 
origin. Stat. 

Pandia, a festival at Athens, 
established by Pandion, from whom it 
received its name. It was celebrated 
after the Dionysia, because Bacchus was 
sometimes taken for Apollo. 

Pandictjlares, a name ap- 
plied to those days when at Rome sacri- 
fices were offered" to all the gods in com- 
mon. 

Pandion, a king of Athens, 

son of Erichthon and Pisithea, who 
succeeded his father, B. C. 1437. He 
became father of Procne and Philomela, 
Erechtheus, and Butes. During his 
reign there was such abundance of 
corn, wine, and oil, that it was pub- 
licly reported that Bacchus and Minerva 
had personally visited Attica. He gave 
his daughter" Procne in marriage to 
Tereus, king of Thrace, who had as- 
sisted him in a war with the Boeotians. 
The treatment which Philomela re- 
ceived from Tereus [Vid. Philomela] 
M r as the source of infinite grief to Pan- 
dion, and he died after a reign of forty 
years. — There was also another Pan- 
dion, son of Cecrops 2d, who succeeded 
his father, B. C. 1307. He was driven 
from his paternal dominions, and fled 
to Pylas, king of Megara, who gave 
him his daughter Pelia in marriage, 
and resigned his crown to him. Pan- 
dion had four children. iEgeus, the 
eldest, afterwards recovered his father's 
kingdom. Some authors have con- 



founded the two Pandions, and made 
Philomela and Procne the daughters, 
not of Pandion the first, but of Pandion 
the second. Ovid. Apollod. Pans. 

Pandora, the first mortal 

female that ever lived, according to 
Ilesiod. She was made of clay by 
Vulcan, at the request of Jupiter,* who 
wished to punish the impiety of Prome- 
theus, by giving him a wife. When 
this woman of clay had received life, all 
the gods vied in making her presents. 
Venus gave her beauty ; the Graces the 
power of captivating; Apollo taught 
her music ; Mercury instructed her in 
eloquence ; and Minerva gave her the 
most splendid ornaments. From these 
presents received from the gods, the 
woman was called Pandora, which inti- 
mates that she had received every ne- 
cessary gift, tt«v dwfov. Jupiter after 
this gave her a box to present to the 
man who married her, and Mercury 
then conducted her to Prometheus. 
The artful mortal, sensible of the de- 
ceit, would not surlier himself to be 
captivated by her charms. His brother 
Epimetheus was not possessed of the 
same prudence. He married Pandora, 
and upon opening the box which she 
presented him, there issued from it a 
multitude of evils, which dispersed 
themselves over the world, and which 
continue to afflict the human race. Hope 
only remained at the bottom, which 
alone renders troubles and sorrows less 
painful in life. Hesiod. Apollod. &c. 

Pandorus, son to Erechtheus, 

king of Athens. 

Pandosia, a town of Epirus. 
A town in the country of the Brutii, in 
which Alexander, king of the Molossi, 
died. Strab. ' 

Pandrosos, a daughter of 
Cecrops, king of Athens, sister to Ag- 
lauros and Herse. She was the only 
one of the sisters who had not the fatal 
curiosity to open a basket, in which was 
Erichthonius, and which Minerva had 
entrusted to their care ; for which sin- 
cerity a temple was raised to her, near 
that of Minerva, and a festival insti- 
tuted in her honor, called Pandrosia. 
Ovid. Apollod. &.C. 

PANENUS, or PANiEUS, a cele- 
brated painter, who was for some time 
engaged in painting the battle of Mara- 
thon, which was still seen and admired 
in the Pcecile, in the age of Pausanias. 
His pieces were among those which 
adorned the temple of Jupiter Olym- 
pics. Pans. Plin. 

Pang/Eus, a mountain of 
Thrace, anciently called Mons Carami- 
nus, and joined to mount Rhcdope. 
near the sources of the river Nestus. 
On this mountain Lycurgus, the Thra- 
cian king, was torn to pieces, and Or- 
pheus called the attention of the wild 



FAN 



PAP 



beasts, and of the mountains and woods 
to listen to his song. Herodot. Virg. 
&c. 

Paniasis, author of a poem on 
Hercules. 

Panionium, a place at the foot 

of mount Myeale, near Ephesus, hi Asia 
Minor, where all the states of Ionia 
assembled, either to consult for their 
own prosperity, or to offer a sacrifice 
for the good of all the nation, whence 
the name 7ray;a>v/ov, all Ionia. Depu- 
ties from the twelve Ionian cities met 
on the occasion. Herodot. Strab. &c. 

Panisci, ( quasi Panes parvi) 
inferior deities, who presided over woods 
and fields. Cic. Plin. 

Paxius, in Ccelo-Syria, a place 
where Scopas was defeated byAntiochus. 

Pannonia, a large country of 
Europe, bounded on the east by Upper 
Mcesia, south by Dalmatia, west by 
Noricura, and north by the Danube. 1 1 
was first invaded by J. Ca?sar, and con- . 
quered in the reign of Tiberiu?. Philip 
and his son Alexander some ages before 
had successively conquered it. Its chief 
city was Sirmium. Strab. Pi in, 

Panomph^eus, a surname of 
Jupiter, either because he was wor- 
shipped by every nation, or because he 
heard the prayers addressed to him, or 
because the rest of the gods derived 
from him their knowledge of futurity, 
(7T2;, omnis, vox.) Ovid. Homer. 

Panope, or Panopea, one of 

the Nereides, whom sailors generally 
invoked in storms. Her name signifies 
giving every assistance,, or seeing every 
thing. Hesiod. Virg. 

Panope s, a famous huntsman 
among the attendants of Acestes, king 
of Sicily, who was one of those that 
engaged in the games exhibited by 
iEneas. Virg. 

Panopeus, a son of Phocus, 

and Asterodia. He was father to Epeus, 
who made the celebrated wooden horse 
at the siege of Troy. Pans. &c. 

Panopion, master of a slave, 
who when assassins came to his master's 
house, exchanged clothes with him, let 
him out at the back door, went into his 
bed, and permitted himself to be mur- 
dered as if he had actually been Pauo- 
pion himself. 

Panopolis, the city of Pan, a 
town of Egypt, called also Chemmis. 
Pan had there a temple, where he was 
worshipped with great solemuitv. Strab. 

Panormus. This name was 
common to seven different towns in 
Asia and Europe, the most considerable 
of which is that of Sicily, built by the 
Phoeniciaus, on the north-west part of 
the island, with a capacious harbour. 



It was the strongest hold of the Cartha- 
ginians in the island, and it was at last 
taken with difficulty by the Romans. 
Mela. Ital. 

Panotii, a people of Scythia. 

who had very large ears. 

Fans a, C. Vibius, a Roman 

consul, who, with A. Hiitius, pursued 
the murderers of Julius Cresar, and was 
killed in a battle near Mutina. Pansa 
and Hirtius were the two last consuls 
who enjoyed the dignity of chief magis- 
trates of "Rome with full power. The 
authority of the consuls afterwards 
dwindled into a shadow. Paterc. Diog. 
&c. 

Pantagnostus, brother to 

Policrates , tyrant of Samcs. 

Pantagyas, a river on the 

eastern coast of Sicily, which falls into 
the sea, after running a short space in 
rough cascades over rugged stones and 
prec pices. Virg. 

Pant anus lac us, the lake of 

Lesina, is situated in Apulia, at the 
mouth of the Frento. Plin. 

Pan the a, the wife of A bra- 

dates, celebrated for her beauty and 
conjugal affection. She was taken pri- 
soner by Cyrus, who refused to visit 
her, not* to be ensnared by the power of 
her personal charms. She killed herself 
on the body of her husband, who had 
been slain in a battle. [Vid» Abradates.] 
Xenophoir. 

Pantheon", a celebrated tem- 
ple at Rome, built by Agrippa, in the 
reign of Augustus, and dedicated to all 
the gods, whence the words nag and 
3* s og. It was struck with lightning some 
time after, and partly destroyed. Adrian 
repaired it, and it still remainsat Rome, 
converted into a christian temple, the 
admiration of the curious. Plin. 

Pantheus, or Pan thus, a 
Trojan, son of Othryas, the priest of 
Apollo. When his country was burnt 
by the Greeks, he followed the fortune 
of £5nsa§j and was killed. Virg. 

Panthoides, a patronymic of 

Euphorbus, the son of Panthous. Py- 
thagoras is sometimes called by that 
name, as he asserted that he was Eu- 
phorbus during the Trojan war. Horat. 
Odd. 

Panticapjeum, a town of 

Taurica Chersonesus, built by the Mile- 
sians, and was, according to Strabo,the 
capital of the European Bosphorus. 
Mithridates the great died there. Plin. 
Strab. 

Pant i li us, a buffoon ridiculed 

by Horace. 

Paphia, a surname of Venus, 

because the goddess was worshipped at 
Paphos in the island of Cyprus. 

Paphlagonia, a country of 



PAP 



PAN 



Asia Minor, situate at the west of the 
river Halys, by which it was separated 
from the Cappadocians. It was divided 
oil the west from the Bithynians by the 
river Parthenius. Herodot. Steab* &c. 

Paphos, a famous city of the 
island of Cyprus. The goddess of 
beauty was particularly worshipped 
there, and her altars, though 100 in 
number, daily smoked with Arabian 
frankincense. The inhabitants were 
very lascivious, and the young virgins 
were permitted by the laws of the place 
to get a dowry by prostitution. Strab. 
Homer. Virg. 

Paphus, a son of Pygmalion, 

by a statue which had been changed 
into a woman by Venus. Ovid. 

Papianus, a man who pro- 
claimed himself emperor some time 
after the Gordians. He was put to 
death. 

Papias, an early christian 

writer, who first propagated the doc- 
trine of the Millennium. 

Papinianus, a writer, A. D. 

2! 2. When ordered to write an oration 
to excuse or palliate the murder of 
Geta by his brother Caraealla, he with 
noble indignation refused, and for this 
virtuous support of principle he was 
brutally put to death by the tyrant. He 
was then only in his thirty-seventh year; 
but so great was the progress of his im - 
provement, and the extent of his erudi- 
tion as a lawyer, that he was unani- 
mously called " The honor of jurispru- 
dence, and the treasure of the laws." 

Papirius. This name was 
common to several eminent Romans, 
the most remarkable of whom are the 
following: — Carbo, a Roman consul, 
who undertook the defence of Opimius, 
who was accused of condemning and 
putting to death a number of citizens on 
mount A ventinus without the form of a 
trial. His client was acquitted. — A dic- 
tator, who ordered his master of horse 
to be put to death, because he had 
fought and conquered the enemies of 
the republic without his consent. The 
people interfered, and the dictator par- 
doned him. — Cursor made war against 
the Sabines, and conquered them, and 
also triumphed over the Saranites. His 
great severity displeased the people. He 
flourished about 320 years before the 
christian era. Liv.~- Carbo, a friend of 
Cinna and Marius. He raised cabals 
against Sylla and Pompey, and was at 
last put to death by order of Pompey, 
after he had rendered himself odious by 
a tyrannical consulship, and after he 
had been proscribed by Sylla. — Maso, a 
consul who conqueied Sardinia and 
Corsica, and reduced them into the 
form of a province. At his return to 
Rome he was refused a triumph, upon 
which he introduced a triumphal pro- 
cession, and walked with his victorious 



army to the capitol, wearing a crown of 
myrtle on his head. His example was 
afterwards followed by such generals as 
were refused a triumph by the Roman 
senate. Vol. Max. 

Pappus, a philosopher and ma- 
thematician of Alexandria in the reign 
of Theodosius the great. 

Parabyston, a tribunal at 
Athens, where causes of inferior conse- 
quence were tried by eleven judges. 
Paus. 

Paradisus, a town of Syria 

or Phoenicia. Plin. 

Par^etac^e, a place between 

Media and Persia, where Antigonus was 
defeated by Eumenes. C. Ncp. 
Parget ox ium, an Egyptian 

town, in which Isis was worshipped. 

Par ali, a division of the inha- 
bitants of Attica : they received th : s 
name from their being near the sea 
coast. 

P aral us, a son of Pericles, 

whom his father lamented with great 
sorrow. — A friend of Dion, who assisted 
that general to expel Dioflysius. 

Paras ia, a country in Asia, 
lying to the east of Media. 

Parasius, son of Philonomia, 
who exposed him on Erymanthus, with 
his twin brother Lyeastus. 

PARC^E,powerful goddesseswho 
presided over the birth and life of man- 
kind. They were three in number, 
Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, daugh- 
ters of Nox and Erebus, according to 
Hesiod, or of Jupiter and Themis, 
according to the same poet in another 
poem. Some make them daughters of 
the sea. Clotho, the youngest of the 
sisters, presided over the moment in 
which we are born, and held a distaff in 
her hand; Lachesis spun out all the 
events and actions of our life ; and 
Atropos, the eldest of the three, cut the 
thread of human life with a pair of 
scissars. The power of the Parcae was 
great and extensive. Some suppose that 
they were subjected to none of the gods 
but Jupiter, whilst others support that 
even Jupiter himself was obedient to 
their commands. According to the 
more received opinion, they were the 
arbiters of the life and death of man- 
kind ; and whatever good or evil befalls 
us in the world, immediately proceeds 
from the Fates or Parcae. The worship 
of the Parcse was well established in 
some cities in Greece, and though man- 
kind knew they were inexorable, yet 
they were eager to raise to them tem- 
ples and statues. They received the 
same worship as the Furies, and their 
votaries yearly scrificed to them black 
sheep. The Parcse were generally re- 
presented as three old women, with 
chaplets made cf wool, and interwoven 



PAR 



PAR 



with the flowers of the narcissus. One 
of them held a distali, another the spin- 
dle, and the third was armed with scis- 
sars, with which she cut the thread 
which her sisters had spun. Their 
dress is differently represented by some 
authors. Hygimis and others call them 
the secretaries of heaven, and the keep- 
ers of the archives of eternity. The 
Greeks call the Paress by the different 
names of «coa, sacra, y.vja, efjLtagfXSv*]} 
which are expressive of their power and 
of their inexorable decrees. Hetiod. 
Horn. Theocrit. Pindar. Horat. Virg. 
Ovid. &c. <kc. 

Paris, the son of Priam, king 
of Troy, by Hecuba, also called Alexan- 
der, was destined, even before his birth, 
to become the ruin of his country. When 
his mother, in her pregnancy, had 
dreamed siie should bring forth a torch, 
which would set five to her palace, the 
soothsayers foretold her offspring would 
be the destruction of Troy. Priam, to 
prevent so great an evil, ordered his 
slave Archelaus to destroy the child as 
soon as born. The slave, touched with 
humanity, did not destroy him, but 
exposed him on mount Ida, where the 
shepherds found him, and educated him 
as their own. Paris, though educated 
among shepherds, gave early proofs of 
courage, and from his care in protecting 
the flocks of mount Ida against the 
wild beasts, he obtained the name of 
Alexander (helper or defender.) Here 
he gained the favor of OEnone, a nymph 
of ida, whom he married: but their con- 
jugal peace was soon disturbed. At the 
marriage of Peleus and Thetis, the god- 
dess of discord, not being invited to the 
entertainment, showed her di -pleasure, 
by throwing among the gods, at the 
celebration of the nuptials, a golden 
apple, on which were written the words 
Detur putchriori. All the goddesses 
claimed it as their own; but Juno, 
Venus, and Minerva, only wished to 
dispute the right to the apple. The gods 
then appointed Paris to judge the prize 
of beauty to the fairest of the goddesses. 
The goddesses appeared before their 
judge without any ornament, and each 
tried by promises", &e. to influence his 
judgment. Juno promised him a king- 
dom ; Minerva, "military glory ; and 
Venus, the fairest woman" in the world 
for his wife. Paris at length adjudged 
the prize to Venus. This decision of 
Paris in favor of Venus drew upon the 
judge and his family the resentment of 
the two other goddesses. From some 
subsequent circumstances., the birth and 
manner of preservation of Paris were 
discovered, and Priam finally acknow- 
ledged him as his son, forgetful of 
the alarming dreams which had in- 
fluenced him to meditate his death. 
Paris then equipped a fleet, as if willing 
to redeem Hesione,whom Hercules had 
carred away and obliged to marry Tela- 



mon. This was the pretended motive 
of his voyage. He recollected that he 
was to have Helen, the fairest woman 
of the age, whom Venus had promised 
him. On these grounds he visited Sparta 
the residence of Helen, who had married 
Menelaus.. and was received kindly ; but 
he abused the hospitality of Menelaus, 
and while he was absent in Crete, Paris 
carried off Helen, and Priam received 
her into his palace. This affair was 
soon productive of serious consequences. 
When Menelaus had married Helen, ail 
her suitors had bound themselves by a 
solemn path to defend her front every 
violence, \_Vid. Helena] and therefore 
her husband i eminded them of their en- 
gagements. Upon this, all Greece took 
up arms. Agamemnon was chosen ge- 
neral of the combined forces, and a regu- 
lar war was begun. {Vid. Troja.] Paris, 
meanwhile, armed himself with his 
brothers to oppose the enemy. fie 
fought with little courage, and at the 
sight of Menelaus, he retired from the 
front of the army. In a combat with 
Menelaus, he must have periihed, had 
not Venus stolen him from the resent- 
ment of his adversary. He nevertheless 
wounded, in another battle, Machaon, 
Euryphiius, and Diomedes, and, accord- 
ing to some, killed the great Achilles. 
[ Vid. Achilles.] The death of Paris is 
differently related. Some say that he 
died by one of the arrows of Philoctetes, 
which had been once in the possession 
of Hercules. Apollod. Homer. Ovid. 
Virg. Hoi . &c. &c. 

Parisade s,king of Bosphcrus. 
— King of Pontus. 

Parish, a people and a city of 

Celtic Gaul, now called Paris, the capi- 
tal of the kingdom of France. Cats. 

Parisus, a river of Pannonia, 
fallirg into the Danube. 

Parium, a town of Asia Minor, 
where Archilochus was born, as some 
say. Strab. 

Parma, a town of Italy, near 
Cremona. The poet Cassius, and the 
critic Macrobius, were born there. It 
was made a Roman colony, A. U. C. 
569. 

Par me x ides, a Greek philoso- 
pher of Elis, who flourished about 505 
years before Christ. He was the pupil of 
Xenophancs, or Anaximander according 
to seme. He maintained that there were 
only two elements, fire and the earth ; 
and taught that the first generation of 
men was produced from the sun. He 
first discovered (hat the earth was round, 
and that it was placed iu the centre of 
the universe, in a fluid lighter than air, 
so that all bodies left to themselves fell 
on its surface. There were, as he sup- 
posed, only two sorts of philosophy , one 
founded on reason, and the other on 
opinion. Diog. Plut. 



PAR 

PARMENio,a celebrated general 
in the armies of Alexander, who was 
more attached to his person as a man 
than as a monarch. When Darius, king 
of Persia, offered Alexander all the 
country west of the Euphrates, with his 
daughter Statira in marriage,and 10,000 
talents of gold, Parmenio observed that 
he would accept these conditions if he 
were Alexander; "So would I, were I 
Parmenio," replied Alexander. This 
friendship, so inviolable, was sacrificed 
to a moment of suspicion ; and Alexan- 
der, who had too eagerly listened to a 
light accusation, orderedParmenio and 
his son to be put to death, as if guilty of 
treason. Parmenio died in the 70th 
year of his age, B. C. 380 ; and it has 
been judiciously observed, that Parme- 
nio obtained many victories without 
Alexander, but Alexander not one with- 
out Parmenio. Curt. &c. 

Parxassus, a mountain of 

Phocis, one of the highest in Europe, 
anciently called Larnassos, from the 
boat of Deucalion, Aocfya£, which was 
carried there in the universal deluge. It 
received the name of Parnassus from 
Parnassus, the son of Neptune, and was 
sacred to the Muses,, and to Apollo and 
Bacchus. This is one of the highest 
mountains of Europe, and is easily seen 
from the citadel of Corinth, though at 
the distance of about 80 miles. The 
mountain, according to the poets, had 
only two tops, called Hyampea and 
Tithorea, on one of which the city of 
Delphi was situated. Strab. Mela. Ovid. 
&c. 

Parses, a mountain of Africa, 
abounding in vines. Stat. 

P arne ssu s , a mountain on the 
confines of Bactriana. 

Parni, Scythians, who invaded 
Parthia. 

Parofamisus, a ridge of 

mountains on the north of India - , called 
the Stony Girdle. 

PAROPUS,a town in Sicily, now 
Colisano. 

Par os, a celebrated island 
among the Cyclades. Pliny says it is 
about 36 miles in circumference. It 
received the name of Paros, which it 
still bears, from Paros, a son of Jason, 
or as some maintain, of Parrhasius. 
The island of Paros was rich and power- 
ful, and w r ell known for its famous mar- 
ble, always used by the best statuaries. 
Here modern travellers see quarries of a 
most extraordinary depth, whence the 
labyrinth of Egypt and the porticoes of 
Greece received their splendor ; they 
were so uncommonly deep, that in the 
clearest weather the workmen were 
obliged to use lamps. Paros is also 
famous for the fine cattle which it pro- 
duces, and for its partridges and wild 
pigeons. The capital city was called 



. . AS 

PAR 

Paros. The poet Archilochus was born 
there. The Arundelian marbles were 
engraved in this island, in capital letters, 
B. C. 264, and, as a valuable chronicle, 
preserved the most celebrated epochas 
of Greece from the year 1582, B. C. 
Mela. Strab. Herodot. &c. 

Parrhasia, a town of Arcadia, 

founded by Parrhesius, the son of Jupi- 
ter. The" Arcadians are sometimes 
called Parrhasians, and Areas Parrhasis. 
Virg. Ovid. 

Parrhasius, a famous painter 

of Ephesus, in the age of Zeuxis, about 
415 years B. C. He particularly ex- 
celled in strongly expressing the violent 
passions. He had much invention, and 
was particularly happy in his designs. 
He once entered' thelists against Zeuxis, 
and when they had produced their re- 
spective pieces, the birds came to pick 
the grapes which Zeuxis had painted. 
Immediately Parrhasius exhibited his 
piece, and Zeuxis said, " Remove your 
curtain, that we may see the painting." 
The curtain was the painting, and 
Zeuxis acknowledged himself con- 
quered by exclaiming, " Zeuxis has 
deceived birds, but Parrhasius has de- 
ceived Zeuxis himself." Parrhasius 
grew so vain of his art, that he clothed 
himself in purple, and wore a crown of 
geld, calling himself the king of pain- 
ters. He was lavish in his own praises, 
and by his vanity too often exposed 
himself to the ridicule of his enemies : 
he is, however, deservedly censured for 
the licentiousness of his pencil. Pint. 
Pans. 

Parthamisiris, an Armenian 

king, contemporary with Nerva and 
Trajan. 

Parthaox, a son of Agenor 

and Epicaste, who married Euryte, 
daughter of Hippodamus, by whom he 
had many children, among whom were 
(Eneus and Sterope. Apollod. &c. 

PARTHENI-SlandPARTHENII, 

a certain number of desperate citizens 
of Sparta. They were the offspring of 
all the young men employed in the Mes- 
senian war, who had taken an oath not 
to return to Sparta before Messenia was 
subdued. They left the array, commis- 
sioned to raise a future generation by a 
familiar and promiscuous intercourse 
with all the unmarried women of the 
state, and the children sprung from this 
union were called Parthenise, or sons of 
virgins, (notfBwos.) The Parthenia*. 
upon the return of the Spartans from the 
war, finding themselves despised on ac- 
count of their illegitimacy, conspired 
with the Helots against the state, and at 
length. with Phalantus, their ringleader, 
at their head, they settled in Magna 
Grsecia, and built Tarentum, about 7 or 
years before Christ. Justin. Strab. 
Paus. &c. 



PAR 



PAT 



Partkenias, the ancient 
name of Samos. 

Parthexitjs, a river of Papn- 

lagoma. which, after separating Bithy- 
nia, fails into the Euxine sea, near Sesa- 
mum. It received its name either be- 
cause the virgin Diana loathed herself 
there, or perhaps it received it from the 
puritv and mildness of its waters. 
Herodot. &c. — A favorite of the empe- 
ror Domitiar). Heeonspired agamst his 
imperial master, and assisted to murder 
him.— \ Greek writer, author ot a ro- 
mance entitled de Amatoriis Affectioni- 

Parthexox, a temple of 
Athens, sacred to Minerva. It was 
destroyed bv the Persians, and after- 
wards "rebuilt by Pericles, in a more 
magnificent manner. All the circum- 
stances which related to the birth of 
Minerva were beautifully and minutely 
represented in bas-relief, on the front 
of the entrance. The statue ot the god- 
dess was 26 cubits high, and made of 
gold and ivory. It passed for one of 
the masterpieces of Phidias. Flin. 

Par then op je us, a son of 
Meleager and Atalanta, was one of the 
seven chiefs who accompanied Adrastus, 
the king of Argos, in his expedition 
against Thebes. He was killcd*by Am- 
phidicus. ApoUod. &c. 

Parthexofe, one of the Si- 
rens.— A*citv of Campania, afterwards 
called Neapolis, or the new city, when 
it had been beautified by a colony from 
Euheea. It is now called Naples. It 
leceived the name of Parthenope from 
one of the Sirens, whose body was 
found on the sea-shore there. Virg. 
Strab. &c. 

Parthia, a celebrated country 
of Asia, bounded on the west by Media, 
south bv Carmania, north by Hyrcania, 
and east by Aria, &c. containing, accord- 
ing to Ptolemy, 25 large cities, the most 
capital of which was called Hecatompy- 
los, from its hundred gates. According 
to some authors, the Parthians were 
Scythians bv origin. They became suc- 
cessively tributary to the empire of the 
Assyria*©, Medes, and Persian?; and 
when Alexander invaded Asia, they sub- 
mitted, like the other dependent pro- 
vinces of Persia. Arsaccs, a man of ob- 
scureorigin,but of great military powers, 
routed at length by the oppression of 
Agathocles, a lieutenant of Antiochus, 
placed himself at the head of his coun- 
trymen, and laid the foundation of the 
Parthian empire, about 250 years before 
the Christian era. The Macedonians 
attempted in vain to recover it, and a 
race of active princes, who assumed the 
name of Arsacides, from the founder, 
rendered it so formidable, that it even 
disputed the empire of the world with 
fch° Romans. It remained a kingdom 



till the reign of Artabanus, who was 
killed about the year 229 B. C. and from 
that time it became a province of the 
newly re-established kingdom of Persia, 
under Artaxerxes. The Parthians were 
naturally strong and warlike, and were 
esteemed, the most expert horsemen and 
archers in the world. Strab. Curt. Virg. 
&;c. — The peculiar custom of discharg- 
ing their arrows while they were retiring 
full speed, has been much celebrated by 
the ancients, particularly by the poets', 
who all observe that their flight was 
more formidable than their attack. This 
manner of fighting, and the wonderful 
dexterity with which it was performed, 
gained them many victories. 

Parthini, a people of Illyri- 
cum. 

Partunda, a deity among the 

Romans, who presided over child-birth, 
and was therefore invoked by women in 
labor. 

Parysades, king of the Cim- 
merian Bosphorus. — King of Pontus. 
Par ys at is, a Persian princess, 

wife of Darius Ochus, by whom she had 
Artaxerxes Memnon, and Cyrus the 
younger. She was so extremely partial 
to her younger son, that she committed 
the greatest cruelties to encourage his 
ambition, and she supported him, with 
all her interest, in his rebellion against 
his brother Memnon. She revenged 
the death of Cyrus with great barbarity. 
She poisoned Statira, the wife of her 
son Artaxerxes, and ordered one of the 
eunuchs of her court to be flayed alive, 
j For these barbarities her son Artaxerxes 
' confined her in Babylon. But they were 
j afterwards reconciled, and Parysatis 
| regained nearly all her former power 
! and influence. 

: Pasar gad a, a town of Persia, 

j near Carmania, founded by Cyrus, on 
the very spot where he had conquered 
| Astyages. The kings of Persia were al- 
j ways crowned there. Strab. 

PASirHAE, a daughter of the 

| Sun and of Perseis, who married Minos, 
| king of Crete. She disgraced herself by 
her unnatural passion for a bull, which, 
according to some authors, she was ena- 
bled to gratify by means of the artist 
Daedalus. The offspring of this illicit 
i union was the Minotaur. [Vid. Mino- 
tanrus, Daedalus.] Minos had four sons 
by Pasiphae, Castreus, Deucalion, Glau- 
cus, and Androgeus, and three daugh- 
ters, Hecate, Ariadne, and Phaedra. 
Plat. Virg. Ovid. &c. 

Pasithea, one of the Graces. 

also called Aglaia, or Euphrosyne, and 
made by Homer the wife of Somnus. — 
One of the Nereides.— One of the names 
applied to Cybele, or Terra, as mother 
of all the gods. 

Patalene, a goddess invoked 



PAT ~ 

by the Romans to protect their corn, I 
because she presided over the ears of 
com when first they made their appear- I 
ance from the stalk. Varro. 

Patau a, a town of L-ycia, si- 
tuate on the eastern side of the mouth 
of the river Xanthus, with a capacious 
harbour, a temple, and an oracle of 
Apollo, sumamed Patareus. The god 
was supposed by some to reside the six 
winter months at Patara, and the rest of 
the year at Delphi. Li v. Strab. Horat.&zc. 

Pat avium, a city of Italy, 
called also Padua. \_Vid. Padu?.] 

Paterculus. [ Vid. Velleius.] 

Patizithes 5 one of the Persian 
Magi, who raised his brother to the 
throne because he resembled Smerdis, 
the brother of Cambyses, &c. Herodot. 

Patmos, one of the Cyelades, 

with a small town of the same name, 
situate at the south of Tcaria, and mea- 
suring 30 miles in circumference, ac- 
cording to Pliny, or only 18 according to 
modern traveller?. The Romans gene- 
rally banished their culprits there. It 
is now called Paimosa. Strab. 

pATs.ocLus,one of the Grecian 

chiefs during the Trojan war, son of 
Mencetius hy Sthenele. In consequence 
of an accidental murder he fied from 
Opus, where his father reigned, and re- 
tired to the court of Peleus, king of 
Phthia, where he was kindly received, 
and where he contracted the most in- 
timate friendship with Aehihes, the 
monarch's son. When the Greeks went 
to the Trojan war, Patroclus also ac- 
companied them, and he embarked 
with 10 ships from Phthia. He was the 
constant companion of Achilles ; and 
when his friend refused to appear in.the 
field of battle, because he had been of- 
fended by Agamemnon, Patroclus imi- 
tated his example, and by his absence 
was the cause of the overthrow of many 
Greeks. But at last Nestor prevailed on 
him to return to the war, and A chilles per- 
mitted him to appear in his armour. He 
scon routed the victorious armies of the 
Trojans, and obliged them to fly within 
their walls for safety. Apollo, who in- 
terested himself for "the Trojans, placed 
himself to oppose him, and Hector, at 
the instigation of the god, attacked him. 
The engagement was obstinate, but at 
hist Patroclus was overpowered by the 
valor of Hector, and the interposition of 
Apollo. His aims became the property 
of the conqueror, but his body was re- 
covered and carried to the Grecian camp, 
where Achilles received it with the bit- 
terest lamentations. His funeral was re- 
served with t lie greatest solemnity. Upon 
the death of Patroclus, .-.chilles forgot 
his resentment against Agamemnon, and 
entered the field to avenge the death of 
his friend. The patronymic of Actori- 
des is often applied to Patroclus, because 



pau 

Actor was father to Meuoetius. Homer. 
Apcllod. Ovid. &c. ''/A'*'A ^X^mam 

Pat rqus, a surname of Jupi- 
ter among the Greeks, represented by 
his statues, especially in Minerva's tem- 
ple r t Argcs, as having three eyes, which 
some suppose to signify that he reigned 
in three different places, in heaveii^on 
eauh, and in hell. .Pans: lfabmsntiic& 

Patulcius, a surname of Ja- 
nus, which hp received a puteo, because 
the doors of his temple were always 
open in the t'me of war. Some suppose 
that he received it because he presided 
over gates, or because the year began 
by the celebration of his festivals. Odd. 

Pave nt I a, a goddess whom 

the Romans invoked to protect them 
from the effects and influence of tenor. 

Paula, wife to the emperor 

Heliogabalus, who being clivoreed, "re- 
tired into solitude with gre at tranquillity. 

Paulina, the wife of the phi- 
losopher Seneca, who attempted to kill 
herself, when Nero had ordered her 
husband to die. The emperor, how- 
ever, prevented her, and she lived some 
few years after in the greatest melan- 
choly". Tacit The wife' of the emperor 

Maximinus. 

PAULINUS POTtlFEIUS, a 
Roman general, who first crossed mount 
Atlas with 'an army, of which expedition 
he wrote an account. — ^n officer in 
Nero's reign, commander of the Germ? n 
armies, who finished the works on the 
banks of the Rhine,, which Drusus-had 
begun 65 years before. 

Paulus aEmylius, a Roman, 
celebrated for his victories, sumamed 
Macedonieus from his conquest of Ma- 
cedonia. In the early part of his life 
he distinguished himself by his fond- 
ness for military discipline. In his first 
consulship his arm s were directed against 
the Ligurians, whom he totally sub- 
jected/ When Perseus, king of Mace- 
donia, declared war against Rome, he 
was again appointed consul in the 60th 
year of his age, and, in a general en- 
gagement near Pydna, obtained a com- 
plete victory. In two days the con- 
queror made himself master of all Ma- 
cedonia, and soon after the fugitive 
monarch was brought into his presence. 
Paulus did not exult over , his fallen 
enemy. When he had finally settled 
the government cf Macedonia, with ten 
commissioners from Rome, and after he 
had sacked TO cities of Epirus, and di- 
vided the bootv amongst his soldiers, 
Paulus returned to Rome, where Per- 
seus, with h : s wretched family, adorned 
the triumph of the conqueror. The 
riches which the Romans acquired by 
this conquest were immense, and the 
people were freed from all taxes till the 
consulship of Hirtius and Pansa; but 



PAU 



PEG 



the conqueror himself was poor, having 
appropriated for his own use nothing of 
the treasure, except the library of Per- 
seus. He died about 168 years B. C. 
universally regretted by the Romans. — 
L. ^milius, a consul, who, when op- 
posed to Annibal in Italy, checked the 
rashness of his colleague Varro, and re- 
commended an imitation of the conduct 
of the great Fabius, by harassing and 
not facing the enemy in the field. His 
advice was rejected, and the battle of 
Cannse, so glorious to Annibal, and so 
fatal to Rome, soon followed. Plut. Liv. 

Pavor, an emotion of the mind 
which received divine honors among the 
Romans. Tuilus Hostilius, the third 
king of Rome, was the first who built 
her temples, and raised altars to her 
honor, as also to Pallor, the goddess of 
paleness. Cic, 

Pausaxias. There were many 
of this name, the most remarkable of 
whom are the following : — A Spartan 
general , who greatly signalized himself 
at the battle of Plataea, against the Per- 
sians. He was afterwards set at the head 
of the Spartan armies, and extended his 
conquests in Asia, but his haughtiness 
created him many enemies. Pausanias 
was dissatisfied with his countrymen, 
and he offered to betray Greece "to the 
Persians, if he received in marriage, as 
the reward of his perfidy, the daughter 
of their monarch. His intrigues were 
discovered by means of a you^hintrusted 
with his letters to Persia. The letters 
were given to the Ephoriof Sparta, and 
the perfidy of Pausanias laid open. He 
tied for safety to a temple of Minerva, 
which his pursuers not daring to violate, 
they surrounded with heaps of stones, 
the"fir.st of which was carried there by 
his own mother. He was starved to 
death in the temple, and died about 471 
years before the Christian era. C. Nep. 
Plut.Herodot. — Another, at the court of 
king Philip of Maoedon, who stabbed 
Philip as he entered a public theatre. 
After this bloody action, he attempted 
to make his escape, but was pursued by 
Atta'u^ and Percliccas, friends of Philip, 
who fell upon him, and immediately 
despatched him. Some support that 
Pausanias committed this murder at the 
instigation of Olympias, the wife of Phi- 
lip, and of her* son Alexander. Diod. 
J us' hi. Plitt.—A celebrated orator and 
historian, who settled at Rome, A. D. 
170, where he died in a very advanced 
age. He wrote an history of Greece in 
ten books, in the Ionic dialect, in which 
he gives, with g:eat precision and geo- 
graphical knowledge, an account of the 
situation of its different cities, their an- 
tiquities, and the several euriositieswhich 
they contained. He has also interwoven 
mythology in his historical account, and 
introduced many fabulous traditions and 
superstitious stories. — There was an- 
other Pausanias, a native of Ca'sarea, in 



Cappadoeia, who wrote some declama- 
tions, and who is often confounded with 
the historian of that name. Pans. 

Pausias, a painter of Sicyon, 
who lived about 350 years B.C. He was 
the first who understood how to apply 
colors to wood or ivory, by means of 
fire. He made a beautiful painting of 
his mistress Glycere, which was bought 
by Lucullus for two talents. Plin. 

Pausilypus a mountain near 

Naples,n»ar which the Roman emperors 
had fish ponds, and through which is a 
passage, about half a mile long, and 22 
feet broad. 

Pax, an allegorical divinity 
among the ancients. The Athenians 
raised her a statue, representing her as 
holding Plutus, the god of wealth, in 
her lap, to intimate that peace gives 
rise to opulence. She was represented 
among the Romans with the horn of 
plenty, and also carrying an olive branch 
in her hand. The "emperor Vespasian 
built her a celebrated temple at Rome, 
w r hich was consumed by fire in the reign 
of Com modus. Plut. C Nep. 

Paxos an island in the Ionian 
sea between Echinades and Ithaca. 

Peas, a shepherd to whom 
Hercules gave his bow and arrows ; and 
who set the pile on fire, on which Her- 
cules was burnt. 

Pedanius a Roman Prefect, 
who was killed by a slave, for having 
denied him his liberty. 

Pedasus, a son of Bueolion, 
the son of Loomedon. His mother was 
one of the Naiads. He was killed in the 
Tro;an war by Enryalus. Homer.— The 
moi'tal horse of Achilles, killed by Sar- 
pedon. Id. 

Pedius Bljesus, a Roman, 
whom the people of Cyrene accused of 
plundering the temple of iEsculapius. — 
A nephew of Julius Caesar. — Poplicola, 
a lawver in the age of Horace. His 
father'was one of J. Ca?sar's heirs, and 
became consul witn Augustus after 
Pansa's death. 

Pedum, a town of Latium, 

about ten m'iles from Rome, conquered 
by Camiilus. The inhabitants wereealltd 
Pedani. Liv. 

Pe gas ides, a name given to 

the Pluses, from the horse Pegasus. 

Pegasium Stagxum, a lake 

near Ephesus, which arose from the 
earth, when Pegasus struck it with his 
foot. 

Pegasus, a winged horse sprung 

from the blood of "Medusa, when Per- 
seus had cut otf her head. He received 
his name from his being born, according 
to Hesiod, near the souices (™y>i) cf 
the ocean. As soon as uorn, he new up 
into heaven, or rather, according -to 



PEL 



PEL 



Ovid, fixed his residence on mount He- 
licon, where, by striking the earth with 
his foot, he instantly raised a fountain, 
thence called Hippocrene. He became 
the favorite of the Muses, and being 
tamed by Neptune or Minerva, he was 
given to Bellercphon to conquer the 
Chimgera. This monster being destroy- 
ed, Pegasus threw down his rider, be- 
cause he attempted to fly to heaven. 
Pegasus, however, continued his flight 
up to heaven, and was placed among 
the constellations by Jupiter. Hesiod. 
Horat. Hornet, &c. 

Pel agon, a Phocian, who 
with. others conducted Cadmus to the 
spot, in which the oracle had enjoined 
him to build a city. 

Pelasgi, a people of Greece, 
supposed to be one of the most ancient 
in the world. They first inhabited Ar- 
golisin Peloponnesus, which from them 
received the name of Pelasgia, and 
about 1883 years B. C. they passed into 
iEmonia, and were afterwards dispersed 
in several parts of Greece. From these 
different changes of situation in the Pe- 
lasgians, all the Greeks are indiscrimi- 
nately called Pelasgians, and their coun- 
try Pelasgia, though it should be con- 
fined to Thessaly, Epirus, and Pelopon- 
nesus. The Pelasgians seem to have re- 
ceived their name from Pelasgus, the 
first king, and founder of their nation. 
Pans. Strab. Herodot. &e. 

Pelasgia. [Vid. Pelasgi.] 

Pel as gl t s, a son of Jupiter and 

Niobe, who reigned in Sicyon, and 
gave his name to the ancient inha- 
bitants of Peloponnesus ; and by esta- 
blishing laws, and teaching them how to 
clothe themselves, and how to make the 
fruits of the cultivated earth subservient 
to their wants, he gained the respect and 
veneration of his country. He was father 
of Lycaon, and also 50 other children, 
whose names are mentioned by Apollo- 
dorv.s. 

PELETHROis T iT,an epithet given 

to the Lapithae, because they inhabited 
Pelethronium, in Thessaly ; orbecause 
one of their number bore the name of 
Pelethronius. It is to them mankind are 
indebted for the invention of the bit 
with which they tamed their horses. 
Virg. Ovid, &c. 

Peleus, a king of Thessaly, 

son of .^Eacus and Endeis, the daughter 
of Chiron. He married Thetis, one of 
the Nereides, and was the only one 
among mortals who married an immor- 
tal. Being accessary to the deacli of his 
brother Phocus, he retired to the court 
of Eurytus, who reigned at Phthia. 
He was purified of his murder by Eury- 
tus, who gave him his daughter Anti- 
gone in marriage. Some time after 
this, Peleus and Eurytus went to the 
chase of the Caledonian boar, where 



the father-in-law was accidentally killed 
by an arrow which his son-in-law had 
aimed at the beast. This unfortunate 
event obliged him to retire to Iolchos. 
Here Astydamia, the wife of Acastus, 
king of the country, became enamoured 
of him, and when she found him insen- 
sible to her passion, she accused him of 
attempts upon her virtue. The mo- 
narch did not put him to death, but 
caused him to be tied to a tree on mount 
Pelion, that he might become the prey 
of the wild beasts of the place ; but Ju- 
piter, who knew the innocence of Pe- 
leus, ordered Vulcan to set him at li- 
berty. Peleus afterwards punished the 
ill-treatment which he had recei vedfrom 
Acastus. He forcibly took Iolchos,drove 
the king from his possessions, and put 
to death the wicked Astydamia. After 
the death of Antigone, Peleus courted 
Thetis, who rejected his suit because he 
was a mortal. Having offered a sacrifice 
to the gods, Proteus, at length, inform- 
ed him that to obtain Thetis he must 
surprise her asleep in her grotto, near 
the shores of Thessaly. This advice was 
followed, and Thetis', unable to escape 
from the grasp of Peleus, at last con- 
sented to marry him. Their nuptials 
were celebrated with the greatest solem- 
nity by all the gods, who made them 
each the most valuable presents. The 
goddess of discord was the only one of 
the deities who was not present. [ Vid. 
Discordia, Paris.] From the marriage 
of Peleus and Thetis was born Achilles, 
[Vid. Achilles.] The death of Achillea 
was the source of grief to Peleus, and 
Thetis, to comfort her husband, pro- 
mised him immortality, and ordered him 
to retire into the grottos of the island of 
Leuce, where he would see and converse 
with the manes of his son, Homer.Eurip . 
Catull. Ovid. &c. 

Peliades, the daughters of 

Pelias. [Vid. Pelias.] 

Pelias, the twin-brother of 

Neleus, was son of Neptune by Tyro, 
the daughter of Salmoneus. His birth 
was concealed by his mother, who wish- 
ed her father to be ignorant of her in- 
continence. He was exposed in the 
woods, but his life was preserved by 
shepherds,who named him Pelias, from a 
snot the color of lead in his face. Some 
time after this, Tyro married Cretheus, 
king of Iolchos. Meantime Pelias v isited 
his mother,and after the d eath of Crefhe- 
us , he unjustly seized the kingdom, which 
belonged to the children of Tyro. But 
Jason, the son of ^Eson, the eldest of the 
children of Cretheus, afterwards boldly 
demanded the kingdom which he had 
usurped. Pelias then , in order to divert 
his attention, told him he would voitin- 
tarilv resign the crown, if he went to 
Colchis to avenge the death of Phryxus, 
whom .-Eeteshad cruelly murdered. This 
expedition, which was likely to be at- 
tended with much glory, was readily 



PEL 



uuder taken by [yid.~] Jason. Upon the 
return of Jason from Colchis,the daugh- 
ters of Pelias, called Peliades, solicited 
Medea [Vid. Medea] to restore their 
father to youth, as she had iEson, her 
father-in-law; but after the Peliades 
had, by her directions, cut their father's 
body to pieces, and had drawn all the 
blood from his veins, on the assurance 
that Medea would replenish them by 
her incantations, Medea suffered the flesh 
to be totally consumed in a cauldron of 
boiling water, and refused to give the 
Peliades the promised assistance. The 
Peliades were four in number, Alceste, 
Pisidice, Pelopea, and Hippothoe, to 
whom Hyginus adds Medusa. After this 
rfttrricide, they fled to the court of Ad- 
metus, where Acastus, the son-in-law of 
Pelias, pursued them, and took their 
protector prisoner. The Peliades died, 
andwere.buriedin Arcadia. Hygin.Ovid. 
Pans. Apollod. &c. — A Trojan chief, 
wounded by Ulysses during the Trojan 
war. He survived the ruin of his coun- 
try, and followed the fortune of iEneas. 
Virg. — The ship Argo is called Pelias 
arbor, built of the trees of mount Pe- 
lion.— The spear of Achilles. [Vid. Pe- 
lion.] 

Pel ides, a patronymic of 
Achilles and Pyrrhus, as being descend- 
ed from Peleus. Virg. 

Peligni, a people of Italy,who 
dwelt near the Sabines and Marsi. Cor- 
finium and Sulmo were the chief towns 
of this country. 

Pelion and Pelios, a cele- 
brated mountain of Thessaly. In their 
wars against the gods, the giants, as the 
poets mention, placed mount Ossa upon 
Pelion, to scale the heavens with more 
facility. The celebrated huge spear of 
Achilles, which none but the hero could 
wield, had been cut down on this moun- 
tain, and thence called Pelias. It was a 
presentfrorn his preceptor Chiron. Strab. 
Virg. &c. 

Pell a, a celebrated town of 
Macedonia, which became the capital 
of the country, after the ruin of Edessa. 
Philip, king" of Macedonia, was edu- 
cated there, and Alexander the Great 
was born there, whence he is often called 
PelltBits juvenis. The tomb of the poet 
Euripides was in the neighbourhood. 
Mela. Strab. Lucan. 

Pellene, a town of Achaia? 
in the Peloponnesus, at the west of Si- 
cyon, famous for its wool. It was the 
country of Proteus, the sea god. Strab. 

Pel 6rEA,or Pel 6pI A,adaugh- 
ter of Thyestes, the brother of Atreus. 
She had a son by her father, who knew 
not that she was his own daughter. 
Some suppose that Thyestes purposely 
committed this incest, as the oracle bad 
informed him that his wrongs should be 
avenged, and his brother destroyed by a 



PEL 



son who should be born from him and 
his daughter. This proved too true. Pe- 
lopea afterwards married her uncle Atre- 
us, who kindly received in his house his 
wife's illegitimate child,called ^Egysthus 
because preserved by goats, ( a<y s ?) when 
exposed in the mountains. Egysthus be- 
came his uncle's murderer. [ Vid. Egys- 
thus.] Hygin. Ovid, &c. 

Pelopeia, a festival observed 
by the people of Elis in honor of Pelops. 
It w r as kept in imitation of Hercules, 
who sacrificed to Pelops in a trench, as 
it was usual when the manes and the 
infernal gods were the objects of wor- 
ship. 

Pelopidas, a celebrated gene- 
ral of Thebes, son of Hippoelus, de- 
scended of an illustrious family, and re- 
markable for his immense possessions, 
which he bestowed with great liberality 
to the poor. He took great delight in 
the conversation of [vide'] Epaminondas, 
who despised riches, and from their 
friendship and intercourse the Thebans 
derived the most considerable advan- 
tages. No sooner had the interests of 
Sparta prevailed at Thebes, and the 
friends of liberty been banished from 
the city, than Pelopidas, who was in the 
number of the exiles, resolved to free 
his country from foreign slavery. Mean- 
while Epaminondas, who had been left 
by the tyrants at Thebes, as a worthless 
philosopher, animated the youths of the 
city, and at last Pelopidas, with eleven 
of his associates, entered Thebes, mas- 
sacred the friends of the tyranny, and 
freed their couutry from for eignm asters. 
After this successful enterprise, Pelopi- 
das was placed at the head of the go- 
vernment, and so confident were the 
Thebans of his abilities, that they suc- 
cessively re-elected him 13 times to fill 
•the office of governor of Bceotia. Epa- 
minondas shared with him the sove- 
reign power, and it was to their valor 
and prudence that the Thebans were in- 
debted for a celebrated victory at the 
battle of Leuetra. In a war which 
Thebes carried on against Alexander, 
tyrant of Pherae, Pelopidas was ap- 
pointed commander, and by his im- 
prudence was taken prisoner, but Epa- 
minondas restored him to liberty. The 
perfidy of Alexander irritated him, and 
he was killed, bravely fighting, in a ce- 
lebrated battle, in which his troops ob- 
tained the" victory, B. C. 364. He re- 
ceived an honorable burial. Pelopidas 
is admired for his valor, as he never en- 
gaged an enemy without obtaining the 
advantage, and it has been justly ob- 
served, that with Pelopidas and Epa- 
minondas the glory and the independ- 
ence of the Thebans rose and set. Pint. 
&> C. Nep. in vita. Xenoph. «Scc. 

Peloponnesiacum Bellum, 

a celebrated war, which continued for 
27 vears, with various success, between 
P2 



PEL 



the Athenians and the inhabitants of 
Peloponnesus, with their respective al- 
lies. It is the most famous and the 
most interesting of ail the wars which 
happened between the inhabitants of 
Greece. The famous battle of Mgos- 
]X)tamos^ where Lysander, the Lacedae- 
monian commander, attacked the Athe- 
nian fleet, and almost totally destroyed 
it, may be said to have been the finish- 
ing stroke of this long and obstinate con- 
test. Of ISO sail only nine escaped, 
eight of which fled under the command 
of Conon to the island of Cyprus, and 
the other carried to Athens the melan- 
choly news of the defeat. During four 
months, negotiations were carried on 
with the Spartans by the aristocratical 
part of the Athenians, and it was at last 
rrreed, that, to establish the peace, the 
fortifications of the Athenian harbours 
must be demolished, together with the 
long walls which joined them to the 
city ; all their ships, except ]2 ; were to 
fee ' surrendered to the enemy ; they 
were to resign every pretension to their 
ancient dominions abroad ; torecalfrom 
banishment all the members of the late 
f ristccracy ; to follow the Spartans in 
war, and in time of peace to frame their 
constitution according to the will and 
the prescriptions of their Pelopoimesian 
conquerors. The terms were accepted, 
and the enemy entered the harbour, and 
took possession of the city. The walls 
and fortifications were instantly levelled 
with the ground. This memorable event 
happened about 404 years before the 
Christian era, and 30 tyrants were ap- 
pointed by Lysander over the govern- 
ment of the city. To the correct and 
authentic writings of Thucydides and 
Xenophon we are principally indebted 
for the circumstantial detail of the events 
and revolutions of this war. 

Peloponnesus, a celebrated 

pemnsula,which comprehends the most 
southern parts of Greece. It received 
i s namefrom Pelops, who settled there, 
as the name indicates (wijXoxoj v^jto; 
the is' and of Pelops. J It had been called 
hvfore Argia, Pelasgia, and Argolis. Its 
rt name is Morea. Peloponnesus 
was divided into six different provinces, 
T" nia, Laconia, Elis, Arcadia, 
Aehair. propria, and Argolis, to which 
some odd Sicyon. These provinces all 
bordered on the sea shore, except Arca- 
r'b, It was -conquered some time after 
the Trojan war by the Heraclida?, who 
had Vf en forcibly expelled from it. Its 
inhabitants rendered themselves illus- 
trious, like the rest of the Greeks, by 
their genius, their f ndhess for the fine 
art-, th cultivation of learning, and the 
pr--f.:-?-i )n of arms. Vid. Peloponne- 
st?c.:m Bellum.J The Peloponnesus 
scarce xtended 200 miles in length, and 
140 in breadth. It was separated from 
Greece by the narrow isthmus of Co- 
rir.rh, which, as being only five miles 



broad, Demetrius, Caesar, Nero, and 
some others, in after ages, attempted in 
vain to cut, in order to open a commu- 
nication between the bay of Corinth and 
the Saronicus Sinus. Strab. &c. 

Pelops, a celebrated prince, 

son of Tantalus, king of Phrygia. He 
was murdered by his father, who wished 
to try the divinity of the gods who had 
visited Phrygia, by placing on their 
table the limbs of his son. The gods 
perceived his cruelty, and they all re- 
fused to touch the meat, except Ceres, 
whom the recent loss of her daughter 
had rendered melancholy and inatten- 
tive. She eat one of the shoulders of 
Pelops, and therefore when Jupiter re- 
stored him to life, he placed a shoulder 
of ivory instead of that which Ceres had 
devoured. This shoulder had an un- 
common power, and it could heal by its 
very touch every complaint, and' re- 
move every disorder. Pindar .however, 
confutes the tradition of his ivory shoul- 
der. Some time after, the kingdom of 
Tantalus was invaded by Tros, king of 
Troy, on pretence that he had carried 
away his son Ganymedes. Tantalus, 
; defeated, was obliged to fly with his son 
Pelops, and to seek a shelter in Greece. 
Pelops came to Pisa, where he became 
one of the suitors of Hippodamia, the 
daughter of CEnomaus, whom he con- 
quered in a chariot race, and therebv 
gained his wife. [Vid. CEnomaus.*] 
When he had established himself on the 
! throne of Pisa, Hippodamia's posses- 
| Sion, he extended his conquests over the 
j neighbouring countries, rnd from him 
i the peninsula, of which he was or.e of 
j the monarchs, received the nrtr.e of Pe- 
i loponnesus. Pelops, after death, re- 
I ceived divine honors. The children of 
I Pelops, by Hippodartiia, were Piihetis, 
Trcczen, Atreus, Thyestes, &c. besides 
some by concubines.* The time of his 
death is unknown. Some suppose that 
the palladium of the Trojans was marie 
with the bones of the Pclcps. His rie 
scendants were called Pelopidge. Some 
suppose that Pelops first instituted the 
Olympic games in honor of Jupiter, and 
to commemorate the victory which he 
had obtained over CEnomaus. Eurip. 
Strab. Pindar. Virg. &c. 

Pel or, one of those, who 

sprang from the teeth of the dragon, 
which had been slain by Cadmus. 

Peloria, a festival held in 
Thessaly, to commemorate the time, 
in which Peiorius came with the news, 
that the mountains of Tempe had been 
disjointed by an earth ouake. 

Pelobum, or Pel or its, one 

of the three great promontories of Si- 
cily, near Charybdis. It lies near the 
coast of Italy, and received its name, as 
some assert" from Pelorus . the pilot of 
the ship which carried Annibal away 
from Italy, new Cape Faro. 



PEN 



PEN 



Pel JsruM, a town of Egypt, 
situate at the entrance of one of the 
mouths of the Nile, called from it Pe- 
luiiaa. It is about 20 stadia from the 
sea, and received its name from the 
lakes and marshes (ttCao;) in its neigh- 
bourhood. It is now in ruins. It was 
the kev of Egypt on the ;-ide of Phoe- 
nicia, as it was" impossible to enter the 
Egyptian territories without passing by 
Pel'ushim. It produced lentils, and was 
celebrated for the linen stuffs made 
there. Mela. Strab. Virg. 

Penates, certain inferior 
deities among the P«.omans, who presid- 
ed over houses and the domestic affairs 
of families. They were called Penates, 
because they were generally placed in 
penitissima cediwn parte. The place 
where they stood was afterwards called 
Penetralia, and they themselves receiv- 
ed the name of Penetrales. According 
to some, the gods Penates were divided 
into four classes ; the first comprehend- 
ed all the celestial, the second the sea 
gods, the third the gods of hell, and the 
last all such heroes as had received di- 
vine honors. The statues of the Pena- 
tes were generally made of wax, ivory, 
silver, or earth, according to che afflu- 
ence of the worshipper, and the only of- 
ferings they received were wine, in- 
cense, fruits, and sometimes the sacri- 
fice of lambs, sheep, goats, &c. Some 
have confounded the Lares and the Pe- 
nates, but they were different. In the 
early ages of Rome, human sacrifices 
were offered to them, but Brutus, who 
expelled the Tarquins, abolished this 
unnatural custom. When offerings were 
made to them, their statues were 
crowned with garlands, poppies, or gar- 
lic, and besides the monthly day that 
was set apart for their woi^hip, their fe- 
stivals were celebrated during the Sa- 
turnalia. Cic. de Nat. D. &e. 

Peneia, or PeneIs, an epi- 
thet applied to Daphne as daughter of 
Peneus. Ovid. 

Penelope, a celebrated prin- 
cess of Greece, daughter of Icarius, of 
■Sparta, and wife of Ulysses, king of Itha- 
• ?a. S3 tie became mother of Telemachus, 
and was obliged to part with great reluct- 
ance from her husband, whom the 
Greeks obliged to go to the Trojan war, 
[Vid. Palamedes.] The continuation of 
the war rendered her melancholy, but 
when Ulysses did not return, like the 
other princes, her fears were increased, 
and she was soon beset by a number of 
suitors, who wished her to believe that 
her husband was shipwrecked. She re- 
ceived their addresses with disdain : 
yet flattered them with hopes, and de- 
clared that she would make choice of 
one of them, as soon as she had finished 
a piece of tapestry then in hand. But 
?he baffled their eager expectations by 
yttdamg in the night what she had done 



in the daytime. This artifice- of Pene- 
lope has given rise to the proverb of 
Penelope's web, which is applied to 
whatever labor can never be ended. 
The return of Ulysses, after an absence 
of twenty years, however, delivered her 
from her dangerous suitors. Homer. 
Ovid. &c. Penelope is described by Ho- 
mer as a model of female virtue and 
chastity, but some more modern writers 
dispute her claims to modesty and con- 
tinence, and they represent her as the 
most debauched and voluptuous of her 
sex. According to their opinions, there- 
fore, she liberally gratified the desires 
of her suitors, in the absence of her 
husband, and had a son, whom she 
called Pan, as if to show that he was 
the offspring of allher admirers. Some, 
however suppose that Pan was son of 
Penelope by Mercury, and that he was 
born before his mother's marriage with 
Ulysses. 

Peneus, a river of Thessaly, 

rising on mount Pindus, and falling 
into the Thermean gulf, after a wan- 
dering course between mount Ossa and 
Olympus, through the plains of Tempe . 
It received its name from Peneus, a 
son of Oceanus and Tethys. It was 
also called Araxes. Daphne, the daugh- 
ter of the Peneus, according to the my-, 
thologists, was changed into a laurel on 
the banks of this river. This tradition 
arises from the quantity of laurels 
which spring near the Peneus. Ooid. 
Vira: Strab. &c. 

Penin.e Alpes, a part of the 

Alps. 

Pennu s, adivinity worshipped 

by the Gauls, as the greatest of the 
gods. His temple was on the Alps, and 
his statues represented him as a young 
man, naked, and with only oue eye, in 
the middle of his forehead. Some sup- 
pose that the sun was worshipped under 
that name. Liu. 

Pentapolis, a part of 

Africa, near Cyrene. It received this 
name on account of the five cities 
which it contained ; Cyrene, Arsinoe, 
Berenice, Ptolemais or Barce, and Apol- 
lonia. Flin. 

Pentelicus^ a mountain in 
Attica, celebrated for its quarries of 
marble. 

Penthesilea, a queen of the 

Amazons, daughter of Mars. She came 
to assist Priam in the Trojan war, and 
fought against Achilles, by whom she 
was slain. The hero was so* struck with 
the beauty of Penthesilea when he strip- 
ped her of her arms, that he even shed 
tears for her fate. Thersites laughed at 
the partiality of the hero, for which ri- 
dicule he was instantly killed. The 
death of Thersites so offended Diome- 
des, that he dragged the body of Pen- 
thesilea out of the camp, and threw it 



PER 

into the Scamander. It is generally 
supposed that Achilles was enamoured 
of the Amazon before he fought with 
her, and that she had by him a son 
called Cayster. Pans. Virg. tit/gin. 
Bictys. Cr'et. 

- Pentheus, son of Echion and 
Agave, was king of Thebes in Bceotia. 
His refusal to acknowledge the divinity 
of Bacchus was attended with the most 
fatal consequences. He forbad his sub- 
jects to pay adoration to this new god ; 
and when the Theban women had gone 
out of the city to celebrate the orgies of 
Bacchus, Pentheus, apprised of the de- 
bauchery which attended the solem- 
nity, ordered the god himself, who con- 
ducted the religious multitude, to be 
seized. His orders were obeyed with 
reluctance, but when the doors of the 
prison in which Bacchus had been con- 
fined^ opened of their own accord, 
Pentheus became more irritated, and 
commanded his soldiers to destroy the 
whole band of the bacchanals. Bacchus 
then inspired the monarch with an ar- 
dent desire of seeing the orgies. Ac- 
cordingly he hid himself in a wood for 
the purpose on mount Cithasron. But 
his curiosity proved fatal, the baccha- 
nals all rushed upon him. His mother 
was the first who attacked him, and 
next her two sisters, Ino and Autonoe, 
and his body was torn to pieces. Ovid. 
Virg. &c. 

Penthilus, a son of Orestes, 
by Erigone, the daughter of ^Egvsthus, 
who reigned conjointly with his bro- 
ther Tisamenus at Argos. He was dri- 
ven some time after from his throne by 
the Heraelidas, and he retired to Achaia, 
and thence to Lesbos, where he planted 
a colony. Pans. Strab. 

Penthylus, a prince of Pa- 
phos, who assisted Xerxes with twelve 
ships. He was seised by the Greeks, to 
whom he communicated many import- 
ant things concerning the situation of 
the Persians. &c. Herodot. 

Peparethos, an island in the 
iSgean sea, abounding in vines and 
olives. 

Pephredo, a sea-nymph, 
bom with grey hair, daughter of Phor- 
cys and Ceto. 

Per^a, a country of Judasa, 
near Egypt. 

Perasifpus, a Lacedemo- 
nian, sent as an ambassador to Barius, 
king of Persia. 

Percofe. [Vid. Percote.] 

Percosius, a man acquainted 
with futurity. He attempted in vain to 
dissuade his two sons to go to the Tro- 
jan war, by telling them that thev 
would perish there. Horn. 

Percote, a town on the Hel- 
lespont between Abydos and Lamnsa- 

: 



PER 

cus, near the sea-shore. Artaxerxes 
gave it to Themistocles, to maintain, 
his wardrobe. It is sometimes called 
Percope. Herodot. Homer. 

Perdiccas. This name was 

common to three kings of Macedonia. 
Also to cue of the friends and favorites 
of Alexander the Great, who at the 
king's death wished to make himself ab- 
solute, and the ring presented him by 
the dying Alexander seemed to favor 
his pretensions. His ambitious views 
were easily discovered by Antigonus 
and the rest of the generals of Alexan- 
der. Antipater, Craterus, and Ptolemy, 
leagued with Antigonus against him, 
and after much bloodshed on both 
sides, Perdiccas was totally ruined, and 
at last assassinated in his tent in Egypt, 
by his own officers, about 321 years be- 
fore the Christian era. Perdiccas had 
not the prudence and address to gain 
the attachment of his fellow soldiers, 
and this impropriety of his conduct 
alienated the hearts of his friends, and 
at last proved his destruction. Plut. 
Diog. Curt. 

Perdix, a young Athenian, 

son of the sister of Daedalus. He in- 
vented the saw, and seemed to promise 
to become as great an artist as ever 
lived. His uncle was jealous of his 
rising fame, and he threw him down 
from the top of a tower, and put him 
to death. Perdix was changed into a 
bird which bears his name. Hygin. 
Ovid. &c. 

Perexna. [Vid. Anna.] 

Perekxis, one of Comtao- 

dus' favourites, who was put to death 
for aspiring to the empire. Herodian. 

PereuS) son of Elatus and 

Laodiee, and father to Neasra. 

Perga, a town in Pamphylia, 
in which Diana had a magnificent tem- 
ple. 

Pergamus, a town of Mysia, 

on the banks of the Cay cus. It was the 
capital of a celebrated empire called the 
kingdom of Pergamus, founded by 
Philasterus, an eunuch, whom Lysima"- 
chus, after the battle of Ipsus, had en- 
trusted with the treasures he had ob- 
tained in the war. Philaeterus made 
himself master of the treasures and of 
Pergamus; in which they were deposit- 
ed, B.C. 28 3, and laid the foundation 
of an empire, over which he himself 
presided for twenty years. His succes- 
sors were Eumenes, Attains, Eumenes 
the second, Attains Philadelphia, and 
Attalus Philomator, who, B. C. 133, 
left the Roman people heirs to his king- 
dom, as he had no children. Parch- 
ment was first invented and made use 
of at Pergamus, to transcribe books, as 
Ptolemy, king of Egypt, had forbidden 
'he exportation of papyrus from his 



PER 



PER 



kmgdom.From this circumstance parch- 
ment has been called charta pergame- 
na. Galenus, the physician, and Apol- 
lodorus, the mythologist, were born 
here. iEsculapius was the chief deity of 
the country. Plin. Strdb. — A son of 
Neoptolemus and Andromache, who, 
as some suppose, retired from Epirus 
when his brother Molossus ascended the 
throne, and went into Asia, where he 
founded Pergamus. Pans. 

Periander, a tyrant of Co- 
rinth, son of Cypselus. The first years 
of his government were popular. Hav- 
ing consulted the tyrant of Sicily, re- 
specting the manner in which he ought 
to govern, he received no other answer 
but whatever explanation he wished to 
place on the tyrant's having, in the pre- 
sence of his messenger, plucked in a 
field all the ears of corn which seemed 
to tower above the rest. Periander 
understood the meaning of this answer. 
He immediately put to death the rich- 
est and most powerful citizens of Co- 
rinth. He was not only cruel to his 
subjects, but also his family were ob- 
jects of his vengeance. He committed 
incest with his mother, and put to death 
his wife Melissa., upon false accusation. 
He also banished his son Lycophron to 
the island of Corcyra, because the 
youth pitied the miserable end of his 
mother. Periander died about 585 years 
before the Christian era, and by the 
meanness of his flatterers he was reck- 
oned one of the seven wise men of 
Greece. Though he was tyrannical, 
yet he patronized the fine arts ; he was 
fond of peace, and he shewed himself 
the friend and the protector of genius 
and learning. He used to say, that a 
man ought solemnly to keep his word, 
but not to hesitate to break it, if it ever 
clashed with his interest. Diog. in vita. 
Pans. &jc. 

P e e. i b ge a. Ancient writers 
have made mention of many of this 
name, the most remarkable of whom 
are the following : The second wife of 
CEneus, king of Calvdon. She became 
mother of Tydeus, father of Diomedes. 
Hygin. — A daughter of Alcathous, sold 
by her father on suspicion that she was 
courted by Telamon, son of vEacus, 
king of yEgina. She was carried to 
Cyprus, where Telamon, the founder 
of Salamis, married her, by whom she 
had Ajax. Paus. Hygin. 

Pericles, an Athenian of a 

noble family, son of Xauthipnus and 
Agarista He, by attending to 'the lec- 
tures of Damon, Zeno, and Anaxago- 
ras, became a commander, a statesman, 
and an orator. He rendered himself 
popular by opposing Cimon, the favor- 
ite of the nobility, and, to remove 
every obstacle which stood in the wav 
of his ambition, he lessened the dignity 
of the court of the Areopagus. He also 



attacked Cimon, and caused him to be 
banished by the ostracism. Thucydides 
also, who had succeeded Cimon, shared 
the same fate, and Pericles remained 
for fifteen years the absolute sovereign 
of the republic. Pericles did not enrich 
himself, but the prosperity of Athens 
was the object of his administration. 
He made war against the Lacedaemo- 
nians, and restored the temple of Del- 
phi to the care of the Phocians. He ob- 
tained a victory over the Sicyonians 
near Nemeea, and waged a successful 
war against the inhabitants of Samos, 
at the request of his favorite mistress 
Aspasia. [Vid. Aspasia.] The Pelc- 
ponnesian war was fomented by his am- 
bitious views, [Vid. Peloponnesiacum 
Bellum] and when he had warmly re- 
presented the flourishing state of his 
country, the Athenians undertook a 
war against the most powerful repub- 
lics of Greece, which was concluded by 
the destruction of their empire, and the 
demolition of their walls. The Athe- 
nians were at first successful, but an un- 
fortunate expedition raised clamours 
against Pericles, and he was condemned 
to pay fifty talents ; but he was again 
restored to all his honors, and, if pos- 
sible, invested with more authority than 
before. The dreadful pestilence, how- 
ever, which had diminished the number 
of his family, proved fatal to him, and 
about 429 years B. C. in his 70th year, 
he fell a sacrifice to that terrible mala- 
dy, which robbed Athens of so many 
citizens. Pericles was for 40 years at 
the head of the administration. 25 years 
with others, and 15 alone. As he was 
expiring, and seemingly senseless, his 
friends that stood around his bed expa- 
tiated with warmth on the most glo- 
rious actions of his life, and the victo- 
ries which he had won, when he sud- 
denly interrupted their tears and con- 
versation, by saying that in mentioning 
the exploits that he had achieved, and 
which were common to him with all ge- 
nerals, they had forgot to mention a 
circumstance which reflected far greater 
glory upon him, as a minister, a gene- 
ral, and above all, as a man. It is, said 
he, that not a citizen of Athens has 
been obliged to put on mourning on 
my account. The Athenians were so 
pleased with his eloquence, that they 
compared it to thunder and lightning, 
and as to another father of the gods, 
they gave him the surname of Olym- 
pian. However great and venerable 
his character may be, his vicious par- 
tiality for the celebrated courtezan As- 
pasia justly subjected him to the ridi- 
cule and the censure of his fellow-citi- 
zens. Paus. Plut. Xenoph. 

Periclymenus, a son of Ne- 

leus, brother to Nestor, killed by Her- 
cules. He was one of the Argonauts, 
and had received from Neptune the 
power of changing himself into what- 
ever shape he pleased, and, therefbre» 



PER 



before he perished by the blows of the 
hero, he attempted in vain to conceal 
himself under the form of a fly, a bee, 
a serpent, a cat, and an eagle. Under 
this last transformation he wounded 
Hercules with his talons, but was shot 
with an arrow. Orpheus. Arg. Ovid. 
Met. : 

Perieres, son of Eolus. 

Perigone, a woman who had 

a son, called Melanippus, by Theseus. 
She was daughter of Synnis, the fa- 
mous robber, whom Theseus killed. 
She married Deioneus, the son of Eu- 
rytus, by consent of Theseus. Pint. 

Perilaus, tyrant of Argos. 

Peril la, a daughter of Ovid 

the poet. She was extremely fond of 
poetry and literature. Ouid. 

Perillus, an ingenious artist 
at Athens, who made a brazen bull for 
Phalaris, tyrant of Agrigentum. This 
machine was fabricated to put crimi- 
nals to death by burning them alive, 
and it was «uch that their cries were 
like the roaring of a bull. When Pe- 
rillus gave it to Phalaris, the tyrant 
made tre first experiment upon the do- 
nor. Plin. &c— A usurer in the time 
of Horace. 

Perimede, daughter of Eo- 
lus. — A person well skilled in the know- 
ledge of herbs and enchantments. 

Per i mela, a daughter of Hip- 

podamus, thrown into the sea for re- 
ceiving the addresses of the Achslous. 
She was changed into an island in the 
Ionian sea, and became one of theEchi- 
nades. 

Perinthia, one of Menan- 

der's comedies. 

Per in thus, a town of Thrace ■> 

on the Propontis, anciently surnamed 
Mvgdomca. It was afterwards called 
Heraclea, in honor of Hercules. Mela. 
Paus. 

PERIPATETICI, a sect of phi- 
losophers of Athens, disciples to Aris- 
totle. They received this name from 
the place where they were taught, call- 
ed Peripaton, in the Lyceum, or be- 
cause they received the philosopher's 
lectures as they walked f cre^Tra'rouv- 
fsf). The Peripatetics acknowledged 
the dignity of human nature, andplaced 
their siimmum bonurn not in the plea- 
sures of passive sensation, but in the 
due exercise of the moral and intellec- 
tual faculties. The habit of this ex- 
ercise, when guided by reason, consti- 
tuted the highest excellence of man. 
The philosopher contended that our 
own happiness chiefly depends upon 
ourselves, and though he did not re- 
quire in his followers that self com- 



PER 



mand to which others pretended, yet he 
allowed a moderate degree of perturba- 
tion as becoming human nature, and 
he considered a certain sensibility of 
passion totally necessary, as by resent- 
ment we are enabled to repel injuries, 
and the smart which past calamities 
have inflicted renders us careful to 
avoid the repetition. Cic. Acad. 

Periphas, a king of Attica, 
previous to the time of Cecrops.— One 
of the Lapithae. 

Periphates, a robber of At- 
tica, son of Vulcan, destroyed by The- 
seus 

P E R i t A s, a favorite dog of 
Alexander the Great, in whose honor 
the monarch bu.lt a city. 

Peritoniu 37, a town of 

E.^yptj on the western side of the Nile, 
Antony was defeated there by C. G al- 
ius, the lieutenant of Augustus. 

Permessus, a river of Bceo- 
tia, rising in Mount Helicon, and flow- 
ing all round it. It received its name 
from Permessus, the fath ?r of a nymph 
called Aganippe, who also gave he? 
name to one of the fountains of Heli- 
con. The river Permessus, as well as 
the fountain Aganippe, were sacred to 
the Muses. Strab. Propert. 

Pero or Perone, a daughter 

of Neleus, king of Pylos, by Chloris, 
She married Bias, son of Amythaon, 
because be had, according to her fa- 
ther's desire, recovered some oxen 
which Hercules had stolen away, Ho- 
mer. 

Peroe, a fountain in Bceotia, 
so called from Peroe the daughter of 
Asopus. 

P E R O L a, son to Pacuvius, 

who was dissuaded by his father from 
assassinating Hannibal. 

Pespenna, a Roman who 

joined the rebellion of Sertorius, and 
opposed Pompey. He was defeated by 
Metellus, and some time after had the 
meanness to ass?ssinate Sertorius, 
whom he had invited to his house. 
He fell into the hands of Pom pey, who 
ordered him to be put to death. PluU 
Paterc, 

Perperene, the place where^ 
Pans is said to have adjudged to Yenus 
the prize of beauty . 

Perrilebia* a part of Thes- 

saly, situate on the borders of the Pe= 
neus, extending between the to>vn of 
Atrax and the vale of Tempe. Strain 

&c. - norh £ rfiiw t fiiislsl bn& s^nr 
Pers a or Perseis, one of the* 
Oceanides, mother of .Seres, Circe, and 
Pasiphae, by Apollo. Hesiod. sc* 



PER 

Pe rs .1:, the inhabitants of 
Persia. [ Vid. Persia.] 

Persee, a fountain near My- 
cense. , . 

Perse is, one of the Oceani- 
des. 

Persephone, a daughter of 

Jupit?r and Ceres, called also Proser- 
pine. [ Vid. Proserpina.]— The mother 
of Amphion, by Jason. 

Persepolis, acelebrated city, 
the capital of the Persian empire. It 
was laid in ruins by Alexander after the 
conquest of Darius. The reason of this 
is not known. Some suppose that Alex- 
ander set it on fire at the instigation of 
Thai;, one of his courtezans, when he 
had passed the day in riot and debauch- 
ery. The ruins of Persepolis still asto- 
nish the modern traveller by their gran- 
deur and magnificence. Curt. 

Perses, a son of Perseus and 

Andromeda. From him the Persians, 
who were originally called Cephenes, 
received their name. Herodot. — A bro- 
ther of Hesiod, to whom the poet ad- 
dressed his Opera and Dies. — A king of 
Macedonia. [Vid. Perseus.] 

Perseus, a son of Jupiter 

and Danae, the daughter of Acrisius. 
As Acrisius had confined his daughter 
in a brazen tower, to prevent her be- 
coming a mother, because he was to 
perish, according to the words of an 
oracle, by the hands of his daughter's 
son, Perseus was no sooner born [_Vid. 
Danae] than he was thrown into the sea 
with his mother Danae. The hopes of 
Acrisius were frustrated ; the boat 
which carried Danae and her son was 
driven upon the island of Seriphos, 
one of the Gyclades, where they were 
found by a fisherman, and carried to 
Polydectes, the king of the place. They 
were treated with great humanity, and 
Perseus was intrusted to the care of the 
priests of Minerva's temple. His rising 
genius soon displeased Polydectes, who 
wished to offer violence to Danae, yet 
feared the resentment of her son. Po- 
lydectes, however, resolved to remove 
every obstacle. He invited his friends 
to an entertainment, who were to pre- 
sent the monarch with a beautiful 
horse. Perseus was also invited, as Po- 
lydectes knew that he could not receive 
from him the expected present. Per- 
seus told the king, that as he could not 
give him a horse, he would bring him 
the head of the mortal Gorgon, Medu- 
sa. The offer was doubly agreeable to 
Polydectes, as the attempt might end 
in the ruin of Perseus. But the inno- 
cence of Perseus was patronized by the 
gods. Pluto lent him his helmet; Mi- 
nerva her buckler; and Mercury his 
wings and talaria, with a short dagger 
called herpe. With these arms Perseus 
traversed the air, conducted by Miner- 



PER 

va, and having, discovered from the 
Graige, the sisters of the Gorgons, the 
place of their residence, he instantly 
fiew to it. According to Hesiod and 
Apollodorus, it was beyond the western 
ocean. Having found them asleep, he 
approached them, and cut off Medusa's 
head with one blow. The noise awoke 
the two sisters, but Pluto's helmet ren- 
dered Perseus invisible. The conqueror 
made his way through the air, and 
from the blood of Medusa's head sprang 
those innumerable serpents in the de- 
serts of Libya. Chrysaor, also, with his 
golden sword, sprang from the drops of 
blood, as well as the horse Pegasus. 
Meantime Perseus had crossed the de- 
serts of Libya, but the approach of 
night obliged him to alight in the terri- 
tories of Atlas, king of Mauritania, 
where the monarch not only refused 
Perseus the hospitality he demanded, 
but he even offered violence to his per- 
son. Perseus finding himself inferior 
to Atlas, showed him Medusa's head, 
and instantly he was changed into a 
large mountain, which bore the same 
name, in Africa. Perseus continued his 
flight, and, as he passed over Libya, he 
discovered, on the coast of ^Ethiopia, 
the naked Andromeda exposed to a sea- 
monster. He was struck at the sight, 
and offered her father, Cepheus, to de- 
liver her if he obtained her in marriage. 
Cepheus consented, and immediately 
Perseus fiew towards the monster, then 
advancing to devour Andromeda, and 
he plunged his dagger in his right shoul- 
der, and destroyed it. This happy event 
was attended with the greatest rejoic- 
ings- and the nuptials were celebrated 
with the greatest festivity. The univer- 
sal joy, however, was soon disturbed. 
Phineus, Andromeda's uncle, attempted 
to carry away the bride ; a bloody bat- 
tle ensued, and Perseus again showed 
the Gorgon's head to his adversaries, 
and they were immediately turned to 
stone, each in the posture and attitude 
in which he then stood. Perseus, after 
this adventure, retired to Seriphos, at 
the moment that his mother, Danae, 
fled to the altar of Minerva to avoid 
Polydectes, who attempted to offer her 
violence. Polydectes met the same fate 
as Atlas and Phineus; he was also 
turned into a stone by the power of 
Medusa's head. Dictys, who had for- 
merly saved the life of Perseus and Da- 
nae, was placed by Perseus on the 
throne of Seriphos. He then restored 
the armour he_ had received from the 
gods, having placed the Gorgon's head 
upon the aegis of Minerva. After these 
exploits, Perseus embarked for the Pe- 
loponnesus, with his mother and An- 
dromeda. When he reached the coast 
he was informed that Teutamias, king 
of Larissa, was then celebrating fune- 
ral games in honor of his father. This 
intelligence drew him to Larissa, to sig- 
nalize himself in throwiug the quoit, of 



- 



P 5 



PER 



PER 



which , according to SGme, he was the 
inventor. But here he was attended by 
an evil fate, and had the misfortune to 
kill a man with a quoit which he had 
thrown in the air. This was his grand- 
father Acrisius, and the oracle was ful- 
filled. This unfortunate murder greatly 
depressed the spirits of Perseus : by the 
death of Acrisius he was entitled to the 
throne of Argos, but he refused to reign 
there, and exchanged his kingdom for 
that of Tirynthus, and the maritime 
coast of Argolis, where Megapenthes, 
the son of Prcetus, then reigned. Being 
settled in this part of the Peloponnesus, 
he determined to found a new city, 
which he made the capital cf his do- 
minions, and which he called Mi/cena;, 
because the pommel of his sword, call- 
ed by the Greeks myces, had fallen 
there". The time of his death is un- 
known, yet it is universally agreedlhat 
he received divine honors, "like the rest 
of the ancient heroes. Perseus had by 
Andromeda, Aleeus", Sthenelus, Nes- 
tor, Electryon, and Gorgophcne, and, 
after death, according to some myco- 
logists, he became a constellation in 
the heavens. Herodot. Apollod. Ovid. 
Hesiod. &c. 

Perseus, or Perses, ason of 
Philip, king of Macedonia, who distin- 
guished himself, like his father, by his 
enmity to the Romans, and declared 
war against them. He wanted courage 
and resolution, and his avarice and ti- 
midity proved destructive to his cause. 
When Paulus iEmylius was appointed 
to the command of the Roman armies 
in Macedonia, Perseus showed his infe- 
riority by his imprudent encampments, 
and, at the famous battle of Pydna, 
B. C. 1G8, he was the first who Seel as 
soon as the battle was begun, leaving 
the enemy masters of the field. From 
Pydna, Perseus tied to Samothrace, 
but he was soon discovered, and brought 
to the Roman conqueror, where the 
meanness of his behaviour exposed him 
to ridicule. He was carried to Rome, 
and dragged along the streets of the 
city to adorn the triumph of the con- 
queror. His family were also exposed 
to the sight cf the Roman populace, 
who shed tears on viewing^ dragged 
like a slave, a monarch who had once 
spread alarm all over Italy, by the 
greatness of his military preparations. 
Perseus died in prison, or, according 
to some, he was put to a shameful death 
the first year of his captivity. He had 
two sons, Philip and Alexander, the 
latter cf whom was apprenticed to a 
carpenter, and led a life of obscurity, 
till he raised himself to notice by his 
ingenuity. Liv. Justin. Plut. &c. 

Persia, a celebrated kingdom 
of Asia, which, in its ancient state, ex- 
tended from the Hellespont to the In- 
dus, above 2800 miles, and from Pontus 
to the shores of Arabia, above 2000 



miles. According to Ptolemy, it was 
bounded on the north by Media, west 
by Susiana, south by the' Persian gulf, 
and east by Carmania. The empire of 
Persia was first founded by Cyrus the 
Great, about 559 years before the Chri- 
stian era, and under the succeeding 
monarchs it became one of the most 
powerful kingdoms of the earth. The 
destruction of the Persian monarchy 
by the Macedonians was easily effected, 
and from that time Persia became tri- 
butary to the Greeks. After the death 
of Alexander, Seleucus Nicanor made 
himself master of the Persian provinces, 
till the revolt of the Parthians intro- 
duced new revolutions. Persia was 
partly reconquered from the Greeks, 
and remained" tributary to the Parthians 
for near 500 years. Artaxerxes, a com- 
mon soldier, A. D. 229, became the 
founder of the second Persian mo- 
narchy, which proved so inimical to 
the Roman emperors. In their national 
character the Persians were warlike, 
they were early taught to ride, and to 
handle the bow, and by the manly ex- 
ercises of hunting, they were inured to 
bear the toils and fatigues of a military 
life. Their national' valor, however, 
soon degenerated, and their want of 
employment at home soon rendered 
them unfit for war. The celebrated 
actions at Thermopylae and Marathon, 
and the succeeding actions at Salamis, 
Plata?a, and Mycale, show in a strong 
light the su periority of the Grecian sol- 
diers over the Persians. The Persians 
were anciently called Cephenes, Achfe- 
menians, and Artaei. They received the 
name of Persians from Perses, the son 
of Perseus and Andromeda, who is sup- 
posed to have settled among them. Per- 
sepolis was the capital of the country. 
In their religion the Persians were very 
superstitious, they paid the greatest ve- 
neration to the sun, the moon, and the 
stars, and they offered sacrifices to fire, 
but the Supreme Deity was never re- 
presented by statues among them. The 
monarch always appeared with the 
greatest pomp and dignity ; his person- 
was attended by a guard of 15,000 men, 
and he had besides a body of 10,000 
chosen horsemen, called immortal. He 
styled himself, like the rest of the 
Eastern monarchs,_ The King of Kings, 
as expressive of his greatness and his 
power. Pint Xenoph. Herodot. 

Persicujvi mare, or Persi- 

CUS SINUS, a part of the Indian 
ocean on the coast of Persia and Ara - 
bia, now called the Gulf of Bassora. 

Persis, a province of Persia, 
bounded by Media, Carmania, Susiana, 
and the Persian gulf. It is often taken 
for Persia itself. 

Aulus Persius Flaccus, 

a Latin poet of Vola terras. The earl v 
part of his life was spent in his native 



PER 



PER 



town, and at the age of sixteen he was 
removed to Rome, where he studied 
philosophy under Cornutus the cele- 
brated Stoic. He also received the in- 
structions of Palemon the grammarian, 
and Virginius the rhetorician. He di- 
stinguished himself by his satirical hu- 
mor, and made the faults of the orators 
and poets of his age the subject of his 
poems. He did not even spare Nero, 
and the more effectually to expose the 
emperor to ridicule, he introduced into 
his satires some of his verses. Persius 
died in the 30th year of his age, A. D. 
62. The satires of Persius are six in 
number, blamed by some for obscurity 
of style and of language. But though 
unintelligible to some7 they were read 
with pleasure by his cotemporaries, 
and the difficulties which now appear 
in them arise from not knowing the va- 
rious characters, the vices, and the 
errors which they censured. — A man, 
whose quarrel with Rupilius is men- 
tioned in a ridiculous manner by Ho- 
rat. He is called Hybrida, as being son 
of a Greek by a Roman woman. 

Pertinax, Publius Helvius, 
a Roman emperor after the death of 
Commodus. He was descended of an 
obscure family, and for some time fol- 
lowed the mean employment of making 
charcoal. Though indigent, he receiv- 
ed a liberal education, and he, for some 
time, taught the Greek and Roman 
languages in Etruria. He left this pro- 
fession for a military life, and by his 
valor gradually rose to the highest of- 
fices in the army, and was made con- 
sul by M. Aurelius, for his eminent ser- 
vices. He was afterwards intrusted 
with the government of Mcesia, and at 
last he presided over the city of Rome 
as governor. When Commodus was 
murdered, Pertinax was universally se- 
lected to succeed him. He acquiesced 
with reluctance, but his mildness and 
economy convinced the senate and the 
people of the prudence of their choice. 
He forbad his name to be inscribed on 
places, belonging to the imperial do- 
main; because he esteemed them as 
not belonging to him but to the public. 
He melted all the silver statues which 
had been raised to Commodus and ex- 
posed to sale all his concubines, horses, 
arms, and instiuments of pleasure and 
extravagance. After having made many 
salutary regulations in the state, and 
gained the affection of the worthiest 
and most discerning of his subjects, the 
extravagant and luxurious alone raised 
clamors against him, and when Perti- 
nax attempted to introduce among the 
pretorian guards that discipline which 
was necessary to preserve the tranquil- 
lity of Rome, the mi nds of the soldiers 
became totally al'f .• 1. Pertinax was 
apprized of v>. :-?\.' ; v\- hut he refused 
to fly in the iiour ol danger, and he 
septued the advice of his friends who 
wished him to withdraw from the im- 



pending storm. He was assassinated by 
his soldiers, and his head was cut off 
and carried upon the point of a spear, 
as in triumph to the camp. This hap- 
pened on the 28th of March, A. D. 193. 
Pertinax reigned only 87 days, and by 
his death the Roman empire was robbed 
of a wise, virtuous, and benevolent em- 
peror. Dio. Herodian. 

Peetunda, a goddess among 
the Romans who presided over the con- 
summation of marriage. Her statue 
was generally placed in the bridal cham- 
ber. Varro apud Aug. Civ. D. 

Perusia, an ancient town of 
Etruria, on the Tiber, built by Ocnus. 
L. Antonius was besieged there by Au- 
gustus, and obliged to surrender. Strab. 
&c. 

Pescennius. [ Fid. Niger. ] 

Pessinus, a town in Phrygia, 
celebrated for a temple and a statue of 
Cybele; and for being the place where 
Atys is supposed to have been buried. 

Petelinus Lacus, a small 
lake near one of the gates of Rome. 
Liv. 

Peteus, a son of Orneus, and 

grandson of Ereohfheus, reigned in At- 
tica, and became father of Mnesrheus., 
who went with the Greeks to the Tro- 
jan war. He is represented by some of 
the ancients as a monster, half a man 
and half a beast. Apollod. Pans. 

Pet ilia, a town of Magna 
Greecia, the capital of Lucania, built 
by Philoctetes, who, after his return 
from the Trojan war, left his country 
Melibcea, because his subjects had re- 
volted. Mela. Virg. 

Petilii, two tribunes who ac- 
cused Scipio Afiicanus of extortion. 
He was acquitted. 

PetIlius; The most remark- 
able of this name is a governor of the 
capital, who stole the treasures intrust- 
ed to his care. He was accused, but 
though guilty, he was acquitted, as 
being the friend of Augustus. Horat. 
— A praetor, at whose instance the peo- 
ple of Rome burnt the books, which 
had been found in Numa's tomb. 

Pet os iris, a celebrated ma- 
thematician of Egypt. Juv. 

Petra, the capital town of 
Arabia Petraea. St7ab.-~ This name was 
common also to four towns in Europe. 

Petr^ea, one of the Oceani- 
des. — A part of Arabia, which has Sy- 
ria at the east, Egypt on the west, Pa- 
lestine on the nc; th, and Arabia Felix 
at the south. This part of Arabia was 
rocky, whence it has received its name. 
It was for the rnca'o part also covered 
with barren sands. 

Pet it ei us, a Roman sokfe 



PEU 



who killed his tribune during the Cim- 
brian wars, because he hesitated to at- 
tack the enemy. He was rewarded for 
his valor with a crown of grass. Plin. 
—A lieutenant of C. Anton ius, who de- 
feated the troops of Catiline. He took 
the part of Porapey against Julius 
Caesar, by whom he was defeated in 
Spain. When Caesar had been victo- 
i ious in every part of the world, Pe- 
treius, who had retired into Africa, at- 
tempted to destroy himself by fighting 
with his friend, king Juba, in single 
combat. Juba was killed first, and Pe- 
treius obliged one of his slaves to run 
him through. Sallust. &c. 

Petroc ori I? a people of 

Gaul, inhabiting the town, now callsd 
Perigord. 

Petr5kius. The most cele- 
brated of this name is a great favorite 
of the emperor Nero, and one of the 
ministers and associates of all his plea- 
sures and his debauchery. He was na- 
turally fond of pleasure, and effemi- 
nate, and passed his whole nights in re- 
vels ami the days in sleep. He was af- 
fable in his behaviour, and his witti- 
cisms and satirical remarks appeared 
artless and natural. He was appointed 
proconsul of Bithynia, and afterwards 
consul, in both of which employments 
he behaved with all the dignity becom- 
ing the successors of a Brutus or a Sci- 
pio, but with his office he laid down his 
artificial gravity, and again gave him- 
self up to the pursuit of pleasure. He 
did not long enjoy the imperial favors. 
Tigellinus, likewise one of Nero's fa- 
vorites, jealous of his fame, accused 
him of conspiring against the empe- 
ror's life. The accusation was credited, 
and Petronius withdrew himself from 
Nero's punishment by a voluntary 
death. This was performed in a man- 
ner altogether unprecedented, A. D. 6G. 
Petronius ordered his veins to be open- 
ed, but had them closed at intervals, 
until at last nature was exhausted. Pe- 
tronius distinguished himself by his 
writings as well as by his luxury "and 
voluptuousness. He is the author of 
many elegant but obscene compositions 
still extant, among which is a poem on 
the civil w r ars of Pompey and Csesar. 
There is also the feast of Trimaleion, 
in which he paints the pleasures and 
the debaucheries of a corrupted court 
and monarch, &c. — A governor of 
Egypt, who conducted himself with 
great humanity towards the Jews, and 
made war upon one of the queens of 
Ethiopia. 

Pet talus, a friend of Phi- 

neus, who assisted him in his attempts 
to disturb the marriage of Perseus and 
Andromeda. He was killed by Lycor- 
mas. Ovid. Met. 

Peucestes, a Macedonian, 
set over Egypt by Alexander. He re- 



ceived Persia at the general division of 
the Macedonian empire at the king's 
death, and behaved with great coward- 
ice after he had joined himself to Eu- 
menes. C. Nep. Cv.rt. 

Peucetia, a part of Italy, 
near Campania, called also Mesapia and 
Calabria. It received its name from 
Peucetius, the son of Lycaon, of Ar- 
cadia. Strab. Ovid. 

Ph.ea, a celebrated sow which 
infested the neighbourhood of Cro- 
myon, and was destroyed by Theseus, 
Some suppose that the boar of Calvdoii 
sprang from this sow. Phsea, accord- 
ing to some, was a woman who prosti- 
tuted herself to strangers, w i hom she 
murdered, and afterwards plundered. 
Plut. Strab. 

Ph.eacia, an island of the Io- 
nian sea, near the coast of Epirus, after- 
wards Corey ra. The inhabitants were 
a luxurious people, from which reason 
a glutton was generally stigmatised by 
the epithet of Pha?ax." When Ulysses 
was shipwrecked on the coast of Pha?a- 
cia, Alcinous was then king of tfife 
island, q. v. 

Ph^edimus, a Macedonian ge- 
neral, who betrayed Eumenes to Anti- 
gonus. 

Ph.edox. The most remark- 
able of this name is a disciple of Socra- 
tes. He had been seized by pirates m 
his younger days, and the philosopher, 
who seemed to discover something un- 
common and promising in his counte- 
nance, purchased his liberty, and ever 
after esteemed him. The name of Pha- 
don is affixed to one of the dialogues of 
Plato. 

Phaedra, a daughter of Minos 

and Pasiphae, who marriedTheseus, bv 
whom she became mother of AeamaV 
and Demophooc. She conceived an 
unconquerable passion for Hippolytus, 
the son of Theseus, by the Amazon 
Hippolyte. Phaedra long attempted to 
stifle it, but in vain, and in the absence 
of Theseus, she addressed Hippolytus* 
Hippolytus rejected her with horror, 
Phaedra, incensed on account of the re- 
ception she had met, at the return of 
Theseus accused Hippolytus of at- 
tempts upon her virtue. The credulous 
father listened to the accusation, and 
without hearing the defence of Hippo- 
lytus, banished him; and implored 
Neptune to punish him in some exem- 
plary manner* As Hippolytus fled 
from Athens, his liorses were suddenly 
terrified by a sea-monster, which Nep- 
tune had sent on the shore. He was 
dragged through precipices and over 
rocks, trampled under his horses, and 
crushed under the wheels of his cha- 
riot. When the tragical end of Hippo- 
lytus was known at Athens, Phaedra 



PHA 



PHA 



confessed her crime, and hung herself 
in despair. The death of Hippolytus, 
and the infamous passion of Pha?dra 
are the subject of one of the tragedies 
of Euripides, and of Seneea. She was 
represented in a painting in Apolio's 
temple at Delphi, as suspended by a 
cord, and balancing herself in the air, 
while her sister Ariadne stood near to 
her, and fixed her eyes upon her ; a de- 
licate idea, by which the genius of the 
arrist intimated her melancholy end. 
Pint. Eurip. Virg. &c. 

Ph^edria, a village of Arca- 
dia. 

Phidrus. The most cele- 
brated of this name is a Thraeian, who 
became one of the freedmen of the em- 
peror Augustus, lie translated into 
iambic verses the fables of ,Ssop, in the 
reign of the emperor Tiberius. They 
are divided into five books, valuable for 
their precision, purity, elegance, and 
•simplicity. They remained long buried 
in oblivion, till they were discovered in 
the library of St* "Remi, at Rheims, 
and published by Peter Pithou, a 
Frenchman, at the end of the sixteenth 
century. 

Ph^edyma, daughter of Ota- 
nes, who discovered that Smerdis, who 
had ascended the throne of Persia 
at the death of Cambyses, was an im- 
postor. 

Ph/Exarete, the mother of 

the philosopher Socrates. She was a 
midwife by profession. 

Ph-EN"ias, a disciple of Aris- 
totle, and author of a history of ty- 
rants. 

Ph.enna, one of the graces, 
whom the Spartans worshipped. 

P H il X N I S, a famous pro- 
phetess in the age of Antiochus. Paus. 

Phaeton, a son of the Sun, or 
Phoebus and Clymene, one of the 
Oceanides, according to Ovid, Venus 
became enamoured of him, and en- 
trusted him with the care of one of her 
temples. This favor of the goddess 
rendered him vain, and when Epa- 
phus, the sen of lo, had told him to 
check his pride, that he was not the son 
of Phoebus, Phaeton resolved to know 
his true origin, and he visited the pa- 
lace of the sun. He begged Phoebus, if 
he really were his father, to give him 
incontestable proofs of his tenderness, 
and convince the world of his legiti- 
macy. Phoebus swore by the Styx, that 
he would grant him whatever he re- 
quired, and no sooner was the oath 
uttered, than Phaetonrequested to drive 
his chariot for one day. Phoebus re- 
presented the dangers to which this 
would expose him, but in vain. He 
undertook the aerial journey, and the 
explicit directions of his father were 
forgotten. No sooner had Phaeton r e- 
ceived the reins, than lie betrayed his 



ignorance of guiding the chariot. The 
flying horses became sensible of the 
confusion of their driver, and imme- 
diately departed from the usual track ? 
Phaeton repented too late of his rash- 
ness, and already heaven and earth 
were threatened with an universal con- 
flagration, when Jupiter, who had per- 
ceived the disorder of thehorses, struck 
the rider with a thunderbolt, and hurl- 
ed him headlong from heaven into the 
river Po. His body, consumed with 
fire, was found by the nymphs of the 
place, and honored with a decent bu- 
rial. His sisters mourned his unhappy 
end, and were changed into poplars by 
Jupiter. [ Fid. Phaetontiades and He- 
hades.] Ovid. Virg. &e. 

Phaetontiades, or Phae- 

TON TIDES, the sisters of Phaeton, 
who were changed into poplars by Ju- 
piter. Ovid. [ Fid. Heiiades.] 

Phaetusa, one of the Heiia- 
des changed into poplars after the death 
of their brother Phaeton. Ovid. Met. 

Phage si a, a festival among 
the Greeks, observed during the cele- 
bration of the Dionysia. — Its name is 
derived from the good feasting that pre- 
vailed during the time of the festival's 
continuance. 

Phal achri ne, a Sabine 
village, the birth-place of Vespasian. 

Phalanthus, a -Lacedaemo- 
nian, who founded Tarentum, in Italy,, 
at the head of the Partheniag. His fa- 
ther's name was Aracus. As he went to 
Italy, he was shipwrecked on the coast, 
and carried to shore by a dolphin, and 
for that reason there was a dolphin 
placed near his statue in the tern pie of 
Apollo, at Delphi. [Vid. Parthenise.^ 
He received divine honors after 4eath» 
Justin. &c. 

Phal ar is, a cruel tyrant of 

Agrigentum. Perillus made him a bra- 
zen bull, and when he had presented 
it to Phalaris, the tyrant ordered the 
inventor to be seized, and the first expe- 
riment to be made on his body. These 
cruelties did not long remain unreveng- 
ed ; the people of Agrigentum revolted 
in the tenth year of his reign, and put 
him to death in the same manner as he 
had tortured Perillus, and many of his 
subjects. Ovid. Juv. &c. 

Phalerus, a son of Alcon, 

one of the Argonauts, who is said to 
have built a town afterwards called 
Naples in Italy, and another in Thes- 
saly, and given his name to the port of 
Athens. Flacc. Paus. 

Phallica, festivals observed 
by the Egyptians in honor of Osiris, 
They received their name from ^p^AXcf, 
simulacJirum ligneum menibri virtiis. 
The institution originated in this : after 
the murder of Osiris, Isis, unable tore- 



PHA 



PHA 



cover the privities of her husband, 
[Vid. Osiris] distinguished that which 
-was lost with more honor than the 
parts recovered, ^representation, call- 
ed phallus, was made of wood, and 
carried during the sacred festivals in- 
stituted in honor of Osiris. The people 
looked upon it as the emblem of fecun- 
dity, and the mention of it among the 
ancients never conveyed any impure 
thought or lascivious reflection. The 
festivals of the phallus were imitated 
by the Greeks, and introduced into Eu- 
rope by the Athenians, who made the 
procession of the phallus part of the ce- 
lebration of the Dionysia of the god of 
wine. Lucian. Plut. de Isid et Osir. 

Phalysius, a man of Nau- 

pactum, said to have recovered his 
sight upon reading a letter sent to him 
by iEsculapius. 

Phanjeus, a promontory of 

the island of Chios, famous for its 
wines. It was called after a king of the 
same name, who reigned there. Virg. 
Phanes, a person of Halicar- 

nassus, who advised Cambyses to pass 
through Arabia as he invaded Egypt. 

Phaxtasia, a daughter of Ni- 
carchus, of Memphis, in Egypt, sup- 
posed to have written a poem on the 
Trojan war, and another on the return 
of Ulysses to Ithaca, from which com- 
positions Homer copied the greatest 
part of his* Iliad and Odyssey, when he 
visited Memphis. 

P h A x t a s o s, one of the 
dreams, son of Somnus, and brother to 
Morpheus and Phobetor. He generally 
changed into rocks, rivers, towns, and 
mountains, and all inanimate bodies, 
whilst Morpheus assumes the shape of 
human beings, and Phobetor that of 
animals. Ooid. Met. 

Phaxus, one of the Argo- 
nauts. 

Phaox, a boatman of Mity- 

lene in Lesbos. He received a small box 
of ointment from Venus, with which, 
as soon as he rubbed himself, he be- 
came one of the most beautiful men of 
his age. Many were captivated with 
Phaon, and, among others, Sappho, the 
celebrated poetess. Phaon gave him- 
self up to Sappho's company, but, how- 
ever, he soon conceived a disdain for 
her, and Sappho, mortified at his cold- 
ness, threw herself into the sea, Ovid. 
&c. 

Pharacides, a general of the 

Lacedaemonian fleet, who assisted Dio- 
nysius, the tyrant of Sicily, against the 
Carthaginians. Polycen. 

Pharax, a native of Thes- 
salia, father-in-law to Leueonoe, who 
was torn to pieces by her husband's 
dogs. 

Pharmacusa, an island of the 



^Sgean sea, where Julius Caesar was 
seized by some pirates. 

Pharxabazus. The most re- 
markable of this name is a satrap of 
Persia, son of a person of the same 
name, B. C. 409. He assisted the Lace- 
daemonians against the Athenians, and 
gained their esteem by his friendly be- 
haviour. His behaviour, however, to 
Alcibiades was most perfidious, having 
betrayed the man he had long honour- 
ed with his friendship. C. Nep. 

Pharxaces, a son of Mithri- 

dates, king of Pontus, who favored the 
Romans against his father. In the civil 
wars of Julius Caesar and Pompey, he 
interested himself for neither of the 
contending parties, upon which Caesar 
turned his arms against him. It was to 
express the celerity of his operations in 
conquering Pharnaces, that Caesar said, 
Venl, vidi, vici. Flor. Suet. — A king of 
Pontus, who made war with Eumenes, 
B. C. 181. — A king of Cappadocia. 

Pharos, a small island in the 

bay of Alexandria, about seven fur- 
longs distant from the continent, re- 
markable for a magnificent tower, built 
of white marble, B. C. 2S4, called the 
tower of Pharos , which passed for one 
of the wonders of the world. Fires were 
kept on the top to light the ships into 
the harbour. — The emperor Claudius 
ordered a tower to be built at the en- 
trance of the port of Ostia, for the be- 
nefit of sailors, and it likewise bore the 
name of Pharos, an appellation after- 
wards given to every other edifice which 
was raised to direct the course of 
sailors, either with lights, or by signals. 
Juv. Suet. 

Pharsalus, a town of Thes- 

saly, in whose neighbourhood is a large 
plain called Pharsalia, famous for a 
battle which was fought there oh the 
12th of May, B. C. 4S, between Julius 
Caesar and Pompey, in which the for- 
mer obtained the victory. Caesar lost 
about 200 men, or, according to others, 
1200. Pompey's loss was 15,000, or 
25,000, according to others, and 24,000 
of his army were made prisoners. Lzi- 
can. Plut. &c. — That poem of Lucan, 
in which he gives an account of the 
civil wars of Caesar and Pompey, bears 
the name ef Pharsalia. [Vid. Luca- 
nus.] 

Pharusii, or Phaurusii, a 

people of Africa, beyond Mauritania, it 
was said that they came originally from 
Asia, when Hercules went in quest of 
the apples of the Hesperides. They 
lived partly in caves under the earth, 
and had no covering but the skins of 
serpents and fishes. St rah. Plin. 

Phaselis, a town of Paraphi- 
lia, which was long the residence of pi- 
rates. Sirab. &c. 



PHE 



PHI 



Phasias, a patronymic given 
to Medea, as being born near the Pha- 
sis. Ovid. 

Phasis, a river of Colchis, ris- 
ing in the mountains of Armenia, es- 
teemed by the ancients one of the larg- 
est rivers of Asia. It is famous for the 
expedition of the Argonauts, who en- 
tered it, after a perilous voyage. There 
were cn its banks a number of large 
birds, of which the Argonauts brought 
some to Greece, and which were called 
on that account pheasants. The Pha- 
sis was reckoned by the ancients one of 
the largest rivers of Asia. Orpheus, 
Strab. &c. 

Phayllus, a tyrant of Am- 
bracia, who seduced the wife of Aristo, 
the governor of Mta, by a celebrated 
collar that was in Minerva's temple, 
and which was said to be that which 
once belonged to Eriphyle. [Vid. Eri- 
phyle.] 

Phegeus, or Phlegetjs, a 

companion of iEneas, killed by Tur- 
nus. Virg. Mn. — A priest of Bacchus, 
the father of Alphesibcea, who purified 
Alcmseon of his mother's murder, and 
gave him his daughter in marriage. 
He was afterwards put to death by the 
children of Alcmaeon by Callirhoe, he- 
cause he had ordered Alcmseon to bc- 
killedwhen he attempted to recover a 
collar, which he had given to his daugh- 
ter. [Vid. Alcmaeon.] Ovid. 

Pheta, a town of Elis. 

P h E l l o E, a town near 
-riEgira, in which were temples, dedi- 
cated to Bacchus and Diana. 

Phellus, a town of Elis, 
at a short distance from Olympia. 

Phemius, a man introduced 
by Komer as a musician among Pene- 
lope's suitors. Some say that he taught 
Komer, for which the grateful poet im- 
mortalized his name. Homer. Od. 

Phemonoe, a priestess of 
Apollo, who is supposed to have in- 
vented heroic verses. Pans. 

Pheneum, an Arcadian town, 
in which was a temple, dedicated to 
Mercury. 

Pheneus, a town with a lake 

of the same name in Arcadia, whose 
waters are unwholesome in the night, 
and wholesome in the day-time. Virg. 
Ovid. 

Pher^e, a town of Thessaly, 
where the tyrant Alexander reigned, 
whence he was called Pheraeus. Strab, 
&c.—A town of Attica.— Another of 
Messenia. 

Pheraeus, a surname of Ja- 

r -on, as being a native of Pherce. 

Phereclus, a Trojan, son of 
Harmon ns, v/ho built the fatal ship in 
which Paris brought back Helen to his 



country. He was killed in the Trojan 
war. Homer. Ovid. 

Pherecrates, a comic poet 
of Athens, in the age of Plato and Ari- 
stophanes. He introduced living cha- 
racters on the stage, and invented a 
sort of verse, which from him has been 
called Pherecratian, consisting of the 
three last feet of an hexameter verse, 
of which the first was always a spondee, 
as for instance, the third verse of Ho- 
race's l. ode 5. Cb-ato Pyrrha sub an- 
tro. 

Pherecydes. The most Ce- 
lebrated of this name is a philosopher 
of Scyros, disciple of Pittaeus. He was 
acquainted with the periods of the 
moon, and foretold eclipses with the 
greatest accuracy. The doctrine of the 
immortality of the soul was first sup- 
ported by him, as also that of the me- 
tempsychosis. Pythagoras was one of 
his disciples, remarkable for his esteem 
and his attachment to his learned ma- 
ster. He died B. C. 515, in the 85th 
year of his age. Diog. Lactan. 

Pheres, a son of Cretheusand 
Tyro, who built Pherae in Thessaly., 
where he reigned. Apollod. — A son of 
Medea, stoned to death by the Corin- 
thians, on account of the poisonous 
clothes which he had given to Glauee, 
Creon's daughter. Pans. 

Pheretima, the wife of Bat- 
tus, king of Cyrene, and the mother of 
Arcesilaus. After her son's death she 
recovered the kingdom by means of 
Amasis, king of Egypt, and to avenge 
the murder 'of Arcesilaus, she caused 
all his assassins to be crucified round 
the walls of Cyrene, and she cut off the 
breStsts of their wives, and hung them 
up near the bodies of their husbands. 
It is said that she was devoured alive 
by worms. Herodot. &c. 

Phial e, one of Diana's 
nymphs. Ovid. — A celebrated courte- 
san. Juv. 

Phidias, a celebrated statuary 
of Athens, who died B. C. 432. He 
made a statue of Minerva, at the re- 
quest of Pericles, which was placed in 
the Pantheon. It was made with ivory 
and gold, and measured 39 feet in 
height. He was accused of having carv- 
ed his own image, and that of Pericles, 
on the shield of the statue of the god- 
dess, for which he was banished from 
Athens. He retired to Elis, where he 
determined to revenge the ill-treatment 
he had received by making a statue 
which should eclipse the fame of that 
of Minerva. He was successful in the 
attempt, and the statue he made of Ju- 
piter Olympius was always reckoned 
the best of all his pieces, and has passed 
for one of the wonders of the world. 
Paus. Strab. &c. 

P h I D I p p ides, a celebrated 



PHI 

courier, who ran from Athens to Lace- 
daemon, about 152 English miles, in two 
days, to ask of the Lacedaemonians as- 
>?stance against the Persians. The 
Athenians raised a temple to his me- 
mory. Herodot. C. Nep- 

Phiditia, a public entertain- 
ment at Sparta, instituted by Lvcurgus 
the iegislator, where much frugality was 
unserved, as the word (f £<5<rtx from 
<£st!>Q/A.it.i, parco) denotes. It was a 
school of temperance and sobriety, 
where the youth were trained to good 
manners and useful knowledge, by 
the example and the discourse of the 
elders. 

Phidon, a man who enjoyed 

the sovereign power at Argos, and is 
supposed to have invented scales and 
measures , and coined silver at ^Egina. 
He died B. C. 854. Arist. Herodot. 

Phigalia, a town of Arcadia, 
called after Phigalos, son of Lycaou. 
Bacchus and Diana had each a temple 
there, and the public place was adorned 
with the statues of illustrious natives. 
Paus. 

P h I L a, wife to Demetrius, 

who poisoned herself on her husband's 
losing the kingdom of Macedouia. 

Philadelphia, the surname 

of one of the Ptolemies, king of Egypt, 
by antiphrasis, because he destroyed all 
his brothers. [Vid. Ptolemseus 2d.] 

P'HiLiENi, two brothers of 
Carthage. When a contest arose be- 
tween the Cyreneans and Carthagi- 
nians, about the extent of their territo- 
ries, it was mutually agreed, that, at a 
stated hour, two men should depart 
from each city, and that wherever they 
met, there they should fix the bounda- 
ries of their country. The Philasni ac- 
cordingly departed from Carthage, and 
met the Cyreneans, when they had ad- 
vaneed far into their territories. This 
produced a quarrel, and the Cyreneans 
supported that the Philasni had left 
Carthage before the appointment, and 
that therefore they must retire, or be 
buried in the sand. The Philaeni re- 
fused, upon which they were over- 
powered by the Cyreneans, and accord- 
ingly buried in the sand. The Cartha- 
ginians, to commemorate this patriotic 
deed of the Philaeni, raised two altars 
on the place where their bodies had 
been buried, which they called Philae- 
norum arse. These altars were on that 
side- the boundaries of the Carthaginian 
dominions. Sallust. 

PHiLiEus, a son of Ajax by 

Lyside the daughter of Coronus, one of 
the Lapithas. — A son of Augeas, who 
upbraided his father for not granting 
what Hercules justly claimed for clean- 
ing his stables. [Vid. Augeas.] He was 



PHI 



placed upon his father's throne by Her- 
cules. Apoilod.^ 

Philammon", a celebrated mu- 
sician, son of Apollo by Chione, or, ac- 
cording to others, by Philonis. He is 
mentioned as the first who introduced 
the choral songs in the sacrifices of 
Apollo Delphius. Ovid. Pau*s. 

Phile, one of the Sporades* 

— An island above the smaller cataract, 
in which was a temple dedicated to 
Isis. 

Philemox, a comic poet of 

Greece, contemporary with Menander. 
He obtained some poetical prizes over 
Menander. Plautus imitated some of 
his comedies. Helived to his 97th year, 
and died, as it is reported, of laughing, 
on seeing an ass eat figs, B. C. 274. His 
son wrote 34 comedies. — A poor man of 
Phrygia. [Vid. Baucis.] Vai. Max. 

Philesius, a Lader of the 
10,000 Greeks after the battle of Cu- 
naxa. „ r srfl jxxabnaqabxii *te 

Phile T.Eitus. The most ce- 
lebrated of this name is an eunuch 
made governor of Pergamus by Lysi- 
machus, with whom he quarrelled, and 
made himself master of Pergamus, 
where he founded a kingdom, called 
the kingdom of Pergamus, B. C. 2SS. 
He reigned there for 20 years, and at 
his death he appointed his nephew Eu- 
menes as his successor. Strati. Paus. 

Phi let as, a grammarian and 

poet of Cos, in the reign of king Phi- 
lip, and of his son Alexander the Great. 
He was made preceptor to Ptolemy Phi- 
ladelphia. The elegies and epigrams 
which he wrote have been greatly com- 
mended by the ancients. 

Phieetius, a faithful steward 

of Ulysses, who assisted his master to 
destroy the suitors of Penelope. 

Phil Idas, a Theban, who fa- 
voured the conspiracy to expel the 
Spartans from Thebes. . 

Philippei, or Philippi, cer- 
tain pieces Of money coined in the reign 
of Philip of Macedonia, and with his 
image. Horat. 

Philippi, a town of Macedo- 
nia, anciently called Datos, situate at 
the east of the river Strymon. It was 
called Philippi, after Philip, king of 
Macedonia, and became celebrated for 
two batttles fought there in October," 
B. C. 42, at the interval of about 20 
days, between Augustus and Antony , 
and the republican forces of Brutus and 
Cassius, in which the former obtained 
the victory. Ovid.Plut. Virg.—A town 
in Thessaly, called also Philippi. 

Philippides, a comic Greek 



PHI 



PHI 



poet: his verses were much admired for 
their elegance and precision, and now 
appear such from the fragments quoted 
by Plutarch and Athenaeus. Philippides 
was patronized by Lysimachus, whose 
favors and friendship" he largely enjoy- 
ed. Plut. in Bern. 

Philippopolis, a town of 

Thrace near the Hebrus, built by Phi- 
lip the father of Alexander. 

Philippits 1st, son of Ar- 
gons, succeeded his father on the throne 
of Macedonia, and reigned 38 years, 
B. C. 40. — The second of that name 
was ihe fourth son of Amyntas, king of 
Macedonia. He was sent to Thebes as 
an hostage by his father, where he 
learnt the art of war under Epaminori- 
das, and studied the manners of the 
Greeks. He was recalled to "Macedonia, 
and at the death of his brother Perdic- 
cas, he ascended the throne as guardian 
of his nephew ; but he soon made him- 
self independent. The neighbouring 
nations, ridiculing his youlh, appeared 
in arms. Unable' to meet them as yet in 
the field, he suspended their fury by 
presents, and soon turned his arms 
against Amphipolis, a colony tributary 
to the Athenians, which he conquered, 
and added to the kingdom of Macedo- 
nia. He next meditated the destruction 
of Athens. His designs, however, were 
as yet immature, and before he could 
attempt this, the Thracians and the 
Illyrians demanded his attention. He 
made himself master of a Thracian co- 
lony, from the gold mines of which he 
received the greatest advantages. He 
married Olympias the daughter of 
Neoptolemus, king of the Molossi, by 
whom he had Alexander the Great. 
Every thing seemed now to conspire to 
his aggrandizement, and Philip receiv- 
ed in one day the intelligence of the 
birth of a son r - an honourable crown at 
the Olympic games, and a victory over 
the barbarians of Illyricum. These in- 
creased rather than satiated his ambi- 
tion; he declared, his inimical senti- 
ments against the power of Athens and 
the independence of all Greece, by lay- 
ing siege to Olynthus, a place, which, 
on account of its situation and conse- 
quence, would prove most injurious to 
the interests of the Athenians, and 
most advantageous to the intrigues and 
military operations of every Macedo- 
nian prince. The Athenians roused by 
the eloquence of Demosthenes, sent ] 7 
vessels and 2000 men to the assistance 
of Olynthus; but the money of Philip 
prevailed over all their efforts. The 
greatest part of the citizens suffered 
themselves to be bribed bv Macedonian 
gold, and Olynthus having surrendered, 
was instantly reduced to ruins. His 
successes were as great in every part of 
Greece. In his attempts, however, to 
make himself master of Eubcea, Philip 
was unsuccessful ; and Phocion,who de- 



spised his gold as well as his meanness, 
obliged him to evacuate that island. 
From Eubcea he turned hisarms agaiast 
the Scythians, but the advantages he 
obtained over this indigent nation were 
inconsiderable, and he again made 
Greece an object of plunder. He ad- 
vanced far into Bceotia, and a general 
engagement was fought at Chaeronea. 
The fight was long and bloody, but 
Philip "obtained the victory. At the 
battle of Chaeronea the independence of 
Greece was extinguished ; and Philip, 
unable to find new enemies in Europe, 
meditated new conquests. He was no- 
minated general of the Greeks against 
the Persians, whose invasions of Greece 
under Darius and Xerxes he had re- 
solved to revenge. But he was stopped 
in the midst of his warlike prepara- 
tions ; Pausanias, as he entered the 
theatre at the celebration of the nup- 
tials of his daughter Cleopatra, stabbed 
him, it is supposed, at the instigation of - 
his wife Olympias. The ridiculous ho- 
nors which Olympias paid to her hus- 
band's murderer, however, strengthen- 
ed the suspicion. The character of Phi- 
lip is that of a sagacious, artful, pru- 
dent and intriguing monarch. He pos- 
sessed much perseverance, and in the 
execution of his plans he was always 
vigorous. The private character of 
Philip lies open to censure, and raises 
indignation. He was murdered in the 
47th year of his age, and the 24th of his 
reign, about 338 years B. C. He is the 
first monarch whose life and actions are 
described with peculiar accuracy and 
historical faithfulness. Philip was the 
father of Alexander the Great, and of 
Cleopatra, by Olympias; he had also 
by Audaca, an lllyrian, Cyna, who 
married Amyntas the son of Perdiccas, 
Philip's elder brother; by Nicasipolis s 
a Thessalean, Nicasa, whornarried Cas- 
sander ; by Philinna, a Larisssean 
dancer, Ari iaeus, who reigned some 
time after Alexander's death ; by Cleo- 
patra, the niece of Attains, Caranus and 
Europa.who were both murdered by 
Olympias ; and Ptolemy, the first king 
of Egypt, by Arsinoe. D-emosth. Jus- 
tin. ^Diod. Plut &c— The last king of 
Macedonia, of that name, was son of 
Demetrius. Not satisfied with the king- 
dom of Macedonia, Philip aspired to 
become the friend of Annibal, and 
wished to share with him the spoils of 
Rome. The Romans, however, dis- 
ooveredhis intrigues, and though much 
weakened by the Carthaginians, yet 
they were soon enabled to meet him in 
the field of battle. The consul Lsevi- 
nus entered without delay his territo- 
ries of Macedonia, and after he had; 
obtained a victory over him near Apol- 
Ionia, and reduced his fleet to ashes * 
he compelled him to sue for peace 
This peaceful disposition was not per- 
manent, and he again assisted AnnibaT 
with men ?.nd money. The R&nswp 



PHI 



PHI 



then appointed T. Q. Flaminus to pu- 
nish his perfidy, and the Roman con- 
sul with great expedition invaded Ma- 
cedonia, and in a gwieral engagement 
fought near Cynocephale, Philip being 
totally defeated, saved his life with dif- 
ficulty by flying from the field of battle. 
Destitute of resources, he was then ob- 
liged to submit to the mercy of the con- 
queror, and to demand peace by his 
ambassadors, which was granted upon 
terms disadvantageous and degrading to 
his dignity. In the midst of these pub- 
lic calamities, the peace of his family 
was disturbed by Perses, the eldest of 
his sons, by a concubine, at whose in- 
stigation he put to death his son Deme- 
trius. Having discovered the perfidy 
of Perses, he attempted to take Anti- 
gonus, another son, his successor, but 
he was prevented from executing his 
purpose by death, in the forty-second 
year of his reign, 179 years before the 
Christian sera. Polyb. Justin. &c— M. 
Julius, a Roman emperor of an obscure 
family in Arabia, whence he was sur- 
named Arabian. From the lowest rank 
in the army, he gradually rose to the 
highest offices, and was made general of 
thepretorian guards. He assassinated 
Gordian to make himself emperor. To 
establish himself with more certainty on 
the imperial throne, he left Mesopota- 
mia a prey to the invasions of the Per- 
sians, and hurried to Rome, where his 
election was universally approved by the 
senate and the Roman people. Philip 
rendered his cause popular by his libe- 
rality and profusion. His usurpation, 
however, was short ; Philip was de- 
feated by Decius, who had proclaimed 
himself emperor in Pannonia, and he 
was assassinated by his own soldiers 
near Verona, in the forty-fifth year of 
his age, and the fifth of his reign, A. D. 
249. His son, who bore the same name, 
and who had shared with him the im- 
X>enal dignity, was also massacred in the 
arms of his mother. Young Philip was 
then in the twelfth year of his age. 
Aurel. Victor. — A physician to Alexan- 
der the Great. As he was preparing 
medicine for the king, when taken sud- 
denly ill after bathing in the Cydnus, 
Alexander received a letter from Par- 
menio, in which he was advised to be- 
ware of his physician Philip. The mo- 
narch, when Philip presented him the 
medicine, gave him Parmenio's letter 
to peruse, and began to drink the po- 
tion. The composure of Philip's coun- 
tenance, as he read the letter, removed 
ed every suspicion from Alexander's 
breast: he pursued the directions of 
his physician, and in a few days reco- 
vered. Plut. Curt. &c. — This name is 
common to many others recorded by 
ancient writers, in whose life or charac- 
ter there is nothing very remarkable. 

Philiscus, a celebrated scul- 
ptor, of whose workmanship Oetavia 



possessed several specimens : as a Ve- 
nus, a Diana, an Apollo, a Latona 
&c. 

Philistiost, a physician of 

Locris. 

Philistus, a native of Syra- 
cuse, who wrote a history of Sicily, in 
12 books. He was sent against the Sy- 
racusans by the younger Dionysius ; 
but being unsuccessful he slew" him- 
self. 

Phillo, an Arcadian maid, 

by whom Hercules had a son. The fa- 
ther exposed his daughter, but she was 
saved by means of her lover, who was 
directed to the place where she was 
doomed to perish, by the chirping of a 
magpie, which imitated the plaintive 
cries of a child. Parts. 

Philo. There were many 
learned men of this name, the most re- 
markable of whom is a Jewish writer of 
Alexandria, A. D. 40. sent as ambassa- 
dor from his nation to Caligula, but was 
unsuccessful in his embassy, of which 
he wrote an entertaining account. He 
was so happy in his expressions, and 
elegant in his variety, that he has been 
called the Jewish Plato. His works 
were divided into three parts, of which 
the first related to the creation of the 
world, the second spoke of sacred hi- 
story, and in the third the author made 
mention of the laws and customs of the 
Jewish nation. 

Philobceotus, a mountain 

of Boeotia. 

Philochorus, a man who 

wrote a history of Athens, in seventeen 
books, besides a catalogue of the arch- 
ons, two books of Olympiads,, and a 
treatise on sacrifices. He died B. C. 
222. 

Philocles, one of the ad- 
mirals of the Athenian fleet, during the 
Peloponnesian war. He recommended 
to cut off the right hand of such of the 
enemies as were taken. His plan w r as 
adopted by all the ten admirals, except 
one, but instead of being conquerors, 
they were totally defeated at iEgospota- 
mos by Lysander, and Philocles was 
put to death with the rest of his col- 
leagues. Plut. 

Philoctetes, son of Pcean 
and Demonassa, was one of the Argo- 
nauts, according to Hyginus, and the 
arm-bearer and particular friend of 
Hercules. He erected the pile on which 
the hero was consumed, and received 
from him his arrows dipped in the gall 
of the hydra. He had no sooner paid 
the last offices to Hercules, than he re- 
turned to Melibcea, where his father 
reigned. He then visited Sparta, where 
he became one of the suitors of Helen, 
and soon after accompanied the Greeks 
to the Trojan war, with seven ships. 



PHI 



PHI 



He was prevented from joining his 
countrymen at Aulis, on account of the 
offensive smell which arose from a 
wound in his foot, and at the instiga- 
tion of Ulysses, he was carried to the 
island of^Lemnos. In this retreat he re- 
jnained for some time, till the Greeks, 
in the tenth year of the Trojan war, 
were informed by the oracle that Troy 
could not be taken without the arrows 
of Hercules, then in the possession of 
Philoctetes. Upon this, Ulysses, accom- 
panied by Diomsdes, went to Lemnos, 
to prevail upon Philoctetes to come and 
finish the siege. Philoctetes refused to 
go to Troy, and was about to return to 
Melibcea, when the manes of Hercules 
immediately ordered him to repair to 
the Grecian camp, where he should be 
cured of his wounds, and put an end to 
the war. Philoctetes obeyed, and being 
restored to health by JSsculapius, he 
destroyed an immense number of the 
Trojans, among whom was Paris. When 
Troy had been ruined, he set sail from 
Asia, but as he was unwilling to visit 
his native country, he came to Italy, 
where he built a town in Calabria, 
which he called Petilia. The sufferings 
and adventures of Philoctetes are the 
subject of one of the best tragedies of 
Sophocles. Virg. Pindar. Ovid. &c. 

Philocyphus, a prince of 
Cyprus, who changed the situation of a 
city in that island, which he called Soli, 
after Solon by whose advice he had 
done so. 

PhilolamIa, one of the 

daughters of Daneus, and the mother 
of Phares by Mercury. 

Philopemtjs, a man of 
Lampsacus, to whose daughter Verrus 
attempted to offer violence. His disap- 
pointment was revenged by the murder 
of the innocent woman and of her fa- 
ther. Cic. — A poet in the age of Cicero, 
who rendered himself known by his 
lascivious and indelicate verses. Cic. 
Horat. 

Phil od ice, the daughter of 
Inachus, and the mother of Leucip- 
pus. 

Philolaus, a son of Minos 
by the nymph Paria, from whom the 
island of Paros received its name, Her- 
cules put him to death, because he had 
killed two of his companions. Apollod. 
— A Theban lawgiver.— A surname of 
yEsculapius, who had a temple of La- 
eonia, near the Asopus. — A Pythago- 
rean philosopher of Crotona, who first 
supported that the earth turned on its 
axis, B. C. 374. Diog. 

Philologus, a freedman of 
Cicero. He betrayed his master to An- 
tony, for which he was tortured by 
Pomponia, the wife of Cicero's brother, 
and obliged to cut off his own flesh by 



piece-meal, and to boil and eat it up. 
Plut. 

Philomela, a daughter of 

Pandion, king of Athens, and sister to 
Procne, who had married Tereus, king 
of Thrace. Procne, being separated 
from Philomela, became quite melan- 
choly, till she prevailed upon her hus- 
band to bring her sister to Thrace. 
Tereus obeyed, but he had no sooner 
obtained Pandion's permission to con- 
duct Philomela to Thrace, than he be- 
came enamoured of her, and resolved to 
gratify his passion. He offered violence 
to Philomela, and afterwards cut out, 
her tongue that she might not be able 
to discover his barbarity. He next con- 
fined her in a lonely castle, and return- 
ed to T brace, where he told Procne 
that Philomela had died by the way. 
Procne nut on mourning for the loss of 
Philomela, but a year had scarcely 
elapsed before she was informed that 
her sister was not dead. Philomela, 
during her captivity, described on a 
piece of tapestry the brutality or Tere- 
us, and privately conveyed it to Proc- 
ne, who, under pretence of celebrating 
the orgies of Bacchus, hastened to deli- 
ver- her sister, and concerted on the 
plan of punishing the cruelty of Tere- 
us. She murdered her son Itylus, who 
was in the sixth year of his age, and 
served him up as food before her hus- 
band. Tereus, in the midst of his re- 
past, called for Itylus, but Procne in- 
formed him that he was then feasting 
on his flesh, and., at that instant, Philo- 
mela, by presenting the head of Itylus, 
convinced the monarch of the cruelty of 
the scene. He attempted to stab Proc- 
ne and Philomela, but was instantly 
changed into a hoopoe, Philomela into 
a nightingale, Procne into a swallow, 
and Itylus into a pheasant. This tragi- 
cal scene happened at Daulis, in Pho- 
cis. Ovid. Virg. &C. 

Phil o mill us , a general of 

Phocis, who plundered the temple of 
Delphi, and died B. C. 354. {_l r id. Pho- 
cis.] 

Philonides, a courier of 

Alexander, who ran from Sicyon to 
Elis, 160 miles, in nine hours, and re- 
turned the same journey in 15 hours, 
Plin. 

Philonoe, a daughter of 

Tyndarus, king of Sparta, by Leda, 
daughter of Thestius. Apollod. — A 
daughter of Jobates, kiug of Lycia, 
who married Bellerophon. Id. [Fid. 
Bellerophon.] 

Philonome, the second wife 

of Cycnus, the son of Neptune. She 
became enamoured of Teneus, her hus- 
band's sen by his first wife Proclea, the 
daughter of Clytius, and when he re- 
fused to gratify her passion, she accused 
him of attempts upon her virtue. Cyc- 



PHI 



PHI 



nus believed the accusation, and order- 
ed Tennes to be thrown into the sea. 
Parts. 

Philopator. [Vid. Ptole- 

maeus.] 

Philophron", a general, who 

with 5000 soldiers defended Pelusium 
against the Greeks, who invaded Egypt. 
Diorf. 

Philopcemen, a celebrated 

general of the Achasan league, bom at 
Megalopolis. He early distinguished 
himself in the field, and proposed to 
himself Epaminondas for a model ; and 
he was not unsuccessful in imitating the 
good qualities of this famous J he-ban. 
When Megalopolis was attacked by the 
Spartans, Philopcemen gave the most 
decisive proofs of his valor. He after- 
wards was present in the famous battle 
in which the JEtolians were defeated. 
Raised to the rank of chief commander, 
he killed with his own hand Mechani- 
cs, the tyrant of Sparta, and though 
defeated in a naval battle by Nabis, he 
soon after repaired his losses by taking 
the capital of Laconia, B. C. 188, and 
by abolishing all the laws of Lycurgus. 
Sparta, after this, became tributary to 
the Aehasans, and Philopcemen enjoyed 
the triumph of having reduced to ruins 
one of the most powerful of the cities 
of Greece. Some time after the Messe- 
nians revolted from the Achaean league, 
and Philopcemen, who headed the 
Aehasans, unfortunately fell from his 
horse, and was dragged to the enemy's 
camp. Dinocrates, the general of the 
Messenians, treated him with great se- 
verity ; he was thrown into a dungeon, 
and obliged to drink a dose of poison, 
about 183 years B. C. in his 70th year. 
Polyb. Plut. Philopcemen has been 
justly called by his countrymen, f< The 
last of the Greeks." 

Philostratus. The most re- 
markable of this name is a famous so- 
phist, born at Lemnos, or, according 
to some, at Athens. He came to Rome, 
where he lived under the patronage of 
Julia, the wife of the emperor Severus, 
and by her directions he compiled a 
history of Apollonius Thyanaeus, which 
is written with elegance. "He died A. D. 
244. 

Philotas, a son of Parme- 

nio, distinguished in the battles of 
Alexander/ and at last accused of con- 
spiring against his life. He was tor- 
tured, and stoned to death, or, accord- 
ing to some, struck through with darts 
by the soldiers, B. C. 330. Curt.— 
There were others of this name, but of 
less note. 

Phil otis, a servant maid at 

Rome, who saved her countrymen from 
destruction. After the siege of Rome 
by the Gauis, the Fidcnates marched 
against the capital, demanding all the 
tfsves a&d daughters in the city as the 



conditions of peaee. The senators re- 
fused to comply, when Philotis advised 
them to send their female slaves, dis- 
guised in matron's clothes, and she of- 
fered to march herself at the head. Her 
ad\ice was followed, and when the Fir 
denates had feasted late in the evening, 
and fallen asleep, Philotis lighted a 
torch as a signal for her countrymen to 
attack the enemy. The whole "was suc- 
cessful, the Fidenates were conquered, 
and the senate, to reward the fidelity of 
the female slaves, permitted them to 
appear in the dress of the Roman ma- 
trons. Plin. 

Philoxexus, an officer 6f 

Alexander, who received Cilicia at the 
general division of the provinces. — A 
dithyrambic poet of Cythera, who en- 
joyed the favor of Dionysius, tyrant of 
Sicily, for some time, till he offended 
him by seducing one of his female sing- 
ers, for which he imprisoned him, aiid 
sent him to the quarries. Dimysius, 
at length, pleased with his pleasantry 
and his firmness, forgave him. Philox- 
enus died at Ephesus, about 3S0 years 
B. C. Plut.— There were others of in- 
ferior note of this name. 

Phi lyra, one of the Ocean- 
ides. Saturn, to escape from the vigi- 
lance of Rhea, changed himself into a 
horse to enjoy the company of Philyra, 
bv whom he had a son, half a man and 
half a horse, called Chiron. Philyra, 
ashamed of giving birth to such a mon- 
ster, entreated the gods to change her 
nature. She was metamorphosed into 
a linden tree, called by her name among 
the Greeks. Hygin. 

Philyres, a people near Pon- 

tus. 

Philyrides, a patronymic of 

Chiron, the son of Philyra. Ovid. Virg. 

P h I n E u s, a son of Agenor, 

king of Phoenicia, or, according to 
some, of Bithynia. He married Cleo- 
patra, the daughter of Boreas, by whom 
he had Plexippus and Paudion. After 
her death he married Idsea, the daugh- 
ter of Dardanus. Ideea, jealous of Cleo- 
patra's children, accused them of at- 
tempts upon her virtue, and they were 
immediately condemned by Phineus to 
be deprived"of their eyes. This cruelty 
was soon after punished by the gods. 
Phineus suddenly became blind, and the 
Harpies were sent by Jupiter to spoil 
the "meats which were placed on his 
table. He was, however, delivered from 
these dangerous monsters, by Zetesand 
Calais, who pursued them as far as the 
Strophades. He also recovered his sight 
by means of the Argonauts, whom he 
had received with great hospitality, and 
instructed in the easiest and speediest 
way bv which thev could arrive in Col- 
chis. "The causes of the blindness of 
Phineus are a matter of dispute among 
the ancients. Phineus was killed by 



PHO 



PHO 



Hercules. ApoHod. Died. H-jghi. — The 
brother of Cepheus, king of Ethiopia. 
He was going to marry his niece Andro- 
meda, when her father was compelled 
to deliver her up to be devoured by a 
sea monster, to appease the anger of 
Neptune. She was, however, delivered 
by'Perseus, who married her by the 
consent of her parents. This marriage 
displeased Phineus : he interrupted the 
ceremony, raid with a number of atten- 
dants, attacked Perseus and his friends. 
•Perseus defended himself, and turned 
Phineus and his attendants into stone, 
by showing them the head of thegor- 
gon. [ Fid. Perseus.] 

PhixtIas, called also Pithias, 
Pinthias, and Phytias. {Fid. Damon.] 

Ph lege t hon, a river of hell, 
whose waters were burning, as the word 
flXsye^u;, V ro, from which the name is 
derived, seems to indicate. Firg. 

Pkle&on, a native of Tralles 
in Lydia, one of the emperor Adrian's 
freedmen, Who wrote treatises on dif- 
ferent subjects. — One of the horses of 
the sun. The word signifies burning. 
Ovid. 

Phlegm, or Phlegr^us 

r AM PUS, a place of Macedonia, 
where the giants attacked the gods, and 
were defeated by Hereu'e*. The com- 
bat was afterwards renewed in Italy, in 
a place of the same name near Cumae. 
Ovid. &o. 

Phleg^e, a people of Thes- 
saly. Some authors place them in 
Bceoti?.. They received their name 
from Phlegyas, the son of Mars, with 
whom they "plundered and burned the 
temple of Apollo at Delphi. Pans. 
Hrmer. 

Phlegyas, a son of Mars, 

king cf the Lapitha? in Thessaly. He 
was father of Ixion and Coronis, to 
whom Ap Ho offered violence. "When 
he hea v d that his daughter had been 
abused, he marched an army against 
Delphi, and reduced the temple of the 
god to ashes. Apollo, in resentment, 
killed Phlegyas, and placed him in hell, 
where a huge stone hangs over his head. 
ffivr, Orid. &e. 1 

Phltas, son of Bacchus, and 
Arladn and one of the Argonauts. 

Phlccus, a surname of Bac- 
chus, expressive of health, youth, and 
vigour. 

Phceetop., one of the sons of 
S~mnus, and his principal minister. 
His office was to assume the shape of 
serpents and wild beasts, to inspire 
terror in the minds of men, as his name 
intimates (Zc6g',->.) The other two 
ministers of Somnus were Phantasia 
and Morpheus. Ovid. 

P hobos, the god of terror. 
He was represented with a lion's head, 



and he was sacrificed to, in order that 
he might not make his appearance in 
the Roman armies. 

Phocjia, a maritime town of 
Ionia, in Asia Minor, between Cumae 
and Smyrna, founded by an Athenian 
colony. It received its name from 
Phocus, the leader of the colony, or 
from (phocce) sea calves, which are 
found in great abundance on the coast. 
Mela. Horat. Ovid. 

Phocexses, and Phocici, 

the inhabitants of Phocis in Greece. 

Phocilides, a Greek philo- 
sophical poet, born at Miletus. 

Phociox, an Athenian, cele- 
brated for his public and private vir- 
tues. He was educated in the school of 
Plato and of Xenocrates, and he distin- 
guished himself by his zeal for the pub- 
lie good, and military abilities. He 
often checked the violent and inconsi- 
derate measures of Demosthenes. When 
Philip endeavoured to make himself 
master of Eubcea, Phocion obliged him 
to relinquish his enterprise. During 
the time of his administration, he was 
always inclined to peace, though he 
never suffered his countrymen to be- 
come indolent. He was 45 times ap- 
pointed governor of Athens, though he 
never solicited that high office. In his 
rural retreat, or at the head of the army, 
he always appeared barefooted, and 
without a cloak. His integrity, as well 
as his temperance, was highly eminent. 
Philip, as well as his son Alexander, 
attempted to bribe nim, but to no pur- 
pose, and Phocion boasted in being one 
of the poorest of the Athenians, and in 
deserving the appellation of the Good. 
It was through him that Greece was 
saved from an impending war, and he 
advised Alexander rather to tuni his 
arms against Persia than to shed the 
blood of the Greeks, who were- either 
his allies or his subjects, Antiparer, 
who succeeded in the government of 
Macedonia after the death of Alexan- 
der, also attempted to corrupt Phocion, 
but to no erfeet. But virtues like these 
could not long stand against the inso- 
lence and fickleness of an Athenian as- 
sembly. When the Piraeus was taken, 
Phocion was accused of treason, and 
lied for safety to Polyperchon, who 
sent him back to Athens, where he was 
immediately condemned to drink the 
fatal poison. He took ;he cup with the 
g^eate-t serenity, and as lie drank the 
fatal draught, he prayed for the prospe- 
rity of Athens. He" died about 318 
years B. C. having exceeded his eightieth 
year. His merits, however, were not 
buried in oblivion ; the Athenians re- 
pented of their ingratitude, and hotirr^ 
ed his memory by raisins: him statue's, 
and putting to' a cruel death his guilty 
accusers. Phit, <fy C. Kep. in vltn. 

Phocis, a country of Greece. 



PHGE 



PHO 



bounded on the east by Boeotia, and by 
Locris on the west, originally extending 
from the bay of Corinth to the sea of 
Euboea, and reaching on the north as 
far as Thermopylae. Phocis received its 
name from Phocus, a son of Ornytion, 
who settled there. The inhabitants were 
ealled Phocenses. Parnassus was the 
most celebrated of its mountains, and 
Delphi the greatest of its towns. Phocis 
is rendered famous for a war which it 
maintained against some of the Grecian 
republics, and which has received the 
name of the Phocian war. Justin. 
Strab. &c. 

Phocus, a son of Phocion, was 
dissolute in his manners, and unworthy 
of the virtues of his great father. He 
was sent to Lacedaemon to imbibe there 
the principles of sobriety, of tempe- 
rance, and frugality. He cruelly re- 
venged the death of his father, whom 
the Athenians had put to death. Plut. 
— A son of Ornytion, who led a coiony 
of Corinthians into Phocis. He cured 
Antiope, a daughter of Nycteus, of in- 
sanity, and married her. Paus. 

Phocylides, a Greek poet 
and philosopher of Miletus, about 540 
years B. C. 

Phcebe, a name given to 
Diana, or the moon, on account of the 
brightness of that luminary. She be- 
came, according to Apollodorus, mother 
of Asteriaand Latona. [Vid. Diana.] — 
A daughter of Leucippus and Philodice. 
[Fifi. Leucippus.] 

Phcebidas, a Lacedesmonian 
general, sent by the Ephori to the as- 
sistance of the Macedonians against the 
Thracians. He seized the citadel of 
Thebes, for which he was disgraced and 
banished from the Lacedaemonian 
army. He died B. C. 377. C. Nep. 
& c. " 

Pkoe bigena, a surname of 
iEsculapius, as being descended from 
Phcebus. Virg. 

Ph (ebus, a name given to 
Apollo, or the sun. This word expresses 
the brightness and splendor of that lu- 
minary. [Vid. Apollo.] 

P h (E m o s, a lake in Arca- 
dia. 

Phcenice, or Phoenicia, a 

country of Asia, at the east of the Me- 
diterranean. Phoenicia, according to 
Ptolemy, extended on the north as far 
as the Eleutherus, a river which falls 
.into the Mediterranean sea, a little be- 
low the island of Aradus, and it had 
Pelusium or the territories of Egypt as 
its more southern boundary, and Syria 
on the east. Sidon and Tyre were the 
capital towns of the country. The in- 
vention of letters is attributed to its in- 
habitants, and commerce and naviga- 



tion were among them in the most flou- 
rishing state. He planted colonies at 
Carthage, Hippo, Marseilles and Utica ; 
and their manufactures acquired such a 
superiority, over those of other na- 
tions, that among the ancients, what- 
ever was elegant, great, or pleasing, 
either in apparel or domestic utensils, 
received the epithet of Sidonian. The 
Phoenicians were originally governed by 
kings. They were subdued by the Per- 
sians, and afterwards by Alexander, 
and remained tributary to his succes- 
sors and the Romans. They were call- 
ed Phoenicians from Phoenix, son of 
Agenor, one of their kings, or from the 
great number of palm-trees which grow 
in the neighbourhood. Herodot. Ho- 
mer. Virg. Strab. &c. 

Phcenice, a town in Epirus. 
Phoenicia. [Vid. Phcenice.] 

Phcenicus, a mountain in 

Lycia, sometimes called Olympus. 

Phoenissa, a patronymic 
given to Dido, as a native of Phoenicia' 

Virg. 

Ph(ENIX. The most celebrat- 
ed of this name are the two following : 
— A son of Amyntor, king of Argos, by 
Cleobule, or Hippodamia, who was pre- 
ceptor to young Achilles. It is said that 
Amyntor, jealous of his son on account 
of his concubine Clytia, whose favors 
Cleobule urged Phoenix to solicit, actu- 
ally put out the eyes of his son, upon 
which he meditated the death of his fa- 
ther. Reason and piety, however, pre- 
vailed over passion, and Phoenix, not 
to become a parricide, fled from Argos 
to the court of Peleus, king of Phthia. 
Here he was treated with tenderness. 
Peleus carried him to Chiron, who re- 
stored him to his eye-sight, and soon 
after;he was made preceptor to Achilles, 
his benefactor's son. He was also made 
king of the Dolopes. He accompanied 
his pupil to the Trojan war, and Achil- 
les was ever grateful for the precepts 
which he had received from Phoenix. 
He died in Thrace, and was buried, ac- 
cording to Strabo, near Trachinia, 
where a small river in the neighbour- 
hood received the name of Phoenix. 
Strab. Homer. Ovid. &e. — A son of 
Agenor, who was, like his brother Cad- 
mus and Cilix, sent in pursuit of his 
sister Europa. [Vid. Cadmus, Europa] 
and when his inquiries proved unsuc- 
cessful, he settled in a country, from 
him called Phoenicia. From him, as 
some suppose, the Carthaginians were 
called Pceui. Apollod. Hygin. 

Pholoe, a mountain of Area* 

dia, near Pisa. [Vid Pholus.J Ovid. — 
A female servant, of Cretan origin, 
given with her two sons, as a pme, to 
Sergestus, by iEneas. Virg. — A courte- 
zan in the age of Horace. Herat. 

Pholus, one of the centaurs. 



PHO 



PHR 



who kindly entertained Hercules when 
he was going against the boar of Ery- 
manthus, but he refused to give him 
•wine which belonged to the rest of the 
centaurs. Hercules, without ceremony, 
broke the cask. The smell of the liquor 
drew the centaurs to the house of Pho- 
lus, but Hercules killed the greatestpart 
of them. Pholus interred the slain, but 
he mortally wounded himself with one 
of the arrows poisoned with the venom 
of the hydra, which he attempted to ex- 
tract from the body of one of the cen- 
taurs. Hercules, unable to cure him, 
buried him when dead, and called the 
mountain where his remains were de- 
posited by the name of Pholoe. Apol. 
Pans. Virg. &c. 

Fu o he as. The most remark- 
able of this name is a son of Priam and 
Epithesia, killed during the Trojan war 
by Menelaus. The god Somnus bor- 
rowed- his features when he deceived 
Palinurus, and threw him into the sea, 
on the coast of Italy. Virg. 

Phorcus, or Phohcys, a sea 
deity, son of Pontus and Terra, who 
married his sister Ceto, by whom he 
had the Gcrgons, the dragon, that kept 
the apples of the Hesperides, and other 
monsters. Hesiod. 

PHORMio,an Athenian general, 
who impoverished himself to maintain 
and support the dignity of his army. 
His debts were some time after paid by 
the Athenians. Thucyd. — A peripatetic 
philosopher of Ephesus. — A disciple of 
Plato, chosen by the people of Elis to 
make a reformation in their govern- 
ment and their jurisprudence. 

Pkormis, an Arcadian, who 
acquired great riches at the court of 
Gelon and Hierodn Sicily. He dedicated 
the brazen statue of a mare to Jupiter 
Olympius, in Peloponnesus, which so 
much resembled nature, that horses 
came near it as if it had been alive. 

Ph5r6netjs, the god of a river 

of Peloponnesus, of thesamename. He 
was son of the river Inachus, by Melissa, 
and was the second king of Argcs. He 
married a nymph called Cerdo, or 
Laodice, by whom he had Apis, from 
whom Argolis was called Apia, and 
Niobe, the first woman of whom Jupiter 
became enamoured. Phoroneus taught 
his subjects the utility of laws, and the 
-advantages of a social life, whence the 
inhabitants of Argolis are often called 
Phoronaei. Phoroneus was the first 
who raised a temple to Juno. He re- 
ceived divine honors after death. His 
temple still existed at Argos, under An- 
toninus, the Roman emperor. Pans. 
&c. 

Phoroxis, apatronjTnicoflo, 
as sister of Phoroneus. Ovid. 

Phosphorus, the name of 
Venus, or the morning star, signifying 



its ushering in the light. {<pwg <pegu*, 
lucem fero.J Martial. Cic. 

Photinus, an eunuch, prime 

minister of Ptolemy, king of Egypt. 
When Pompey fled to the court of 
Ptolemy, after the battle of Pharsalia, 
Photinus advised his master to put 
him to death. His advice was followed. 
Julius Cassar some time after visited 
Egypt, and Photinus raised seditions 
against him, for which he was himself 
put to death. Plut. 

Photius, a son of Antonina, 

who informed Belisarius of the irregu- 
larities of his wife. 

Phraates first, a king of Par- 

thia, who succeeded Arsaces the Third, 
called also Phriapatius. He made war 
against Antiochus, king of Syria, and 
was defeated in three successive tattles. 
Justin. — The second, succeeded his fa- 
ther Mithridates as king of Parthia, 
He was murdered by some Greek mer- 
cenaries, who had been once his cap- 
tives, and who had enlisted in his army, 
B. C. 129, Justin.— The third, suc- 
ceeded his father Pacorus on the throne 
of Parthia. Soon after, he invaded the 
kingdom of Armenia, to make his son- 
in-law, Tigranes, sit on the throne of 
his father. His expedition was attended 
with ill success. At his return to Par- 
thia he was assassinated by his sons 
Orodes and Mithridates. Justin.— The 
fourth was nominated king of Parthia 
by his father Orodes whom he soon af- 
ter murdered, as also his own brothers. 
He made war against M. Antony with 
great success, and obliged him to" retire 
with much loss. Some time after he 
was dethroned by the Parthian nobility, 
but he soon regained his power, arid 
expelled the usurper, called Tiridates. 
He afterwards gained the friendship 
and protection of Augustus, and re- 
stored the Roman ensigns which the 
Parthians had taken from Crassus and 
Antony, and gave up his four sons with 
their wives as hostages, till his engage- 
ments were performed. He was, how- 
ever, at last murdered by one of his 
concubines, who placed her son, called 
Phraatices, on the throne. Val. Max. 
Justin. &c. 

Phraatices, a son of Phraa- 
tes fourth, king of Parthia, who, with 
his mother, murdered his father, and 
took possession of the throne. His 
reign was short : he was deposed by 
his subjects, whom he had offended by 
cruelty and oppression. 

Phradates one of Darius's 

officers. 

Phragand^e, a people of 
Thrace. 

Phraortes, succeeded his fa- 
ther Deioces on the throne of Media. 
He made war against the neighbouring 



PHR 



PHY 



nations, and conquered the greatest 
part cf Asia. He was defeated and 
killed in a battle by the Assyrians, after 
a reign of twenty-two years, B. G. 625. 
Pans. Herodot. — An Indian king, re- 
markable for his frugality. 

Phrasicles, nephew to The- 
mistocles. 

Pkrasius, a Cyprian sooth- 
sayer, sacrificed on an'aicar by Busiris, 
king of Egypt. 

Pheoxi ma, daughter of E t ear- 
chus, king of Crete. The father 
ordered a servant to throw her into the 
sea. The servant, unwilling to do so 
barbarous an act, dipped her into the 
water and took her out again unhurt. 
Phronima afterwards became one of the 
concubines of Polymnestus, and the 
mother of Battus. 

P h R o x t i s , son of O n etor.pilot 
of the ship of Meuelaus, after the Tro- 
jan war, was killed by Apollo just as the 
"ship reached Sunium. Homer. — One 
of the Argonauts, son cf Phryxus and 
Chaleiope. 

Phryges, a iiver of Asia 
Minor, dividing Phrygia from Caria, 
and failing into the Hermus. 

Phrygia, a country of Asia 
Minor, generally divided into Phrygia 
Major and Minor. It was situate" be- 
tween Eithynia,Lydia, Cappadoeia, and 
Caria. It "received its name from the 
Bryges, a nation of Thrace, or Macedo- 
nia, who came to settle the v e, and from 
their name, by corruption, arose the 
word Phrygia." Cybele was the chief 
deity of the country, and her festivals 
were observed with the greatest solem- 
nity. The invention ox the pipe of 
reeds, and of all sorts of ueediewi rk, is 
attributed to the inhabitants. Strab. 
&c. 

Phryxe, a celebrated prosti- 
tute who flourished at Athens about 
32s years before the Chris ian era. She 
was mistress to Praxiteles, who drew 
her picture, which was one ofTns best 
pieces, and it was placed in the temple 
of Apollo, at Delphi. It is taid that 
Apelies painted his Venus Anadyomene 
after he had seen Phryr.e on the sea- 
shore naked, and with dishevelled hair. 
Plin. 

Pheyxictjs, a tragic poet of 
Athens, disciple to Thespis, He was 
the first who introduced a female cha- 
racter on the stage.— Another tragic 
poet of Athens, son of Melauthus, bore 
the same name, and among his compo- 
sitions were mentioned the tragedies" cf 
Erigone and Andromeda. Strab. 

Phuyno, a famous general 
ammg the Athenians. 

Phryxus, a musician of Mity- 

lene, the fim who obtained r musical 
prize at the Panathensea at Atl.ens. He 



added two strings to the lyre, which 
had always been used with seven by aii 
his predecessors, B. C. 438. 

Phryxus, a son of Athamas, 

king of Thebes, by Nephele. After the 
repudiation of his mother, he was per- 
secuted by his step-mother Ino, be- 
cause he was to sit on the throne, in 
preference to her own children. Beirg 
apprized of Ino's intentions upon his life, 
he secured part of his father's treasure, 
and privately left Boeotia with his sister 
Helle, to go "to their friend iEtes, king 
of Colchis. They embarked on board a 
ship, or, according to the mythologists 
they mounted cri the back of a ram 
whose fleece was of gold, and proceeded 
through the air. The height to which 
they were carried made Helle giddy, 
and she fell into the sea. Phryxus gave 
her a decent burial, and after he had 
called the sea Hellespont from her 
name, he continued his flight, rnd ar- 
rived safe in Colchis, where he oif'crcd 
the ran; on the altars of Mars. The 
king received him with great tender- 
ness, and gave him his daughter Chal- 
eiope in marriage. Some time after 
he was murdered by his father-in-law, 
who envied him the possession of the 
golden fleece. The fable of Phryxus 
has been explained by some who ob- 
serve, that the ship in which he embark- 
ed was either called the ram, or carried 
on he r prow the figure of that animal. 
The fleece of gold is explained by recol- 
lecting that Phryxus carried away im- 
mense treasures from Thebes. Phryxus 
was placed among the constellatiois of 
heaven after death. The murder of 
Phryxus gave rise to the celebrated 
Argonautic expedition, which had for 
its object the recovery of the gckien 
fleece. Diod. Herodot. Ovid. dec. 

Phthia, a town of Phthiotis,at 
the east of mount Othrys in Thessalv, 
where Achilles was born, and from 
which he is often called Phthius heros. 
Herat. 6zc. — A daughter of Menon of 
Thessalv, who married jEaeidas, king 
of Epirus, one of the descendants of 
Achilles, and had by him two daughters 
and a son named Pyrrhus. Pint. — A 
daughter cf Amphion and iS'iobe. 
Apcllod. 

Phthiotis, a small province 

of Thessalv, between the Felr-.sigk-u* 
sinus and the M abacus sinuf, Magncs ; a, 
and mount (Eta. It was also called 
Achaia. Pans. 

Phya, a woman of Attica, 
whom Pisistratus dressed like the god- 
dess Minerva, and led to the city on a 
chariot, making the populace believe 
that the goddess herself came to rcsroie 
him to power. The artifice succeeded. 
Herodot. P0ty4p.fi. 

Phylacis and Phylander, 

sons of Apollo and Acacilles, were born 
in Crete, where a goat brought them 



PHY 



PIC 



iip. To commemorate this event, the 
inhabitants of that part of the country 
sent as a present to Delphi the brazen 
image of a goat suckling two infants. 
Faus. 

Phyleus, one of the Greek 
caotains during the Trojan war. — A son 
of' Augean He blamed hU father for 
refusing to pay Hercules what he had 
promised him for cleansing his stables. 
He was placed on his father's throne 
by Hercules. Apolkrf. 
' Phylira. [ Vid. Philyra.] 

Phyllis, a daughter of Sithon, 
or of Lycurgus, king of Thrace, who 
"hospitably received Demophoon, the 
son of Theseus, who, at his return 
from the Trojan war, had stopped on 
her coasts. She became enamoured of 
him, and did not find him insensible to 
her passion. After some months of 
mutual tenderness and affection, De- 
mophoon set sail for Athens* He pro- 
mised faithfully to return as soon as a 
month was expired, but violated his 
engagement ; and the queen, grown 
desperate on account of his absence, 
hanged herself, or, according to others, 
threw herself into the sea. The absence 
of Demophoon from Phyllis has given 
r-ise to a beautiful epistle of Ovid. — A 
country woman introduced in Virgil's 
eclogues. 

Phyllius, a young Bceotian, 
uncommonly fond of Cygnus, the son 
of Hyria, a woman of Boeotia. Cygnus 
slighted his passion, and told him that 
to obtain a return of affection, he must 
previously descroy an enormous lion, 
take two large vultures, and sacrifice on 
Jupiter's altars a wild bull that infested 
the country. This be easily effected by 
means of artifice, and by the advice of 
Hercules he forgot his partiality for 
the son of Hyria, who became so despe- 
rate at his coldness, that he threw him- 
self, into the lake Canopus. and was 
eh4nged into a swan. Homei: Hesiod. 
O vid. Sec , 

Phyllodoce, an attendant of 
Cyrene. 

Phyllos, a town in Thessala, 
in which was a temple, sacred to Apollo. 

Phyllus, a general of Phocis, 
during the Phocian or sacred war against 
the Thebans. He had assumed the com- 
mand after the death of his, brothers 
Philomelas and Orxomarehus. 

Physcion, a famous rock of 
Eceotia.. the residence of the Sph-ynx, 
andagainst which the monster destroyed 
himself, when (Edipus explained his 
enigmas. 

Pkyscoa, the mother of Nar- 
eaeus, by the god Bacchus. 

PiiYscox, a surname of one of 
the faoletaies, king of Egypt, fiom the 



great prominency of his belly (@vcx>? 
venter.) 

Physcos, a town in Caria. 
Ph ys c u s, a river of Asia, falling 

into the Tigris. The 10,000 Greeks 
crossed it on their return from Cunaxa. 

Ph YTON,ageneralof the people 
of Rhegium against Dionysius, the ty- 
rant of Sicily, fie was taken by the 
enemy, and tortured, B. C. 387, and his 
son was thrown into the sea. Diod. 

Pi A, festivals celebrated at P li- 
te oh instituted by Antoninus in honor 
of the emperor Hadrian. 

PicENi,the inhabitants of Pice- 
num, called also Picentes. They re- 
ceived their name from picus, a bird by 
whose auspices they had settled in that 
part of Italy, Jtal. Strab, 

Picextixi, a people of Italy, 

near Lucania, different from the Piceni 
or Picentes, who inhabited Picenum. 

PlCENUM, or PlCEXUS AGER, 
a country of Italy, near the Umbrians 
and Sabines. Horat. &c. 

Pict^e, or Picti, a people of 
Scythia, called also Agathyrsae. They 
received this name from their painting 
their bodies with different colors, to ap- 
pear more terrible in the eyes of their 
enemies. A colony of these, according 
to Servius, Virgil's" commentator, emi- 
grated to the north of Britain, where 
they still preserved their name and their 
savage manners. Pliri. Mela. 

Fabius Pictor, a consul, 
under whom silver was first coined at 
Home, A. U. ('. 4S5. 

Picumxus and Pilumnus, 

two deities at Rome, who presided over 
the auspices, that were required before 
the celebration of nuptials. Pilumnus 
wassupposed to patronize children. The 
manuring of lands was invented by 
PicumnuSj from which reason he is 
called Sterqmlinius. Pilumnus is also 
invoked as the god of bakers and millers, 
as he is said to have first invented how 
to grind corn. Turnus boasted of being 
one of his lineal descendants, n /'-,;•. 
Varro. 

Picus, a king of Latium, son 

of Saturn, who married Venilia, who is 
also called Caucus, by whom he had 
Faunus. As he was one day hunting 
in the woods, he was met by Circe, who 
became deeply enamoured of him, and 
who changed him into a woodpecker, 
called by the name of picus among the 
Latins. " His wife Venilia was so discon- 
solate when she was informed of his 
death, that she pined away. Some 
suppose that Picus was the son of 
Pilumnus, and that he gave out prophe- 
cies to his subjects, by means of a favo- 
rite woodpecker, from which circum- 
stance originated the fable of his being 
metamorpliosed into a bird. Virg. Ovid, 
1 Q 



PIN 



PIR 



PiERiA,a small tract of country 
in Thessaly, said to be the birthplace of 
the Muses. 

Pierides, a name given to the 
Muses, either because they were born 
in Pieria, in Thessaly, or because they 
were supposed by some to be the daugh- 
ters of Pierus, a king of Macedonia, 
who settled in Bceotia.— Also,the daugh- 
ters of Pierus,who challenged the Muses 
to a trial in music, in which they were 
conquered, and changed into magpies. 
The victorious Muses,perhaps,assumed 
the name of Pieiides, in the same man- 
ner as Minerva was called Pallas, be- 
cause she had killed the giant Pallas. 
Ovid. ^ 

PiERUS,a mountain of Thessaly 
sacred to the Muses, who were from 
thence, as some imagine, called Pie- 
rides. — A rich man of Thessaly, whose 
nine daughters, called Pierides, chal- 
lenged the Muses, and were changed 
into magpies, when conquered. Pans. 

Pietas, a virtue which denotes 
veneration for the deity, and love and 
tenderness to our friends. It received 
divine honors among the Romans, and 
was made one of their gods. Acilius 
Glabrio first erected a temple to this 
divinity, on the spot where a woman 
had fed with her milk her aged father, 
imprisoned by the senate, and deprived 
of all aliments. Cic. Vol. Max. 

Pilumnus. [Vid. Picumnus.] 

Pimpla, a mountain of Mace- 
donia, on the confines of Thessaly, near 
Olympus, sacred to the Muses, who on 
that account are often called Pimplea? 
and Pimpleades. Horat. Strab. 

Pinarius and Potitius, two 

old men of Arcadia, who came with 
Evander to Italy, and were instructed 
by Hercules, who visited the court of 
Evander, how they were to offer sacri- 
fices to his divinity, in the morning, and 
in the evening immediately at sunset. 
The morning sacrifice thev punctually 
performed, but on the evening Potitius 
was obliged to offer the sacrifice alone, 
as Pmarius neglected to come till after 
the appointed time. This negligence 
offended Hercules, and he ordered that 
for the future Pinarius and his descend- 
ants should preside over the sacrifices, 
but that Potitius with his posterity 
should wait upon the priests as servants 
wnen the sacrifices were annually o^Teved 
to him upon mount Evantine. Liv. 
Virg. 

Pindarus, a celebrated lyric 
poet of Thebes. He was trained from 
Jus .earliest years to the studv of music 
and poetry, and was taught how to 
compose verses with elegance by Myrtis 
ana Corinna. When young, it is said 
that a swarm of bees settled on his lips, 
and there left some honeycombs as he 
reposed on the grass. This" was explain- 



ed as a prognostic of his future celebrity. 
In the public assemblies of Greece, 
where females were not permitted to 
contend, Pindar was rewarded with the 
prize in preference to every other com- 
petitor. His hymns and paeans, com- 
posed on the conquerors at Olympia, 
&c. were repeated before the" most 
crowded assemblies in the temples of 
Greece. It is said that Pindar died at 
the advanced age of eighty-six, B. C. 
435, and that he was honored with 
every mark of respect, even to adora- 
tion. The greatest part of his works 
have perished. The odes are the only 
compositions extant, admired for 'sub- 
limity of sentiments, grandeur of ex- 
pression, energy and magnificence of 
style, boldness of metaphors, harmony 
of numbers, and elegance of diction. 
Horace has not hesitated to call Pindar 
inimitable, and this panegyric succeed- 
ing critics have justified.— A tyrant of 
Ephesus, who killed his master at his 
own request, after the battle of Philip pi. 
Pint. 

PiNDENissus,a town of Cilicia. 

on the borders of Syria. Cicero, when 
proconsul in Asia, besieged it for twenty- 
five days and took it. Cic. 

Pixdus, a mountain, or rather 
a chain of mountains, between Thes- 
saly, Macedonia, and Epirus. It was 
greatly celebrated as being sacred to the 
Muses and to Apollo. Ovid. Virg. &c. 
—A town of Doris in Greece, called also 
Cyphas. Herodot. 

Pin gits, a Moesian river, fall- 
ing into the Ister. 

Pion a descendant of Hercules, 
to whom sacrifices were offered at Pio- 
nia, at which time smoke is said to have 
constantly issued from his tomb. 

Pioxe, one of the daughters of 
Nereus. 

Pionia, a town in Mysia on the 

banks of the Caicus. 

PlKiEUS, or PlRJEE US, a cele- 
brated harbour at Athens, at the mouth 
of the Cephisus, about three miles dis- 
tant from the city. It was joined to the 
town by two long walls, one of which 
was built by Themistocles, and the. 
other by Pericles. It was the most 
capacious of all the harbours of the 
Athenians, and was made sufficiently 
commodious for the reception of a fleet 
of 400 ships in the greatest security. 
Its walls and fortifications were totally 
demolished by Lysander. Pavs. Strab. 

P IRENE, a daughter of CEbalus, 
or, according to others, of the Achelous. 
She had by Neptune two sons, called 
Leches and Cenchrius, who gave their 
names to two of the harbours of Co- 
rinth. Pirene was so disconsolate at 
the death of her son Cenchrius, who 
had been killed by Diana, that she 
pined away, and was dissolved by her 



PIS 



PIS 



continual weeping into a fountain of 
the same name at Corinth. This foun- 
tain was saered to the Muses, and 
according to some, the horse Pegasus 
was drinking some of its waters when 
Bellerophontook him to go and conquer 
the Chimaera. Pans. Ovid. 

Pirithous, a son of Ixion and 
the cloud. Some make him son of Dia, 
by Jupiter, who assumed the shape of a 
horse whenever he paid his addresses to 
his mistress. He was king of the Lapi- 
thae, and he wished to become ac- 
quainted with Theseus, king of Athens, 
of whose exploits he had heard so much. 
To be a witness of his valor, he resolved 
to invade his territories, and Theseus 
immediately met him on the borders of 
Attica ; but their meeting, instead of 
proving hostile, was like that of the 
most cordial friends, and Pirithous pro- 
mised to repair the damages which his 
hostilities occasioned. From that time 
the two monarchs became so attached, 
that their friendship, like that of Orestes 
and Pylades, is proverbial. Pirithous 
some time after married Hippodamia, 
and invited not only heroes, but also the 
gods themselves, and his neighbours the 
centaurs, to celebrate his nuptials. Mars 
was the onK god not invited. He there- 
fore determined to raise a quarrel, and 
to disturb the festivity of the entertain- 
ment. Eurythion, "intoxicated with 
wine, attempted to offer violence to the 
bride, but he was prevented by Theseus, 
and immediately killed. This irritated 
the rest of the centaurs, and the contest 
became general. Many of the centaurs 
were slain, and the rest saved their 
lives by flight. [ Vid. Lapithus.] After 
the death of Hippodamia, Pirithous and 
Theseus carried off Helen, who fell to 
the lot of Theseus. Pirithous upon 
this, undertook with his friends to carry 
away Proserpine and to marry her. 
They descended into the infernal re- 
gions, but Pluto stopped the two 
friends, and confined them there. Piri- 
thous was tied to his father's wheel, or, 
according to Hyginus, he was delivered 
to the Furies to be continually tor- 
mented; but when Hercules visited the 
kingdom of Pluto, he obtained the 
pardon of Pirithous, and brought him 
back unhurt. Some suppose that he 
was torn to pieces by the dog Cerberus. 
[Vid. Theseus.] Ovid. Hesiod. Homer. 
&c. 

Pirus, a captain of the Thra- 

cians, during the Trojan war, killed by 
Thoas, king of /Etolia. Homer. 

Pirus t^e, a people of Illyri- 
cum. 

Pisa, a town of Elis, on the 
Alpheus, at the west of the Peloponne- 
sus, founded by Pisus, the son of Pe- 
rieres. Its inhabitants long enjoyed the 
privilege of presiding at the Olympic 
games. This appointment was envied 



by the people of Elis, who made war 
against the Piseans, and after many 
bloody battles, took their city, and to- 
tally demolished it. [Vid. Olympia.] 
It was at Pisa that (Enomaus murdered 
the suitors of his daughter, and that he 
himself was conquered by Pelops. The 
inhabitants were called Pisaei. The 
horses of Pisa were famous. The year 
on which the Olympic games were cele- 
brated were often called Piscbics annus, 
and the victory which was obtained 
there was called Piscece ramies olivce. 
Juven. 

Pis^e, a town of Etruria, built 

by a colony from Pisa in the Peloponne- 
sus. The inhabitants were called Pisani, 
The sea on the neighbouring coast was 
called Pisse. Dionysius of Halicarnassus 
affirms, that it existed before the Trojan 
war. It was once a very powerful and 
flourishing city, which 'conquered the 
Balearic islands together with Corsica 
and Sardinia. Virg. Strdbo. 

Pis^eus, a name by which 
Jupiter was addressed at Pisa. 

Pisaxder. The most remark- 
able of this name is an admiral of the 
Spartan fleet during the Peloponnesian 
war. He abolished the democracy at 
Athens, and established the aristoera- 
tical government of the four hundred 
tyrants. He was killed in a naval battle, 
by Conon, the Athenian commander, 
near Cnidus, in which the Spartans lost 
fifty galleys, B. C. 394. Diod.— Also, a 
poet of Rhodes, who composed a poem 
called Heraclea, in which he gave an 
account of all the labors and ah the ex- 
ploits of Hercules. He was the first 
who ever represented his hero armed 
with a club. The time in which he 
flourished is not precisely known. In 
one of his poems he gave an account of 
the principal events of history and fa- 
bles, from which some have imagined 
that Virgil copied almost, word for word 
the particulars about the wooden horse 
and the treachery of Sinon. Pans. 

Pisidia, an inland country of 
Asia Minor, between Phrygia,Pamphy- 
lia, Galatia, and Isauria. It was rich 
and fertile. Strab. &c. 

PisidJce. The most remark- 
able of this name is the daughter of 
a king of Methymna, in Lesbos. She 
became enamoured of Achilles, when 
he invaded her father's kingdom, and 
she promised to deliver the city into his 
hands if he would marry her. Achilles 
agreed to the proposal, but when he be- 
came master of Methymna, he ordered 
Pisidice to be stoned to death for per- 
fidy. Parthen. 

PisiSTRATiDiE, the descend- 
ants of Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens. 
[Vid. Pisistratus.] 

PisiSTRATus,anAthenian,who, 
after he had rendered himself the favo- 
Q2 



, PIS 

lite of the populace by his liberality and 
intrepidity, resolved to make himself 
master of his country. Every thing 
seemed favorable to his ambitious views ; 
but Solon alone, who had lately en- 
forced his celebrated laws, opposed him, 
and discovered his duplicity before the 
public assembly. Pisistratus, not dis- 
heartened, had then recourse to artifice. 
He cut himself in various places, and 
after he had exposed his mangled body 
to the eyes of the populace, deplored 
his misfortunes, and accused his ene- 
mies of attempts upon his life, because 
he was the friend of the people ; and 
he artfully obtained a chosen body of 
fifty men to defend his person from the 
malevolence of his enemies. Pisistratus 
had no sooner received the armed band 
than he seized the citadel of Athens,and 
made himself absolute, The people too 
late perceived their credulity; yet two 
of the citizens, Megacles and Lycurgus, 
conspired against 'him, and by their 
means he was forcibly ejected from the 
city. He, however, was shortly after 
re-established in his power by the assis- 
ance of Megacles, who grew jealous of 
Lycurgus. By means of a woman called 
Phya, whose features were noble and 
commanding, he imposed upon the 
people. Phya was conducted through 
the city, and was announced as Minerva, 
the patroness of Athens, who descended 
from heaven to re-establish her favorite 
Pisistratus, in a power sanctioned by 
the will of the gods. This triumph was 
but of short duration, as some time 
af:er he lied from Athens, where he 
could no longer maintain his power, to 
Eubcea. Eleven years after, he was, by 
means of his son Hippias, a third time 
received by the people of Athens as 
their sovereign. Upon this he sacrificed 
to his resentment the friends of Mega- 
cles, but he did not neglect the dignity 
and the honor of the Athenian name. 
He died about 527 years before Christ, 
after he had enjoyed the sovereign power 
at Athens for thirty- three years, in- 
cluding the years of his banishment, 
and he was succeeded by his son Hip- 
pare-hus. Pisistratus claims our admi- 
ration for his justice, his liberality, and 
his moderation. It is to his labors that 
we are indebted for the preservation of 
the poems of Homer, and he was the 
first, according to Cicero, who intro- 
duced them at Athens, in the order in 
which they now stand. Hipparchus 
and Hippias, the sons of Pisistratus, 
who have received the name of Pisis- 
tratidae, rendered themselves as illus- 
trious as their father, but the flames of 
liberty were too powerful to be extin- 
guished ; they were at length banished 
through the means of Harmodius and 
Aristogiton,who conspiredagainst them, 
about eighteen years after the death of 
Pisistratus, B. C. 510. Herodot. &c — 
A king of Orchomenos, who rendered 
himself odious by his cruelty towards 
the nobles. He was put to death by 
them. \ 



PIT 

Piso, a celebrated family at 

Rome, descended from Calpus, the son 
of Numa. Before the death of Augus- 
tus, eleven of this family had obtained 
the consulship, and many had been ho- 
nored with triumphs, on account of 
their victories in the different provinces 
of the Roman empire. Of this family, 
the most famous were Lucius Calpur- 
nius, tribune of the people, about 143 
years before Christ, and afterwards con- 
sul. His frugality procured him the 
surname of Frugi, and he gained the 
greatest honors as an orator, a lawyer, 
a statesman, and an historian. — Caius,a 
Roman consul, A. U. C. 68T, who sup- 
ported the consular dignity against the 
tumults of the tribunes, and the clamors 
of the people. — Cneius, another consul 
under Augustus, one of the favorites of 
Tiberius. He was accused of having 
poisoned Germanicus, and when he saw 
that he was shunned by his friends, he 
destroyed himself, A. D. 20. — Lucius, a 
governor of Spain, who was assassinated 
by a peasant as he was travelling through 
the country. — Lucius, a governor of 
Rome for twenty years, an office which 
he discharged with the greatest justice 
and credit. He was greatly honored by 
the friendship of Augustus. Horace 
dedicated his poem de Arte Poetica to 
his two sons, whose partiality for litera- 
ture had distinguished them among the 
rest of the Romans. — Cneius, a factious 
and turbulent youth, who conspired 
against his country with Catiline. He 
was among the friends of Julius Ca?sar — 
Caius, a Roman who was at the head of 
a celebrated conspiracy against the em- 
peror Nero. He had rendered himself 
a favorite of the people by his private 
as well as public virtues*. When the 
plot was discovered by a freedman, one 
of the conspirators, he despised taking 
any measures for his preservation. He 
retired to his own house, where he 
opened the veins of both his arms, and 
bled to death. — Lucius, a senator who 
followed the emperor Valerian into 
Persia. He proclaimed himself empe- 
ror after the death of Valerian, but he 
was defeated and put to death a few- 
weeks after, A. D. 261, by Valens, &c. 
— Lucinianus, a senator adopted by the 
emperor Galea. He was put to death 
by Otho's orders. Horat. Tacit. VaL 
Max. Liv. &c. 

Pisonis Villa, a country 

house belonging to Nero, near Baia? in 
Campania. 

Pis t on, a name given to Ju- 
piter by the Romans. 

PisTOitiA, now Pistoja, a 
town of Etruria, at the foot of the Apen- 
nines, near Florence, where Catiline 
was defeated. Sallust. 

Pi sutures, a satrap of Lydia 
who revolted from Darius Nothus. 

Pitane, a town of JEolia in 



PIT 



PLA 



Asia Minor. The inhabitants made 
bricks which swam on the surface of 
the water. Strab. Vitruv. 

Pi tar at us, an archon of 
Athens, who lived at the time in which 
Epicurus died. 

Pithecusa, a small island on 
the coast of Etruria, anciently called 
^Enaria, and Inarica, with a town of the 
same name, on the top of a mountain. 
Some suppose that it received its name 
from TTiSVyxoi, monkeys, into which the 
inhabitants were changed by Jupiter. 
The frequent earthquakes to which it 
was subject obliged the inhabitants to 
leave it. There' was a volcano in the 
middle of the island, now called St. Ju- 
lian, which has given occasion to the 
ancients to say that the giant Typhon 
was buried there. Ovid. Strab. 

Pit ho, called also Suada, the 

goddess of persuasion among the Greeks 
and Romans, supposed to be the daugh- 
ter of Mercury and Venus. She was 
represented with a diadem on her head, 
to intimate her influence over the hearts 
of men. One of her arms appears raised, 
as in the attitude of an orator harangu- 
ing in a public assembly, and with the 
other she holds a thunderbolt and fet- 
ters made with flowers, to signify the 
powers of reasoning, and the attractions 
of eloquence. A caduceus, as a symbol 
of persuasion, appears at her feet, with 
the writings of Demosthenes and Cicero, 
the two most celebrated among the 
ancients, who understood how to com- 
mand the attention of their audience, 
and to rouse and animate their various 
passions. Paus. Cic. — A Roman court- 
ezan, who received this name on ac- 
count of the allurements which her 
charms possessed, and of her winning 
expressions. 

Pithol aus and Lycophron - , 

seized upon the sovereignty of Phene 
by killing Alexander. They were 
ejected by Philip of Macedonia. Dlod. 

Pit hole ox, an insignificant 
poet of Rhodes, who mingled Greek 
and Latin in his compositions. Horat. 

Pithys, a nymph beloved by 
Pan. Boreas was also fond of her, but 
she slighted his addresses, upon which 
he dashed her against a rock, and she 
was changed into a pine-tree. 

PiTTACUS,a native of M itylan e 
in Lesbos, was one of the seven wise 
men of Greece. His father's name was 
Cyrrhadius. He delivered his country 
from the oppression of the tyrant Me- 
lanchrus, and in the war which the 
Athenians waged against Lesbos, he 
killed Phrynon, the enemy's general, 
by entangling him in a net. He was 
amply rewarded for this victory ; his 
countrymen unanimouslyappointed him 
governor of their city, with unlimited 



authority. In this capacity Pittacus 
behaved with great moderation, and 
after he had established and enforc- 
ed the most salutary laws, he volun- 
tarily resigned the sovereign power, 
after he had enjoyed it for ten years, 
observing that the virtues and inno- 
cence of a private life were incompa- 
tible with the power and influence of 
a sovereign. His disinterestedness gained 
him many admirers ; and when the 
Mitylenians wished to reward his public 
services by presenting him with an im- 
mense tract of territory, he refused to 
accept more land than what could be 
contained within the distance, to which 
he could throw a javelin. He died in 
the 82d year of his age, about 570 years 
before Christ, after he had spent the 
last ten years of his life in literary ease 
and peaceful retirement. Many of his 
maxims were inscribed on the walls of 
Apollo's temple at Delphi. By one of 
his laws, every fault committed by a 
man when intoxicated deserved double 
punishment. The titles of some of his 
writings are preserved by Laertius, 
among which are mentioned elegiac 
verses, some laws in prose, addressed to 
his countrymen, epistles, and moral 
precepts called Adomena. Biog. in vit. 
Aristot. Plat. &e. 

Pittheus, a king of Troezene 
in Argolis, son of Pelops and Hippoda- 
mia, universally admired for his learn- 
ing and wisdom. He gave his daughter 
iEthra in marriage to ^Egeus, king of 
Athens, and he himself took particular 
care of the education of his grandson, 
Theseus. He wa; buried at Troezene, 
and on his tomb were seen, for many 
ages, three seats of white marble, on 
which he sat with two other judges, 
whenever he gave laws to his subjects. 
Paus. &e. 

Pity USA, a small island on tha 

coast of Argolis. — Two small islands i:i 
the Mediterranean, near the coast of 
Spain, of which the larger was called 
Ebusus, and the smaller Ophiusa. Mela . 

Pius, a surname given to the 
emperor Antoninus, on account of his 
piety and virtue. — A surname given to 
a son of Metellus, because he interested 
himself so warmly to have his father 
recalled from banishment. 

Place xt ia 5 now called Pla- 
ce NZ A, an ancient town and colony of 
Italy, at the confluence of the Trebia 
and Po. Liv. — Another near Lusitania 
in Spain. 

Placid i a, daughter of Theo- 
dosius the great, wife to Adolphus, king 
of the Goths, and afterwards to Con- 
stantme, by whom she became the 
mother of Valentinian the third. 

Plaxasia, a small island on 
the coast of Gaul, where Tiberius or- 



PLA 



PLA 



dered Agrippa, the grandson of Augus- 
tus, to be put to death. Tacit. 

P-LANCiNA^a woman celebrated 
for her intrigues and her crimes, who 
married Piso, and was accused with him 
of having murdered Germanicus, in the 
reign of Tiberius. She was acquitted, 
either by means of the empress Livia, 
or on account of the partiality of the 
emperor for her person. Subservient in 
every thing to the will of Livia, she, at 
her instigation, became guilty of the 
greatest crimes to injure the character 
of Agrippina. After the death of Agrip- 
pina, Plancina was accused of the most 
atrocious villanies, and, as she knew 
that she could not elude justice, she 
put herself to death, A. D. 33. Tacit. 

L. Plancus Munatius, a 

Roman consul, who forgot all his dig- 
nity, and became one of the most ser- 
vile flatterers of Cleopatra and Antony. 
At the court of Alexandria, he appeared 
in the character of the meanest stage 
dancer, and, in comedy, he personated 
the sea deity Glaucus. This exposed 
him to public derision, and when An- 
tony had censured him for his unbe- 
coming behaviour, he deserted to Octa- 
vius, who received him with great 
marks of friendship and attention. It 
was he who proposed in the Roman 
senate, that the title of Augustus should 
be conferred on Octavius." Horace has 
dedicated l od. 7. to him. He founded 
a town in Gaul, which he called Lug- 
dunum. Plut. — A patrician, proscribed 
by the second triumvirate. 

P-LATiEA, an island on the coast 
of Africa, in the Mediterranean. It be- 
longed to the Cyreneans. Herodot. 

PLATiEA, {arum) a town of 
Bceotia, on the confines of Megaris and 
Attica, celebrated for the battle fought 
there between Mardonius, the com- 
mander of Xerxes, king of Persia, and 
Pausanias, the Lacedemonian, and the 
Athenians. The Persian army consisted 
of 300,000 men, 3000 of which scarcely 
escaped with their lives by flight. The 
Grecian army, which was greatly infe- 
rior, lost but few men, and among 
these ninety-one Spartans, fifty-two 
Athenians, and sixteen Tegeans/were 
the only soldiers found in the number 
of the slain. This battle was fought on 
the 22d of September, the same day as 
the battle of Mycale, 479 B. C. and by 
it Greece was totally delivered from the 
alarms of the Persian invasions. The 
Plateeans were naturally attached to the 
interest of the Athenians, and they fur- 
nished them with a thousand soldiers, 
when Greece was attacked by Datis, the 
general of Darius. — Plataeae was taken 
by the Thebans, after a famous siege, 
in the beginning of the Peloponuesian 
war, and destroyed by the Spartans, B. 
C. 427. Alexander afterwards rebuilt 
it, and paid great encomiums to the in- 
habitants, on account of their ancestors, 



who had so bravely fought against the 
Persians at the battle of Marathon, and 
under Pausanias. Herodot. Strab. &c. 
Plat o ,a celebrated philosopher 

of Athens, son of Ariston and Parecto- 
nia. His original name was Aristocles, 
and he received that of Plato from the 
largeness of his shoulders. Plato was 
educated with care, his body was invig- 
orated with gymnastic exercises, and his 
mind was cultivated by the study of 
poetry and of geometry. He began his 
literary career by writing poems and 
tragedies ; and at the age of twenty, he 
was introduced into the presence of So- 
crates, and during eight years he conti- 
nued to be one of his pup"ils. After the 
death of Socrates, Plato retired from 
Athens,and began to travel over Greece. 
Having visited the most remarkable 
places in Greece, he then went to Mag- 
na Grscia, attracted by the fame of the 
Pythagorean philosophy. He passed 
into Sicily, and thence into Egypt, 
where the mathematician Theodorus 
flourished, and where the tenets of the 
Pythagorean philosophy had been fos- 
tered. On his return to Athens, his 
lectures were soon attended by a crowd 
of illustrious pupils. During forty years 
hepresided over The Academy, and there 
composed those dialogues which have 
been the admiration of every age and 
country. He accepted the pressing in- 
vitation of Dionysius to visit his court, 
and persuaded him to become the father 
of his people, and the friend of liberty. 
[Vid. Dionysius II.] In his dress the 
philosopher was not ostentatious, his 
manners were elegant, but modest and 
simple, without affectation. In Ms diet 
he was moderate, and to his sobriety 
and temperance some have attributed 
his preservation during the pestilence at 
Athens, at the beginning of the Pelo- 
ponuesian war. Plato died in tha 8lst 
year of his age, about 34S years before 
the Christian era. The works of Plato 
are numerous ; and are all written in the 
form of dialogue, except twelve letters. 
His writings were so celebrated, and his 
opinion so respected, that he was called 
divine; and, for the elegance, melody, 
and sweetness of his expressions, he was 
distinguished by the appellation of the 
Athenian bee. The speculative mind of 
Plato was employed in examining things 
divine and human. His philosophy, in 
which he followed the physics of Hera- 
clitus, the metaphysical opinions of Py- 
thagoras, and the morals of Socrates, 
was universally received and adopted. 
Cic. Plut. Setiec. &c. — A Greek poet, 
called the prince of the middle comedy, 
who flourished before Christ 445. Some 
fragments remain of his pieces. 

Plavis, a river of Venetia in 
Italy. 

Plautiajojs Fulvitjs, an 
African of mean birth, who was banish- 
ed for his seditious behaviour in the 



PLE 



PLI 



years of his obscurity. In his banish- 
ment, Plautianus formed an acquaint- 
ance with the emperor Severus, who ; 
some years after, ascended the imperial 
throne. This was the beginning of his 
prosperity. Severus invested him with 
power equal to his own at Rome, and in 
the provinces, and he wanted but the 
name of emperor to be his equal. He 
was concerned in all the rapine and de- 
struction which was committed through 
the empire, and he enriched himself 
with the possessions of those who had 
been sacrificed to the emperors cruelty 
or avarice. He was put to death for 
conspiring against the emperor and his 
son Caracalia, who had some time before 
married his daughter Plautilla. Severus 
banished Plautilla to the island of Li- 
pari, with her brother Plautius, where, 
seven years after, she was put to death 
by order of Caracalia, A. D. 211. Dion. 
Cos. 

Plautilla. [Vid. Plauti- 
anus.] — The mother of the emperor 
Nerva, descended from a noble family. 

Plautius, a Roman, who in 
his agony at losing his wife, threw him- 
self upon her funeral pile. — M. Sylvanus, 
a tribune, who made a law to prevent 
seditions. — A name common to several 
Romans, in whose lives there is nothing 
very remarkable. 

M. Accius PLAUTus,acomic 

poet, born at Sarsina, in Umbria. To 
maintain himself he entered, it is said, 
into the family of a baker, as a common 
servant, and, while thus employed, he 
sometimes dedicated a few moments to 
the comic muse. He wrote twenty-five 
comedies, of which only nineteen are 
extant. He died about 184 years B. C. 
The following stanza, written by Van o, 
sufficiently demonstrates the literary 
character of this favorite of the comic 
muse : — 

Postquam morte captas est Plautus, 
Comcedia luget, scena est deserta; 
Delude visits, Indus, jocusque, Sf nwneri 
Innumeri simul omnes collaerymarunt. 
The plays of Plautus were universally 
esteemed at Rome, and the purity and 
the energy of his language were, by 
other writers, considered as objects of 
imitation; and Varro, whose judgment 
is great, declares , that if the Muses were 
willing to speak Latin,they would speak 
in the language of Plautus. In the Au- 
gustan age, however, when the Roman 
language became more pure and refined, 
the comedies of Plautus did not appear 
free from inaccuracy. Varro. 

Pleiades, or Vergilije, a 

name given to seven of the daughters of 
Atlas by Pleione, one of the Oceanides. 
They were placed in the heavens after 
death,where they formed a constellation 
called Pleiades. Their names were Al- 
cyone, Mevope, Maia, Electra, Taygeta, 
.Sterope, and Celeno. They all, except 



Merope, who married a mortal, had 
some of the gods for their suitors. On 
that account Merope's star is dim among 
the rest of her sisters. The Pleiades are 
so called from gtXssjv, to sail, because 
they shew the time most favorable to 
navigators. The name of Vergiliae they 
derive from ver, the spring. They are 
sometimes called Atlantides, from their 
father, or Hesperides , from the gardens 
of that name which belonged to Atlas. 
Hes. Horn. Ovid. Virg. &c. — Seven poets, 
who, from their number, have received 
the name of Pleiades, near the age of 
Philadelphus Ptolemy, king of Egypt. 
Their names were Lycophron, Theo- 
critus, Aratus, Nicander, Apollonius, 
Philicus, and Homerus the Younger. 

Ple roxE, one of the Oceanides, 
who married Atlas, king of Mauritania, 
by whom she had twelve daughters, and 
a son called Hyas. Seven of the daugh- 
ters were changed into a constellation, 
called Pleiades, and the rest into an- 
other, called Hyades. [Vid. Pleiades 
and Hyades.] 

Plemmyrium, a promontory 
with a small castle of that name, in the 
bay of Syracuse. Virg. 

Plemneus, a king of Sicyon, 
son of Peratus. His children always died 
as soon as born, till Ceres, pitying his 
misfortune, offered herself as a nurse to 
his wife, as she was going to be brought 
to bed. The child, called Chrysorte, 
lived by the care of the goddess, and 
Plemneus was no sooner acquainted 
with the dignity of his nurse, than he 
raised her a temple. Paus. 

Pleumosti, a people of BeJgic 
Gaul, now Tournay. 

Pleuratus, a king of Illyri- 
cum. 

Pleuron, a son of JEtoIus, 
who married Xantippe, the daughter of 
Dorus, by whom he had Agenbr. He 
founded a city in YEtolia,on the Evenus, 
which bore his name. Apollod. Ovid. 

PLEXIPPUS. The most re- 
markable of this name was a son of 
Thestius, brother to Althaea, the wife of 
CEneus. He was killed by his nephew 
Meleager, in hunting the Calydonian 
boar. His brother Toxeus shared his 
fate. 

C. Plintus Secundus, sur- 

named the Elder, was born at Verona,of 
a noble family. He distinguished him- 
self in the field, and, after he had been 
made one of the augurs at Rome, he was 
appointed governor of Spain. In his 
public character he did not neglect the 
pleasures of literature ; the day was em- 
ployed in the administration of the af- 
fairs of his province, and the night was 
dedicated to study. If his literary pur- 
suits made him forget public affairs, 
his prudence and abilities made him 



PLI 



known and respected. He was courted 
and admired by the emperors Titus and 
Vespasian. As he was at Misenum, 
•where he commanded the fleet, which 
was then stationed there, he was sur- 
prised at the sudden appearance of a 
cloud of dust and ashes which issued 
from mount Vesuvius. His curiosity 
then led him to make some observation 
thereon, and having approached the 
mountain, he was, before he could ef- 
fect an escape, suffocated by the thick 
vapors that surrounded him, and the 
insupportable stench of sulphureous 
matter. His body was found three days 
after, and decently buried. This me- 
morable event happened in the 70th 
year of the Christian era, and in the 
56th year of his age. Of the works which 
he composed none are extant but his 
natural history in 37 books. It treats of 
the stars, the heavens, wind, rain, hail, 
minerals, trees, flowers, and plants, be- 
sides an account of all living animals, 
birds, fishes, and beasts ; a geographical 
description of every place on the globe, 
and a history of every art and science, 
of commerce and navigation, with their 
rise, progress, and several improve- 
ments. Tacit. PUn.—C. Csecilius, sur- 
named the Younger, was son of L. Cse- 
cilius, by the sister of Pliny the eider. 
He was adopted by his uncle, whose 
name he assumed. He received the 
greatest part of his education under 
Quintilian, and, at the age of 19, he ap- 
peared at the bar, where he distinguish- 
ed himself so much by his eloquence, 
that he and Tacitus were reckoned the 
two greatest orators of their age. He 
published many of his harangues and 
orations, which/have been lost. He pre- 
sided over Pontus and Bithynia, in the 
office of pro-consul, and, by his philan- 
thropy, the persecution begun against 
the Christians of his province was stop- 
ped, when he declared to the emperor 
that the followers of Christ were a meek 
and an inoffensive sect of men. If he 
rendered himself popular in his pro- 
vincejie was not less respected at Rome, 
as being the friend of the poor, and the 
patron of learning. He died in the 52d 
year of his age, A. D. 113. He had writ- 
ten a history of his own times, which is 
lost. Some suppose, but falsely, that 
Pliny wrote the lives of illustrious men, 
universally ascribed to Cornelius Nepos. 
He also wrote poetry, but his verses 
have all perished, and nothing of his 
learned works remains but his panegyric 
on the emperor Trajan, and 10 books of 
letters, which are written with elegance 
and great purity. These letters are 
esteemed by some equal to the volumin- 
ous epistles of Cicero. In his panegyric, 
Pliny's style is florid and brilliant ; he 
has used, to the greatest advantage, the 
liberties of the panegyrist, and the elo- 
quence of the courtier. His ideas are 
new and refined, but his diction is di- 
stinguished by that affectation which 



PLQ 

marked the reign of Trajan. PHn. Ep> 

Vossius Sidonius. 

Pl is t hexes, a son of Atreus, 

king of Argos, father of Menelaus and 
Agamemnon, according to Hesiod and 
others. Homer, however, calls Menelaus 
and Agamemnon sons of Atreus. The 
father died very young, and the two 
children were left in the house of their 
grandfather, who took care of them, 
and instructed them. From his atten- 
tion to them, Atreus was universally ac- 
knowledged their protector and father. 
Ovid. Diet i/3 Cret. 

Plistixus, brother to Faustu- 
lus, who saved the lives of Romulus and 
Remus. 

Plistoaxax andPLiSTOXAX. 

son of Pausanias, was general of the La 
eedaemonian armies in the Peloponne- 
sian war. He was banished from his 
kingdom of Sparta for 19 years, and was 
afterwards recalled by order of the oracle 
of Delphi. He reigned 58 years. He 
had succeeded Plistarchus. 

Plot.e, the Strophades, islands 
on the coast of vEtolia. 

Plot ix A Po mpe ia, a Roman 
lady who married Trajan while a private 
man. She distinguished herself by her 
humanity and liberal offices to the poor 
and friendless. She accompanied Tra- 
jan in the East, and upon her return to 
Rome, with the ashes of her husband, 
she still enjoyed all the honors of a 
Roman empress under Adrian. At her 
death, A. D. 122, she was ranked among 
the gods, and received divine honors. 
Bum. 

Plotixopolis, a town of 

Thrace, built by the emperor Trajan, 
and called after Plotina, the founder's 
wife. — Another in Dacia. 

PlotIxus, a Platonic philoso- 
pher of Lycopolis in Egypt. He was for 
eleven years a pupil of Ammonius, the 
philosopher, after which he determined 
to visit India and Persia to receive in- 
formation. He accompanied Gordian 
in his expedition into the East, but was 
obliged to save himself by flight, and 
the following year he retired to Rome, 
where he publicly taught philosophy. 
His school was frequented by people of 
every sex, age, and quality. He was the 
favorite of all the Romans ; and while 
he charmed the populace by the force of 
his eloquence, and the senate by his 
doctrines, the emperor Gallienus court- 
ed him, and admired the extent of his 
learning. It is said, that the emperor 
and the empress Salonina intended to 
rebuild a decayed city of Campania, and 
to appoint the philosopher over it, that 
there he might experimentally know, 
while he presided over a colony of phi- 
losophers, the validity and the use of the 
ideal laws of the republic of Plato. The 
philosopher having at last become help- 



PLU 



less and infirm, died, A. D. 270, in the 
eoth year of his age. His writings have 
been collected by his pupil Porphyry. 
They consist of 54 different treatises, 
divided into six equal parts, written 
with great spirit and vivacity ; but the 
reasonings are abstruse, and the subjects 
metaphysical. 

Plotius Crispin us. The 

most remarkable of this name is Tucca, 
a friend of Horace, and of Virgil, who 
made him his heir. He was selected by 
Augustus, with Varius, to review the 
aEneid of V irgil. Horat . 

Plusios, a name, under which 
Jupiter was addressed as the god,capable 
of granting riches. 

PLUTARCHUS,a native of Chae- 
ronea, descended of a respectable family. 
Under Ammoriius, a reputable teacher 
at Delphi, Plutarch was made acquaint- 
ed with philosophy and mathematics. 
He afterwards travelled in quest of 
knowledge, and after he had visited the 
territories of Egypt and Greece, he re- 
tired to Rome, where he opened a 
school, which was much frequented. 
The emperor Trajan admired his abili- 
ties, honored him with the office of con- 
sul, and appointed him governor of II- 
lyricum. After the death of his imperial 
benefactor, Plutarch removed to Chse- 
ronea. In this peaceful and solitary 
retreat, Plutarch closely applied himself 
to study, and wrote the greatest part of 
his works, and particularly his lives. He 
died in an advanced age, at Chseronea, 
about the 140th year of the Christian 
era. In his private,and public character, 
he was the friend of discipline, and 
boldly asserted, the natural right of 
mankind, liberty. The most esteemed 
of his works are his lives of illustrious 
men, in which he neither misrepresents 
the virtues, nor hides the foibles of his 
heroes. His moral treatises contain 
many useful lessons and curious facts, 
and though they are composed without 
connexion, and often abound with im- 
probable stories, and false reasonings, 
yet they contain much information, and 
many useful reflections. — A native of 
Eretria, during the Peloponnesian war. 
He was defeated by the Macedonians. 
Plut. in Phoc. 

Pl uto, son of Saturn and Ops, 
inherited his father's kingdom.with his 
brothers, Jupiter and Neptune. He re- 
ceived as his lot the kingdom of hell, 
and whatever lies under the earth, and 
therefore he became the god of the in- 
fernal regions. From his functions, and 
the place he inhabited, he received dif- 
ferent names. He was called Dis, Hades, 
or Ades, Orcus, &c. As his residence 
was gloomy, all the goddesses refused 
to marry him ; but upon seeing Proser- 
pine, the daughter of Ceres, gathering 
flowers in the plains of Enna, in Sicily, 
he became enamoured of her, and im- 
mediately carried her away. Proserpine 



POD 

called upon her attendants for help, but 
in vain, and she became the wife of her 
ravisher, and the queen of hell. Pluto is 
looked upon as a hard-hearted and in- 
exorable god, with a grim and dismal 
countenance, and for that reason no 
temples were raised to his honor, as to 
the rest of the superior gods. Black 
victims, and particularly a bull, were 
the only sacrifices offered to him. Among 
plants, the cypress, the narcissus, and 
the maiden-hair, were sacred to him, as 
also the number two. The dog Cerbe- 
rus watched at his feet, the harpies 
hovered around him, and Proserpine 
sat on his left hand. Parcae occupied 
his right. Pluto is called by some the 
father of the Eumenides. Hesiod. Ho- 
mer. Ovid. Virg. &c. 

Plut us, son of Jasion or Ja- 
sius, bv Ceres, the goddess of corn, was 
the god of riches. He was brought up 
by the goddess of peace, and on that ac- 
count Pax was represented at Athens as 
holding the god of wealth in her lap. 
He was represented as blind, because 
he distributed riches indiscriminately; 
he was lame, because he came slow and 
gradually ; and he had wings, to inti- 
mate that he flew away with more ve- 
locity than he approached mankind. Lu- 
cian. Aristoph. 

pLUVius,a surname of Jupiter, 
(a pluvia, rain/) invoked among the Ro- 
mans whenever the earth was parched 
up by continual heat, and was in want 
of refreshing showers. He had an altar 
in the temple on the capitol, and the 
Romans had reason to be grateful to a 
divinity, who sent a plentiful shower of 
rain to the prayers of the thirsty army 
of Trajan. In consequence of this event, 
the statue of the god was placed on Tra- 
jan's column, representing him as an old 
man with a long beard and extended 
arms, while at his feet the soldiers spread 
their shields to receivethe showerswhich 
dropped from his beard and his hands. 
Tibul. Suet, in Traj. 

Plynteria, a festival among 
the Greeks, in honor of Minerva. The 
word seems to be derived from TrXuve/y, 
lavare, because, during the solemnity, 
they undressed the statue of the god- 
dess, and washed it ; the'day, on which 
it was observed, was universally looked 
upon as inauspicious, and on that ac- 
count no one was permitted to appear 
in the temples, as they were purposely 
surrounded by ropes. 

PoDALiRius,ason of JEscula- 

pius and Epione, was one of the pupils 
of the centaur Chiron, under whom he 
made himself such a masterof medicine, 
that, during the Trojan war, the Greeks 
invited him to their camp, to stop a pes- 
tilence which had baffled the skill of 
all their physicians. At his return, he 
was shipwrecked on the coast of Caria, 
where he fixed his habitation, and built 
Q 5 



POL 



POL 



two towns, one of which he called Svr- 
na, from the name of his wife. Dictys. 
Ovid.— A Rutulian engaged in the wars 
of yEneas and Turnus. Virg. 

Podarce, one of the Danaides. 

Podarce s, a son of Iphicius, 
of Thessaly, who went to the Trojan 
war.— The first name of Priam. [Vid, 
Priam us.] 

Pod are s, a greek general co- 
temporary with Epaminondas. 

Podarge, one of the Harpies, 
mother of two of the horses of Achilles, 
by the Zephyrs. The word intimates 
the swiftness of her feet. 

PoDARGUS.Hector's charioteer. 

Pa: as. The father cf Philocte- 
tes. The son is often called Pceantia 
Proles, on account of his father. Ovid. 

Pcecile, a celebrated portico at 

Athens, which received its name from 
the variety of paintings which it con- 
tained. It was there that Zeno kept his 
school, and the stoics also received their 
lessons there, whence their name, <7T0«, 
a porch. The Pcecile was adorned with 
pictures of gods and benefactors, and 
among many others was that of the 
siege and sacking of Troy, the battle of 
Theseus against the Amazons, the fight 
between the Lacedaemonians and Athe- 
nians at (Enoe in Argolis, and of Atticus 
the great friend of Athens. Plin. 

Pceni, a name given to the Car- 
thaginians. It seems to be a corruption 
of the word Phorni, or Phcenices, as the 
Carthaginians were of Phoenician origin. 

Pcenia, a part of Macedonia. 
{Vid,. Pasonia.] 

Pogox, a harbour on the coast 
of the Peloponnesus, so called from its 
coming forward before the town of Troe- 
zene, as (ffwycw) the beard does from 
the chin. Strab. Mela. 

Polemarchus. [Vid. Arch- 
on.] 

Polemocratia, a queen of 

Thrace, who fled to Brutus after the 
murder of Caesar. She retired from her 
kingdom because her subjects had lately 
murdered her husband. 

Polemon, a youth of Athens, 

son of Philostratus, much given to de- 
bauchery. Ke once, when intoxicated, 
entered the school of Xenoerates, while 
the philosopher was lecturing upon the 
effects of intemperance, and was so 
struck with the force of the philoso- 
pher's arguments, that, from that mo- 
ment, he renounced his dissipated life, 
and applied himself totally to the study 
of philosophy. He never after drank 
any other liquor but water ; and after 
the death of Xenoerates, succeeded him. 
He died about 270 years before Christ, 
in an extreme old age. Diog. Horat.— 



A son of Zeno, the rhetorician, made 
king of Pontus by Antony. Strab. Dion. 
—His son, of the same name, was con- 
firmed on his father's throne by the Ro- 
man emperors, and the province of Ci- 
licia was also added to his kingdom by 
Claudius. — A rhetorician at Rome,mas- 
ter to Persius, the celebrated satirist, 
who died in the age of Nero. — A sophist 
of Laodicea,in Asia Minor, in the reign of 
Adrian,by whom he was greatly favored. 
In the 56th year of his age he buried 
himself alive, as he laboured under the 
gout. He wrote declamations in Greek. 

Polias, a surname of Minerva, 
as protectress of cities. She was parti- 
cularly worshipped under that name at 
Trcezene, where her statue of gold and 
ivory was one of the best pieces of Phi- 
dias. She was worshipped also under 
that name at Tegea and Arcadia. Apol- 
lod. Pans. 

Polieia, a festival at Thebes, 
in honor of Apollo, who w r as represented 
there with gray hair, contrary to the 
practice of all other places. 

Poliorcetes ^{destroyer of ci- 
ties) a surname given to Demetrius,son 
of Antigonus. [Vid. Demetrius.] Pint. 

Pol ist rat us, an epicurean 
philosopher, who was born on the same 
day with Hippoclides, with whom he 
afterwards lived in the strictest bonds 
of friendship ; and both of them died in 
the same hour. 

Polites, a son of Priam and 
Hecuba, killed by Pyrrhus, in his fa- 
ther's presence. Virg.— His son, who 
bore the same name, followed iEneas 
into Italy, and was one of the friends 
of young Ascanius. Id. 

Poll a A rge xt aria Lucan's 
wife, who assisted her husband, in the 
correction of the three last books of the 
Pharsp.lia. 

PoLLEXTiA^a town of Liguria. 
in Italy, famous for wool, and a cele- 
brated battle fought there between the 
Romans and Alaric, king of the Goths, 
about the 403d year of the Christian era, 
now Polenza. — A town of Picenum. — 
A town of Majorca. 

Pollio. The most celebrated 
of this name is — C. Asinius, a Roman 
consul, in the reign of Augustus, dis- 
tinguished as much by his eloquence as 
by his military exploits. He defeated 
the Dalmatians, and favored the cause 
of Antony against Augustus. He pa- 
tronized with great liberality the poets 
Virgil and Horace, and was the first 
who raised a public library at Rome. 
He was with J. Caesar when he crossed 
the Rubicon, and was greatly esteemed 
by Augustus after the' ruin of Antony. 
Pollio wrote some tragedies, orations, 
and an history, in 17 books, which are 
all lost, and nothing remains of his 
writings except a few letters to Cicero. 



POL 



POL 



He died in the 80th year of his age,A.D. 
4. It is to him Virgil has inscribed his 
fourth eclogue, Po//io, as a reconciliation 
was effected between Augustus and An- 
tony during his consulship. The poet,it 
is supposed by some, makes mention of a 
sen of the consul born about this time, 
and is lavish in his excursions into futu- 
rity, and his predictions of approaching 
prosperity. Herat, czc. 

Pollux. [Vid. Castor.] — A 
Greek writer, who nourished A. D. 186, 
in the reign of Coramodus, and died in 
the 58th year of his age. He ^aught 
rhetoric at Athens, and wrote an useful 
work called Onomasticon. 

Polusca, a town of Latium, 
formerly the capital of the Yolsei. Liv. 

Pol YiENUs, a native of Mace- 
donia, who wrote eight books of stra- 
tagems in Greek, which he dedicated to 
the emperors Antoninus and Verus,while 
they were making war against the Par- 
thians. He wrote also other books, 
which have been lost, among which was 
an history with a description cf the city 
of Thebes. 

POLYBIUS, OS POLYBUS, a 
king of Corinth, was son of Mercury by 
Chthcnophyle, the daughter of Sicyon, 
king of Sicyon. He permitted his wife 
to educate* as her own sou, GZdipus, 
[Vid. CEdipus] who had been found ex- 
posed in the woods. As he had no male 
child, he left his kingdom to Adrastus, 
who had been banished from his throne, 
and who had fled to Corinth for protec- 
tion. Hy gin. Pans. &c. 

Polybius, a native of Mega- 
lopolis, in Peloponnesus,son of Lycortas. 
He was early initiated in the duties and 
qualifications of a statesman, by his fa- 
ther. In Macedonia he distinguished 
himself by his valor against the Romans, 
whence he was carried to Rome as a pri- 
soner of war. But he was not long bu- 
ried in the obscurity of a dungeon. 
Scipio and Fabius becoming acquainted 
with his uncommon abilities as a warrior 
and a man of learning, made him their 
friend by kindness and attention. Poly- 
bius afterwards accompanied Scipio in 
his expeditions, and was present at the 
taking of Carthage and Numantia. After 
the death of Scipio, he retired from 
Rome to Megalopolis, where he died in 
the S2d year of his age, about 124 years 
B. C. He wrote an universal history in 
Greek, divided into 40 books, which be- 
gan with the wars of Rome with the 
Carthaginians, and finished with the 
conquest of Macedonia by Paulus. 
The greatest part of this valuable his- 
tory is lost ; the five first books are ex- 
tant, and of the twelve following the 
fragments are numerous. The history 
of Polybius is admired for its authen- 
ticity: "and he has been recommended 
in every age and country as the best 
master in the art of war. Pint, Liv. &c. 



Polybotes, one of the giants 
who made war against Jupiter. He was 
killed by Neptune, who crushed him 
under a part of the island of Cos, as he 
was walking across the iEgean. Fans. 
Hi' gin. 

Pol ye us, a king of Thebes 
in Egypt, in the time of the Trojan war. 
He kindly received Meneiaus and Helen 
on their return to Greece from Troy, 
and loaded them with rich presents. 
Homer. Od. 

Polycaon, a king of Lacecle- 
mon, who, with his wife Messene, 
received divine honours*. 

Polycabpus, a famous Greek 
writer, born at Smyrna, supposed to 
have been St. John's disciple. He be- 
came bishop of Smyrna, and was con- 
demned to be burnt, A. D. 167. His 
epistle to the Philippians is replete with 
useful precepts and rules for the con- 
duct of life. 

Polycaste, the youngest of 
the daughters of Nestor. According to 
some authors, she married Telemachus, 
when he visited her father's court in 
quest of Ulysses. 

Polychabes, a rich Messe- 
nian, said to have been the cause of 
the war which was kindled between the 
Spartans and his countrymen, which 
was called the first Messenian war. 

POLYCLETUS. The most re- 
markable of this name is — A celebrated 
statuary of Sicyon, about 232 years be- 
fore Christ, universally reckoned the 
most skilful artist among the ancients, 
One of his pieces, in which he had re- 
presented a body-guard of the king of 
Persia, was so exact in all its propor- 
tions, that it was called the rule. He 
was also acquainted with architecture, 
and was therefore employed to finish 
the beautiful temple and the elegant 
theatre of vdLsculapius at E pi daunts. 
Pans. Quintil. 

Polycrates, a tyrant of Sa- 

mos, who made himse If master not only 
of the neighbouring islands, but also of 
some cities on the coast of Asia. He was 
so universally respected, that Amasis, 
king of Egypt, made a treaty of alli- 
ance with him. The Egyptian monarch, 
however, advised him to chequer his 
enjoyments, by relinquishing some of 
his most favorite objects. Poiycrates 
complied, and threw into the sea & seal, 
the most valuable of his jewels. The 
voluntary loss of the seal afflicted him 
for some time, but a few days after he 
received as a present a large fish, in 
whose belly the jewel was found. Some 
time after, Poiycrates visited Magnesia, 
where he had "been invited by Orcetes, 
the governor, who shamefully put him 
to death, 522 years before Christ,merely 
because he wished to terminate the pros- 
perity of Poiycrates. Strab. Herodot.&e. 



POL 



POL 



Polycritus, a Sicilian, who 

wrote the life of Dionysius. 

Polyctor, one of the daugh- 
ters of Danaus. — A native of Elis, who 
bribed his adversary, Sosander, to per- 
mit him to obtain a' victory at Olympia. 

Poly daemon, an Assyrian 
prince killed by Perseus. Ovid. 

PolydamaS) a Trojan, son of 
Anterior, by Theano. He married Ly- 
easte, a natural daughter of Priam, and 
was accused of having betrayed his 
country to the Greeks. Dares Phri/.—A 
son of Panthous, born the same night as 
Hector. He was inferior in valor to 
none of the Trojans, except Hector. He 
was at last killed by Ajax. Homer.— 
A celebrated athlete) who imitated Her- 
cules in whatever he did. tt is said that 
he killed a lion with his fist, and that 
he could stop a chariot with his hand in 
its most rapid course. Pans. 

PoLYDAMXA,the wife of Tho- 
nis, king of Egypt. She gave Helen a 
certain powder, which had the wonder- 
ful power of driving away care. Hefner. 

Polydectes 5 a king of Sparta, 
of the family of the Proclidae. He was 
son of Eimomus. Pans. — A king of the 
island of Seriphos. He reeeiv edwithgreat 
kindnessDanae andher son Perseus, who 
had been exposed on the sea by Acrisius. 
[Vid. Perseus.] He educated Perseus ; 
but when he became enamoured of Da- 
nae, he removed him from his kingdom « 
Some time after, Danae, having rejected 
his addresses, flc d to the altar of Minerva 
for protection, and Dictys, the brother 
of Polydectes, armed himself in her de- 
fence. At this critical moment, Perseus 
arrived, and with Medusa's head turned 
into stones Polydectes, with the associ- 
ates of his guilt. Ovid. Hi/gin. 

PolydOra, a daughter of Pe- 
leus, king of Thessalv, by Antigone, the 
daughter of Eurytibn. She married 
the river Sperchius, by whom she had 
Mnestheus. Apoliod.—A daughter of Me- 
leager, king of Calydon, who married 
Protesilaus. The wife of Protesilaus is 
more commonly called Laodamia. [Vid. 
Protesilaus.] 

POLYDORUS. The most re- 
markable of this name are the follow- 
ing: — A son of Alcamenes, king of 
Sparta r who put an end to the wsr 
which had been carried on during 20 
years, between Messenia and his sub- 
jects. He was assassinated by a noble- 
man, called Polemarchus, and his son 
Eurvcrates succeeded him, 724 years 
before Christ. Pans. &c. — A son of 
Priam by Hecuba. As he was young 
when Troy was besieged by the Greeks, 
his father intrusted him, with the great- 
est part of his treasures, to Polymnestor, 
king of Thrace, till his country was 
freed from invasion. No so6ner was the 
death of Priam known, than Polymnes- 



tor made himself master of the riches, 
and assassinated young Polydorus, and 
threw his body in the sea." [Vid. He- 
cuba.] According to Virgil, the body 
of Polydorus was buried near the shore", 
and there grew on his grave a myrtle, 
whose boughs dropped blood, when 
JEneas, going to Italy, attempted to 
tear them from the tree. \_Vid. Polym- 
nestor.] Virg. Ovid. Homer. &c 

PolygxOtus, a celebrated 

painter of Thasos, about 422 years be- 
fore the Christian era. He adorned one 
of the public porticos of Athens with his 
paintings ; and particularly excelled in 
giving liveliness and expression to his 
pieces. But those which claimed the 
highest admiration were the two that 
were preserved at Delphi, the one of 
which represented the most striking- 
events of the Trojan war, and the other 
the descent of Ulysses to the infernal 
regions. He rose superior to his prede- 
cessors, and instead of employing, like 
them, only the various shades of black 
and w r hite, he improved his art by the 
introduction of new materials, and ap- 
plied to his pieces, with delicacy, the 
different powers of four colors. Quintii. 
Plin. 

Polygostus and Telego- 

nus, sons of Proteus and Coronis, were 
famous for their dexterity in wrestling. 
They not only challenged all strangers 
to a trial of skill, but'cruelly put them 
to death when defeated. They were at 
last both conquered in their favorite ex- 
ercise and killed by Hercules. 

Polyhymnia and Polym- 

nia, one of the Muses, daughter of Jupi- 
ter and Mnemosyne. She presided over 
singing and rhetoric, and was deemed 
the hiventress of harmony. She was 
represented veiled in white, holding a 
sceptre in her left hand, and with her 
right raised up, as if ready to harangue. 
She had a crown of jewels on her head, 
Hesiod. Horat. 

Polyidus, a physician who 

brought back to life Giaucus, the son of 
Minos, by applying a certain herb which 
he had seen restore a serpent to life* 
[Vid. Giaucus.] Ap.Ilod. 

Polymede, a daughter of Au- 
tolycus, who married iEson, by whom 
she had Jason. She survived her hus- 
band only a few days. Apollod. 

Polymela, one of Diana's 

companions, daughter of Phylas. She 
had a son by Mercury. Homer.— A 
daughter of iEolus, seduced by Ulysses. 
The first wife of Peleus, mother of 
Achilles. 

Polymenes, an officer, whom 
Alexander appointed to the care of 
Egypt, after he had conquered it. 

Polymnestor, a king of the 
Thracian Chersonesus, who married 



POL 



POL 



llione, the eldest of Priam's daughters. 
When the Greeks besieged Troy, Priam 
sent the greatest part of his treasures, 
together with Polydorus, the youngest 
cf his sons, to Thrace, intrusted to the 
care of Polvmnestor, who, when in- 
formed that Priam was dead, murdered 
his brother-in-law to become master of 
the treasures. At that time, the Greeks 
were returning victorious from Troy, 
followed by all the captives, among 
whom was Hecuba, the mother of Poly- 
dorus. The fleet stopped on the coast 
of Thrace, where one of the female cap- 
tives discovered on the shore the body 
of Polydorus, whom Polymnestor had 
thrown into the sea. Hecuba, and her 
Captive associates, for this act cf cruelty 
and perfidy, put out the eyes of the ty- 
rant, and murdered his two children. 
Eurin. Virg. Ovid. &c. Hyginus relates 
the storvin a diff ' . ent manner. — A native 
of Milesia, so swift, that he^issaidto 
have caught a hare, running at full speed. 

Pol ; /xices, a son of (Edipus, 
king of Thebes, by Jocasta. He in- 
herited his father's throne with his bro- 
ther Eteocles,and it was mutuallyagreed 
between them, that they should reign 
each a year alternately. Eteocles first 
ascended the throne, but, when the year 
was expired, he refused to resign the 
crown to his brother. Polyirices7 upon 
this, fled to Argos, where he married 
Argia, the daughter of Adrastus, the 
king of the country, and levied a large 
army, at the head of which he marched 
against Thebes. The command of this 
army was divided among seven cele- 
brated chiefs, who were to attack the 
seven gates of the city of Thebes. The 
battle was decided by a single combat 
between the two brothers, who both 
killed one another. \_Vid. Eteocles. J 
jEschyl- Eurip. Seneca. &c. 

Polyxcs, one of the Nereides. 

Polypemox, a famous thief, 
called also Procrustes. \_Vid. Procrustes.] 
He plundered all the travellers about 
the Cephisus, and near Eleusis in At- 
tica. He was killed by Theseus. Ovid 
calls him father of Procrustes,and Apol- 
lodorus of Sinis. 

Pol yperchox, one of the 

officers of Alexander. Antipater, at his 
death, appointed him governor of Ma- 
ce. Ionia/ Polyperchon, though a man 
of experience, shewed great ignorance 
in the administration of the government. 
He was killed in a battle 309 B. C. 
Curt. &c. 

Polyphemus, king of all the 

Cyclops in Sicily, and son of Neptune 
and Thoosa. He is represented as a 
monster of immense strength, and with 
one eye in the middle of the forehead. 
He fed upon human flesh, and kept his 
flocks on the coasts of Sicily, when 
Ulysses, at his return from the Trojan 
war, was driven there. The Grecian 



prince, with twelve of his companions, 
visited the coast, and weie seized by the 
Cyclops, who daily devoured two of 
them in his cave, in which they were 
confined. Ulysses would have shared 
the same fate had he not intoxicated 
the Cyclops, and put out his eye with a 
firebrand while asleep. Polyphemus 
awaked by the sudden pain, stopped the 
entrance of his cave, but Ulysses made 
his escape by creeping between the legs 
of the rams of the Cyclops, which had 
been put up in the cave. Polyphemus 
became enamoured of Galatasa, but his 
addresses were disregarded, and the 
nymph shunned his presence. The Cy- 
clops, when he saw Galatsea surrender 
herself to the pleasures of Acis, crushed 
his rival with a piece of a broken rock. 
Theocrit. Ovid. Home): Virg. &c. 

PoLYPHONTEs,oneof the He- 

raclidge, who killed Cresphontes, king 
of Messenia, and usurped his crown. 
Hygin. 

Polypcetes, a son of Piri- 

thous and Hippodamia. Homer. — One 
of the Trojans whom iEneas saw when 
he visited the infernal regions. Vh g. 

Polystatus, a Macedonian 
soldier, who found Darius after he had 
been stabbed by Bessus, and who gave 
him water to drink, and carried the last 
injunctions of the dying monarch to 
Alexander. Curt. 

Polytecnus, a celebrated 
artist of Colophon. 

Polytion, the native of 
Athens, with whom Alcibiades pro- 
phaned the mysteries of Ceres. 

Pol YxLN T A,a daughter of Priam 
and Hecuba, celebrated for her beauty, 
Achilles became enamoured of her, and 
their marriage would have been con- 
sum mated ,had not Hector, her brother, 
opposed it. Polyxena, it is said, accom- 
panied her father when he went to the 
tent of Achilles to redeem the body of 
Hector. Some time after, Achilles came 
into the temple of Apollo to obtain a 
sight of the Trojan princess, but he was 
murdered there by Paris ; and Poryxena 
was so afflicted at his death, that she sa- 
crificed herself on his tomb. Some say 
that the princess was dragged to her 
lover's tomb, and there immolated by 
Neoptolemus,the son of Achilles. Ovid. 
Virg. &c. 

Polyxenus, one of the Greek 

princes during the Trojan war. His 
father's name was Agasthenes. Homer. 

Polyxo, a native of Argos, 
who married Tiepolemus, son of Her- 
cules. She followed him to Rhodes, 
after the murder of his uncle Licym- 
nius, and when de departed for the Tro- 
jan war with the rest of the Greek princes 
she became the sole mistress of the king- 
dom. After the Trojan war, Helen fled 



POM 



POM 



from Peloponnesus to Rhodes, where 
Poiyxo reigned. Polyxo detained her, 
and to punish her, as being the cause of 
a war in which Tlepolemus had perished, 
she ordered her to he hanged on a tree 
by her female servants, disguised in the 
habit of Furies. [Fid. Helena.] Pans. 
A priestess of Apollo's temple in Lem- 
iics. It was by her advice that the Lem- 
nian women murdered all their hus- 
bands. Stat^ Flacc. 

Polyzelus, a poet of Rhodes 
who wrote a poem on the origin of 
Bacchus, Venus, the pluses and other 
deities. 

Pomax^e thb.es, the Parthian, 

believed to have slain Crassus. 

Pometia, Pome tii, andPo- 

METIA SUESSA, a town of Italy, to- 
tally destroyed by the Romans, because 
it had revolted. Virg. 

Pomona, a nymph at Rome 

who was supposed to preside over gar- 
dens, and to be the goddess of all sorts 
of fruit-trees. She had a temple at 
Rome, and a regular priest, called Fla- 
men Ponionalis , who offered sacrifices to 
her divinity, for the preservation of 
fruit. She was generally represented as 
sitting on a basket full of flowers and 
fruit, and holding a bough in one hand, 
and apples in the other. Many of the 
gods of the country endeavoured to gain 
her affection, but Vertumnus was the 
only one who prevailed upon her to 
marry him. This deity was unknown 
among the Greeks. Ovid. 

Pompeia, The most remark- 
able of this name was a daughter of 
Pompey the Great, Julius Caesar's third 
wife. She was accused of incontinence, 
because Clodius had introduced himself 
in women's clothes into the room where 
she was celebrating the mysteries of 
Cybele. Ca?sar repudiated her upon this 
accusation. Plat. 

POMPEIANU8. The most re- 
markable of this name is a Roman 
knight of Antioch, raised to offices of 
the greatest trust, under the emperor 
Aurelius, whose daughter Lucilla he 
married. He lived in great popularity 
at Rome, and retired from the court 
when Commodus succeeded to the im- 
perial crown. 

Pompeii or Pompeium, a 

town of Campania, partly demolished 
by an earthquake, A. D. 63, and after- 
wards rebuilt. Sixteen years after it 
was swallowed up by another earth- 
quake, which accompanied one of the 
eruptions of mount Vesuvius. Hercu- 
laneum was destroyed at the same time. 
Strab. Mela. 

Pompeiopolts, a town of Ci- 

lieia, formerly called Soli. Mela. 

Pompeius. This name was 
common to many illustrious Romans, 



the most celebrated of whom is Cneus, 
surnamed Magnus, from the greatness 
of his exploits. He was son of Pom- 
peius Strabo, and Lucilia. He early 
distinguished himself in the field, under 
his father, whose courage and military 
prudence he imitated. He began his 
career with great popularity, and in 
pleading at the bar, he received un- 
bounded applause. In the disturbances 
of Marius and Sylla, Pompey followed 
the interest of the latter, and in the 26th 
year of his age he conquered Sicily, and 
in 40 days he regained that part of Arica, 
which had forsaken the interest of Sylla. 
This rapid success astonished Sylla,who 
dreading the rising power of Pompey, 
recalled him to Rome. Pompey obeyed, 
and the dictator at his return saluted 
him with the appellation of the Great. 
Having obtained a trjumph, though 
only a Roman knight, he now appeared 
not as a dependent, but as a rival of the 
dictator. After the death of S ylla, Pom- 
pey supported himself against the re- 
mains of the Marian faction, headed by 
Lepidus. He defeated them, put an end 
to the war of Sertorius in Spain, and 
obtained a second triumph, though still 
a private citizen, about 73 years before 
the Christian era. He was soon after- 
wards made consul, and in that office he 
prosecuted the piratical war, and extir- 
pated the maritime robbers who had al- 
most destroyed the naval power of Rome 
in the Mediterranean. He was next ap- 
pointed to the command of the Mithri- 
datic war, in which, in a general engage- 
ment, the Romans so totally defeated 
the enemy, that Mithridates escaped 
with difficulty from the field of battle. 
Having conquered a vast tract of Asia, 
and like a master of the world, disposed 
of kingdoms and provinces, Pompey at 
length returned to Italy with all the 
pomp of an eastern conqueror. The 
Romans dreaded his approach, but he 
banished their fears by disbanding his 
army. This modest behaviour gained 
him more real friends than the most un- 
bounded power. For these signal ser- 
vices he was honored with a triumph. 
To strengthen himself in his power, 
Pompey soon after united his interest 
with that of Ca?sar and Crassus, who 
formed the first triumvirate. The agree- 
ment was completed by the marriage 
of Pompey with Julia the daughter of 
Caesar, and the provinces of the republic 
were arbitrarily divided among the tri- 
umvirs. This confederacy, however, 
was soon broken by the sudden death of 
Julia, and the total defeat of Crassus in 
Syria. Pompey dreaded his father-in- 
law, and yet he affected to despise him, 
and by suffering anarchy to prevail in 
Rome, he convinced his fallow citizens 
of the necessity of investing him with 
dictatorial power. But while the con- 
queror of Mithridates was a sovereign at 
Rome, the adherents of Cssar were not 
silent. The breach henceforth widened 



POM 



PON 



between the two illustrious characters, 
and Caesar at length passed the Rubicon, 
the boundary of his province, which act 
was, on his side, a declaration of war, 
and marched immediately to Rome. 
Pompey did not await his approach, but 
abandoned that city, and fled to Brun- 
dusium, with the consuls, and part of 
the senators. His cause was popular, 
and Cato, by embracing it, seemed to 
indicate, that he was the asserter of Ro- 
man independence. But Caesar was now 
master of Rome, and in sixty days all 
Italy acknowledged his power. Having 
gained the western parts of the Roman 
empire to espouse his cause, Csesar 
crossed Italy and arrived in Greece, 
where Pompey had retired, supported 
by all the power of the East, and the 
wishes of the republican Romans. At 
length the two hostile armies engaged 
in the plains of Pharsalia in Thessaly. 
The whole was conducted against the 
advice and approbation of Pompey, and 
his usual good fortune deserted him. 
His cavalry soon gave way, and the ge- 
neral seeing a general defeat ensue, re- 
tired to his camp, overwhelmed with 
grief, where he disguised himself, and 
fled to the sea-coast, whence he passed 
to Egypt, to seek an asylum in the court 
of Ptolemy, who had the baseness to 
betray him. A boat was sent to fetch 
him on shore, and the Roman general 
having left his galley, after an affec- 
tionate parting with his wife Cornelia, 
was assassinated by Achillas and Sep- 
timius on the shores in the presence of 
Cornelia. He died B. C. 48 , in the 58th 
or 59th year of his age. His head was 
cut off, and sent to Caesar, who turned 
away from it with horror, and shed a 
flood of tears. Caesar erected a monu- 
ment on his remains. The character of 
Pompey is that of an intriguing and 
artful general, and the oris probi and 
animo inverecundo of Sallust is the most 
descriptive picture of his character. In 
his private character, however, he lived 
with great temperance and moderation. 
Pompey married four different times. 
His marriage with Julia, the daughter of 
Caesar, was a step more of policy than 
affection. Yet Julia loved Pompey with 
great tenderness, and her death in child- 
bed was the signal of war between her 
husband and her father. He afterwards 
married Cornelia, the daughter of Me- 
tellus Scipio, a woman commended for 
her virtues, beauty, and accomplish- 
ments. Plut. Flor. Pcterc. Cces. &c. — 
The two sons of Pompey the Great, 
called Cneius and Sextus, were masters 
of a powerful army, when the death of 
their father was known. They prepared 
to oppose the conqueror, but were de- 
feated by Caesar at the battle of Munda, 
and Cneius was left among the slain. 
Sextus fled to Sicily, where he for some 
time supported himself, but the murder 
of Caesar giving rise to new events, he 
was at length defeated in a naval en- 



1 gagement by Octavius and Lepidus, 
and, of all his numerou s fleet, consist- 
ing of 350 ships,only 17 sail accompanied 
his flight toAsia. Here for a moment 
he raised seditions, but Antony ordered 
him to be seized, and put to death about 
35 years before the Christian era. Sex- 
tus vainly styled himself the son of Nep- 
tune, and lord of the sea. Plut, Strab, 
&c. 

Pomp ilia, a daughter of Nu- 
ma Pompilius. She married Numa Mar- 
tius, by whom she had Ancus Martins* 
the fourth king of Rome. The family 
of the Pompiiii once flourished among 
the Sabines, and was illustrated by the 
elevation ef Numa to the Roman throne. 

Pompilius. [Vid. Numa.]. — 
A grammarian of Syria, who opened a 
school at Rome, and had Cicero and 
Caesar among his pupils. Suet. 

Pompilus, a fisherman of 
Ionia, whose boat was changed into a 
rock, and himself into a fish. 

PonpOnia. The most remark- 
able of this name is the wife of Q. Cice- 
ro, sister of Pomponius Atticus. She 
punished with the greatest cruelty Philo- 
logus, the slave who had betrayed her 
husband to Antony, and she ordered 
him to cut his flesh by piece-meal, and 
afterwards to boil it and eat it in her 
presence. 

Pomp5nius, a celebrated Ko- 
man, intimate with Cicero. He was 
surnamed Atticus, from his long resi- 
dence at Athens. [Fid. Atticus.] — A 
Roman who accused Manlius the dic- 
tator of cruelty. He triumphed over 
Sardinia, of which he was made gover- 
nor. He escaped from Rome and the 
tyranny of the triumvirs, by assuming 
the habit of a praetor, and by travelling 
with his servants disguised in the dress 
of lictors with their fasces. — Secunclus, 
an officer in Germany in the age of Nero 
He was honored with a triumph for a 
victory over the barbarians of Germany. 
He wrote some poems,greatly celebrated 
by the ancients for their beauty and ele- 
gance. This name was common to many 
other illustrious Romans. 

PoMPOsiANus,a Roman made 
consul by Vespasian, and put to death 
by Domitian. 

C. PoMPTiNUS,aRoman officer 
who conquered the Allobroges after the 
defeat of Catiline. 

Pomptjs, a king of Arcadia. 

Pons ./Elius the largest and 
most beautiful bridge in Rome, built 
by the emperor Adrian. 

Pont i A. The most remarka- 
ble of this name is a woman condemned 
by Nero as guilty of a conspiracy. She 
killed herself by opening her veins. She 
was daughter of Petronius, and wife of 
Bolanus. Juv, — A surname of Venus at 



POP 



POR 



Hermione, on the isthmus of Corinth, 
because she was considered as a sea 
deity, from her emerging from the 
waves. Pans. 

Ponticum mare, the sea of 

Pontus, generally called the Euxine sea. 

Posticus, a poet of Rome, co- 
temporary with Propertius. Propert.— 
A man in Juvenal's age,. fond of boast- 
ing of the antiquity and great actions 
of his family, yet without possessing 
himself one single virtue. 

PontInus, a friend of Cicero. 
— A tribune of the people, who refused 
to rise' up when Cesar passed in tri- 
umphal procession. He was one of Cae- 
sar's murderers, and was killed at the 
battle of Mutina. Suet. Cic. 

Pontius. The most celebrated 
of this name is— ■Herermius, a general 
of the Samnites, who surrounded the 
Roman army under the consuls T. Ve- 
turius and P. Postumius. He ma-de 
the Roman army pass under the yoke, 
but was afterwards conquered, and 
obliged in his turn to pass _junder it. 
Fabius Maximus defeated him, when 
he appeared again at the head of an- 
other army, and he was afterwards 
shamefully put to death by the Romans, 
after he had adorned the triumph of 
the conqueror. Liv. — Pilatus, the Ro- 
man governor of Judaea, under whom 
our Saviour was crucified. Tacit. 

Pontus, a kingdom of Asia 

Minor, bounded on the east by Colchis, 
west by the Halys, north by the Euxine 
sea, and south by Armenia. It was go- 
verned by kings, and was in its most 
flourishing slate under Mithridates the 
-Great : it" at length became a Roman 
province, and under the emperors a re- 
gular governor was always appointed 
over it. Stmb. Mela. &c— A part of My- 
sia in Europe, on the borders of the 
Euxine sea, where Ovid was banished. 
Ovid,— An ancient deity, father of Phor- 
cys, Thaumas, Nereus, Eurybia, and 
Ceto by Terra. He is the same as Oce- 
anus. Apollod. 

Pontus Euxinus. [Vid. 

Euxinms.] 

Popilius. This name was com- 
mon to many eminent Romans, the 
most conspicuous of whom is Lsenas, a 
Roman ambassador to Antiochus, king 
of Syria. He was commissioned to order 
the monarch to abstain from hostilities 
against Ptolemy, king of Egypt, who 
was an ally of Rome. Antiochus wished 
so evade him by his answers, but Popi- 
lius, with a stick which he had in his 
hand, made a circle sound him on the 
sand, and bade him in the name of the 
Roman senate and people not to go be- 
yond it before he spoke decisively. This 
boldness intimidated Antiochus; he 
withdrew his garrisons from Egypt,and 



no longer meditated a war against Pto- 
lemy. Val. Max. Liv. Patgrc— The 
tribune who murdered Cicero. 

Poplicola, [Vid. Publieola.] 

Popp^a Sarin a. The most 
celebrated of this name was a Roman 
matron, daughter of Titus Ollius. She 
married a Roman knight called Rufus 
Crispinus, by whom she had a son. Her 
personal charms captivated Otho, who 
was then one of Nero's favorites. He 
carried her away and married her ; but 
Nero, who had seen her, soon deprived 
him of her, and sent him out of Italy. 
After he had taken this step, Nero re- 
pudiated his wife Octavia, and married 
Poppaea. The cruelty of the emperor 
did not, however, long permit Poppa?a 
to share the imperial dignity. She died 
of a blow which she received from his 
foot when many months advanced in 
her pregnancy, about the 65 th year of 
the Christian era, Her funeral was 
performed with great pomp, and statues 
were erected to her memory. She was 
so desirous of preserving her beauty, 
that she kept 500 asses for the purpose 
of obtaining sufficient milk for her to 
bathe in. Juv. Sueton. &c. 

Populi Fugia, a festival cele- 
brated at Rome, to commemorate the 
retreat of the Roman populace, who 
were irritated against the senators,whom 
they suspected of killing Romulus. Some 
say it was to commemorate the flight of 
the Romans when the city was taken by 
the Gauls. 

Porata, a river of Dacia, 
falling into the Ister, now called the 
Prath. 

Porcia, a sister of Cato, of 
Utica, greatly commended by Cicero. — 
A daughter of Cato, of Utica, who mar- 
ried Bibulus, and after his death, Bru- 
tus. She was remarkable for her pru- 
dence, philosophy, courage, and con- 
jugal tenderness. So great was her firm- 
ness and constancy, that Brutus com- 
municated to her the conspiracy which 
he and many other illustrious Romans 
had formed against J. Caesar. Porcia 
wished them success, and dropped no- 
thing which might affect the situation of 
the conspirators. When Brutus was 
dead, she refused to survive him, and 
attempted to end her life as a daughter 
of Cato ; and when she saw that every 
weapon was removed from her reach, 
she swallowed burning coals, and died, 
about 42 years before the Christian era. 
Val. Max. Plui. 

Poreborax, one of the 40 

Gauls whom Mithridates ordered to be 
put to death, and to remain unburied 
for conspiring against him. His mistress 
at Pergamus buried him against the 
orders of the monarch. Plut. 

PorphYRION, a son of Ccelus 
and Terra* one of the giants who made 



POR 



POS 



war against Jupiter. He was so formida- 
ble, that Jupiter, to conquer him, in- 
spired him with love for Juno, and 
while the giant endeavoured to obtain 
his wishes, he, with the assistance of 
Hercules, overpowered him. Homt. 
Mcu't. 

Porphyrius, a Platonic phi- 
losopher of Tyre. He was a man of uni- 
versal information, and he excelled his 
contemporaries in the knowledge of his- 
tory, mathematics, music, and philoso- 
phy. The books that he wrote were nu- 
merous, and some of his smaller trea- 
tises are still extant. His most cele- 
brated work, which is now lost, was 
against the religion of Christ. He has 
been universally called the greatest ene- 
my which the Christian religion had. 
Porphory died at the advanced age of 
71, A. D. 304. 

Porsenna, or Porsexa, a 

king ofEtruria,who declared war against 
the Romans, because they refused to 
restore Tarquin to his throne. He was 
at first successful, and Porsenna would 
have entered the gates of Rome, had 
not Codes stood at the head of a bridge, 
and supported the fury of the whole 
Etrurian army, while his companions 
behind were cutting off the communica- 
tion with the opposite shore. This act 
of bravery astonished Porsenna; but 
when he had seen Mutius Scaevola enter 
his camp with an intention to murder 
him, and when he had seen him burn 
his hand without emotion, to convince 
him of his fortitude, he no longer dared 
to make head against so brave a people. 
He made a peace with the Romans, and 
never after supported the claims of 
Tarquin. Liv. Pint. &c. 

Portia. [Vid. Porcia.] 
Port umn alia, festivals of 

Portumnus at Rome, celebrated in a 
very solemn and lugubrious manner. 
Varro. 

PoRTUMNUS.aseadeity, [ Vid. 

Melicerta.] 

Porus, the god of plenty at 
Rome. He was son of Metis or Pru- 
dence. Plato. — A king of India, when 
Alexander invaded Asia. Alexander 
having ordered him to come and pay 
homage to him as a dependent prince, 
Porus scorned his commands, and im- 
mediately marched a large army to the 
banks of the Hydaspes. Alexander, 
however, crossed the river in the night, 
and defeated one of the sons of the 
Indian monarch. Porus himself re- 
newed the battle ; but the vaior of the 
Macedonians prevailed, and he retired 
covered with wounds. Being at length 
obliged to come before the conqueror, 
and being asked by him how he wished 
to be treated, " Like a king," replied 
Porus. This magnanimous answer so 
pleased the Macedonian conqueror, that 



he not only restored him his dominions, 
but he increased his kingdom ; and 
Porus, in acknowledgment of such ge- 
nerosity, became one of the most faith- 
ful friends of Alexander. Porus is re- 
presented as a man of uncommon sta- 
ture, great strength, and proportionable 
dignity. Plut. Curt. &c. — Another king 
of India, in the reign of Alexander. 

PSsides, an eunuch and freed- 
man of the emperor Claudius, who rose 
to honors by the favor of his master, 
Juv. 

Posideum, a town of Ionia, in 
which was a temple, dedicated to Nep- 
tune. 

Posidon", a name of Neptune 
among the Greeks, about the derivation 
of which the moderns are much divided. 
Some form it from nev^ gbiuj and y>7, 
because the divinity shook the earth ; 
others from TroXXa etSaiv, because the 
god sees many things ; and others from 
noc-ig, because Neptune is the god of 
the water. 

Posidoxius, a philosopher of 
Apamea. He lived at Rhodes for some 
time, and afterwards came to Rome, 
where he died in his 84th year. Cicero 
became one of his pupils. Strab. 

Posthumius, This name was 
common to many eminent Romans, the 
most celebrated of whom are the follow- 
ing : — Al'jinus, a man who suffered him- 
self to be bribed by Jugurtha, against 
whom he had been sent with an army. 
— Spurius,a consul sent against the Sam- 
nites. He was taken in an ambush by 
Pontius,the enemy's general ,[ Vid. Pon- 
tius] and obliged to pass under the yoke 
with all his army. He saved his life by 
a shameful treaty, and when he return- 
ed to Rome, he persuaded the Romans 
not to reckon as valid the engagement 
he had made with the enemy, as it was 
made without their advice. He was 
given up to the enemy,because he could 
not perform his engagement : but he was 
released by Pontius for his generous and 
patriotic behaviour. Liv. — Marcus Cras- 
sus Latianus, an officer proclaimed em- 
peror in Gaul, A. D. 260. He reigned 
with great popularity, and gained the 
affection of his subjects by his huma- 
nity and moderation. He took his son 
of the same name as a colleague on the 
throne. They were both assassinated by 
their soldiers, after a reign of six years, 

Po st ve rt A,a goddess at Rome, 
who presided over the painful travails of 
women. Some suppose her to be of the 
Carmente's attendants, who was ac- 
quainted with futurity ; but others ima- 
gine that it is only a surname of Juno, 
who was invoked tograntaneasy,quick, 
and safe birth to children. Ovid. Fast. 
AuU Gel. 



PILE 



PRA 



Pgstumius. [Vid, Posthu- 

mius.] 

Potamides, nymphs who 

presided over rivers and fountains, as 
their name implies. 

Potamon, a philosophical 
writer of Alexandria. 

Pothinus, a tutor to Ptole- 
my, king of Egypt. He advised the 
monarch to murder Pompey, when he 
claimed his protection after the battle of 
Pharsalia. He stirred up commotions 
in Alexandria, when Caesar came there, 
Upon which the conqueror ordered him 
to be put to death. Lucan. 

Pothos, a deity worshipped 
in Samothrace. 

Potid^a, a town of Macedo- 
nia, situate in the peninsula of Pallene. 
It became tributary to the Athenians, 
from whom Philip of Macedonia took 
it. The conqueror gave- it to the Olyn- 
thians to render them more attached to 
his interest. Cassander repaired it, and 
called it Cassandria, a name which it 
still preserves. Demosth. 

Potina, a goddess at Rome, 
who presided over children's potions. 
Varro. 

Potkije, a town of Boeotia, 
where Bacchus had a temple. In this 
town was a fountain whose waters 
made horses run mad as soon as they 
were touched. The mares of Potniae 
destroyed their master Glaucus, son of 
Sisyphus. [Vid. Glaucus.] Paus. Virg. 
— There were also here certain god- 
desses called Potniades, on whose al- 
tars, in a grove sacred to Ceres and 
Proserpine, victims were sacrificed. 
Virg. Paus. — A town of Magnesia, 
whose pastures communicated madness 
to asses according to Pliny. 

Pr^ecia, a Roman courtezan, 
who by her influence over Cethegus, 
procured Asia as a consular province 
for Lucullus. 

Pr^exeste, a town of La- 
tium, about 21 miles from Rome, 
built by Telegonus, son of Ulysses and 
Circe, or, according to others, by Cae- 
culus, the son of Vulcan. There was a 
celebrated temple of Fortune there, as 
also an oracle, which was long in great 
repute. Cic. Virg. Horat. 

Pr/etou, one of the chief ma- 
gistrates at Rome. The office of praetor 
was first instituted A. U. C. 388, by the 
senators, and received its name aprcse- 
undo. Only one was originally elected, 
and another A. U. C. 501. Their num- 
ber gradually increased to 64, and after 
this their numbers fluctuated, being 
sometimes 18, 16, or 12, till in the de- 
cline of the empire their dignity de- 
creased, and their numbers were re- 
duced to three. In his public capacity, 



the praetor administered justice, pro- 
tected the rights of widows and orphans, 
presided at the celebration of public fe- 
stivals, and in the absence of the consul 
assembled or prorogued the senate as 
he pleased. There were also other du- 
ties annexed to his office. When the 
year of their praetorship was elapsed, 
they were called prop) cb to?-s, if they still 
continued at the head of their province. 
At Rome the praetors appeared with 
much pomp; two lictors preceded 
them ; they wore the prcetexta ; they 
sat in curule chairs ; and their tribunal 
was distinguished by a sword and a 
spear, while they administered justice. 
The tribunal was called prcetorium. 
When they rode they appeared on white 
horses at Rome, as a mark of distinc- 
tion. 

Pr^etorius, a name ironically 

applied to As. Sempronius Rufus, be- 
cause he was disappointed in his solici- 
tations for the praetorship, as being too 
dissolute. He was the first person at 
Rome, who had a stork served to his 
table. Horat. 

Prasiane, an island at the 
mouth of the Indus. 

Prasias, a lake between 

Thrace and Macedon, near which were 
large mines of silver. 

P R a s 1 1, a people of India. 

Quint. Curt. 

Pratinas, a Greek poet of 

Phlius, cotemporary with iEschylus. 
He was the first among the Greeks who 
composed satires, which were represent- 
ed as farces. Paus. 

Praxagoras, an Athenian 

writer, who published an history of the 
kings of his own country. He was then 
only 19 years old, and three years after 
that, he wrote the life of Constantine 
the Great. He had also written the life 
of Alexander, all now lost. 

Praxidice, a goddess among 

the Greeks, who presided over the exe- 
cution of enterprises, and who punished 
all evil actions. Her attributes and fes- 
tivals employed the pen of Orpheus; 
and Menelaus raised her a statue at 
Sparta after the Trojan war. She was 
generally represented by a human head 
separated from the rest of the body. 
Or ph. Arg. $ Hym. 

Praxila, a lyric poetess of 

Sicyon, who flourished about 492 years 
B. C. She invented a kind of metre 
which received her name, and which is 
used by Pindar in his Isthmian odes. 
Athen. 

Praxiteles, a famous sculp- 
tor of Magna Grsscia, who flourished 
about 324 years before the Christian 
era. He was so happy in copying na- 
ture, that his statues seemed to "be ani- 
mated. Phryne, the celebrated courte- 



FR1 



PR I 



zan, was his mistress. [Vid. Phryne.] 
He made a statue of Venus, at the re- 
quest of the people of Cos, and gave 
them their choice of the goddess, either 
naked or veiled. The former was su- 
perior to the other in beauty and per- 
fection, but the inhabitants of Cos pre- 
ferred the latter. The Cnidians bought 
the naked Venus, and it was so univer- 
sally esteemed, that Nicomedes, king of 
Bithynia, offered the Cnidians to pay an 
enormous debt, under which they la- 
bored, if they would give him their fa- 
vorite statue. This offer was not ac- 
cepted. The most celebrated, however, 
of his performances was his Cupid, 
which he gave to Phryne. This famous 
piece was bought of the Thespians, and 
carried to Rome, but Claudius restored 
it to them, and Nero afterwards obtain- 
ed possession of it. Pans. Plin. 

Praxithea. The most re- 
markable of this name was a daughter 
of Phrasimus and Diogenea. She mar- 
ried Ereehtheus, king of Athens, by 
whom she had Cecrops, Pandarus, and 
Metion, and four daughters, Procris, 
Creusa, Chthonia, and Orithya. Apol- 
lodorus. 

Priam ides, a patronymic ap- 
lied to Paris and all the other children 
of Priam. Ovid. Virg. 

P R I A m u s, the last king of 
Troy, was son of Laomedon. When 
Hercules took the city of Troy, f Vid. 
Laomedon] Priam was in the number 
of his prisoners, but his sister Hesione 
redeemed him from captivity, and he 
exchanged his original name, which 
was Podarces, for that of Priam, which 
signifies bought or ransomed. Being 
placed on his father's throne by Hercu- 
les, he employed himself with uncom- 
mon diligence in fortifying and embel- 
lishing the city of Troy. He divorced 
Arisba to marry Hecuba, the daughter 
of Cisseus. He had by Hecuba 17 chil- 
dren; according to Homer, 19; the 
most celebrated of whom are Hector, 
Paris, Deiphobus, Helenus, Pammon, 
Polites, Antiphus, Hipponous, Troilus, 
Creusa, Laodice, Polyxene, and Cas- 
sandra. Besides these, he had many 
others by concubines. After he had 
reigned for some time, Priam expressed 
a desire to recover his sister Hesione, 
whom Hercules had carried into 
Greece, and married to Telamon his 
friend. He manned a fleet, of which 
he gave the command to his son Paris, 
with orders to bring back Hesione. 
Paris neglected his father's injunctions, 
and carried away Helen, tl>e wife of 
Menelaus, king of Sparta, during the 
absence of her husband. Priam coun- 
tenanced his son, by receiving in his 
palace the wife of the king of Sparta. 
This* rape kindled the flames of the 
Trojan war. Troy, after a ten years' 
siege, having been betrayed into the 
hands of the Greeks, and Hector, the 



chief support of the Trojans, slain by 
Achilles, Priam resolved to die in de- 
fence of his country. He put on his 
armour, and advanced to meet the 
Greeks, but was detained by the tears 
and entreaties of his wife at the altar of 
Jupiter, to which Polites, one of his 
sons, fled, in the mean time, from the 
fury of Neoptolemus, who pursued 
him. The son, wounded and overcome, 
fell dead at the feet of his parents. The 
aged father raised his spear, which he 
darted at Neoptolemus ; it only touch- 
ed his buckler, and fell to the ground. 
Neoptolemus seized the grey hairs of 
Priam, and plunged his dagger into his 
breast. His head was cut off, and the 
mutilated body was left among the 
heaps of slain. Homer. Virg. Horat. 

Priaptjs, a deity among the 
ancients, who presided over gardens, 
and the parts of generation in the sexes. 
He was son of Venus by Bacchus . Pria- 
pus was so deformed, that his mother, 
ashamed to give birth to such a mon- 
ster, ordered him to be exposed on the 
mountains. His life, however, was pre- 
served by the shepherds, and he receiv- 
ed the name of Priapus, propter defor- 
mitatem et membri virilis magnitudi- 
nem. Festivals were celebrated in ho- 
nor of him by the people of Lampsa- 
cus, and they gave themselves up to 
every species of lasciviousness and im- 
purity during the celebration. His 
worship was also introduced into Rome ; 
but the Romans revered him more asa 
god of orchards and gardens, than as 
the patron of licentiousness. He is ge- 
nerally represented with an human face 
and the ears of a goat ; he holds a stick 
in his hand, with which he terrifies 
birds, as also a club to drive away 
thieves, and a scythe to prune the trees 
and cut down the corn. Virg. — A town 
of Asia Minor, near Lampsacus. Pria- 
pus was the deity of the place, and from 
him the town received its name, be- 
cause he had taken refuge there when 
banished from Lampsacus. Strab. Mela. 

PriiLne, a maritime town of 
Asia Minor, one of the twelve inde- 
pendent cities of Ionia. It gave birth to 
Bias, one of the seven wise men of 
Greece. Paus. 

Prima, daughter of Romulus 
and Hersilia. 

P r i s c i & n u s, a celebrated 
grammarian at Athens, in the age of 
the emperor Justinian. There is extant 
of his a poem called Periegesis, or a de- 
scription of the world, written in heroic 
verses. A smaller imperfect poem on 
weights and measures is also attributed 
to him. 

Priscilla, a female, whom 

Statius highly praises for the strength 
of her conjugal affection. 

Priscus Servijlius. The 



PRO 



PRO 



most remarkable of this name were the 
following: — A dictator at Rome, who 
defeated the Veientes and the Fidena- 
tes. — Priscus Tarquinius. [Vid. Tar- 
quinius.] — One of Julian's friends, al- 
most murdered by the populace. — Hel- 
vidius a noble Roman, re'markable for 
his free, bold, and independent spirit, 
who was made questor of Achaia, in the 
reign of Nero. — A governor of Syria, 
brother to the emperor Philip. He 
proclaimed himself emperor of Mace- 
donia when he was informed of his bro- 
ther's death, but he was soon after con- 
quered and put to death by Decius, 
Philip's murderer. 

Prist is, the name of one of 
the ships that engaged in the naval 
combat which was exhibited by iEneas, 
at the anniversary of his father's death. 
She was commanded by Mnestheus. 
Virg. 

Ppjvernum, a town of the 

Volsei in Italy. Liv.Vhg. 

Psivernus, a Rutulian, 

slain in the wars between Turnus and 
Eneas. 

Probus, M. Aurelius Severn s, 

a native of Sirmium, in Pannonia. His 
father was originally a gardener, who, 
by entering the army, rose to the rank 
of a military tribune. His son obtained 
the same offne, in the twenty-second 
year of his age, and he distinguished 
himself so much by his virtues, that at 
the death of the emperor Taeitus, he 
was invested with the imperial purple. 
He conquered the enemies of Rome in 
Gaul and Germany. He defeated the 
Blemmyes in the neighbourhood of 
Egypt, with great slaughter, and his 
military character was so well esta- 
blished, that the king of Persia sued for 
peace by his ambassadors, and attempt- 
ed to buy the conqueror's favors, with 
the most splendid presents. Probus 
was feasting upon the most common 
food when the ambassadors were intro- 
duced, but without even casting his 
eyes upon them, he said, that if their 
master did not give proper satisfaction 
to the Romans, he would lay his terri- 
tories desolate, and as naked as the 
crown of his head. As he spoke, the 
emperor took off his cap, and shewed 
the baldness of his head to the ambassa- 
dors. His conditions were gladly ac- 
cepted by the Persian monarch. Pro- 
bus encouraged the liberal arts, and he 
himself repaired seventy cities in dif- 
ferent parts of the empire, which had 
been reduced to ruins. His army, at 
length, mutinied, and he was murder- 
ed in the fiftieth year of his age, after 
a reign of six years and four months, 
after Christ 282. His very enemies de- 
plored his fate, and even the army, 
which had been concerned in his fall, 
erected a monument over his body, and 
placed upon it this inscription : Hie 



Probus imperator, vere probus, situs 
est, victor omnium gentium barbara- 
rum, victor etiam tyrannorum. 

Procas, a king of Alba, after 
his father Aventinus. He was father of 
of Amulius and Kumitor. Liv. Ovid. 
Virg. 

Prochyta, an island of Cam- 
pania, in the bay of Puteoli. It was 
separated from Inarima by an earth- 
quake. Virg. 

Procilla Julia, a woman 

of uncommon virtue, killed by the sol- 
diers of Otho. Tacit. 

Proclea, a daughter of Cli- 

tius, who married Cycnus, a son of 
Neptune, by whom she had Tenes and 
Hemithea. After her death her hus- 
band married Philonome, who enter- 
tained an illicit passion for Tenes. Ho- 
mer. 

Procles. [Vid. Eurysthenes 

and Lacedaemon.] — A general of the 
Naxians, in Sicily, who betrayed his 
country to Dionysius, the tyrant, for a 
sum of money.— A native of Andros, 
crowned at the Olympic games. — A 
Carthaginian writer of whose historical 
treatises Pausanias has preserved some 
fragments. 

Proclid^e. [Vid. Eurysthe- 
nes.] 

Procne. [Vid. Progne.] 
Proconnesus, an island of 
the Propontis, at the north-east of Cy- 
zieus, also called Elaphonnesus and 
Nauris. It was famous for its fine mar- 
ble. Plin. Strab. &c. 

Procopius, a celebrated of- 
ficer, of a noble familv, in Cilicia. He 
was related to the emperor Julian, and 
lived with him in great intimacy. After 
he had signalized himself under Julian 
and his successor, he retired from the 
Roman provinces, among the barba- 
rians in the Thracian Chersonesus, and 
proclaimed himself master of the East- 
ern empire. His usurpation was uni- 
versally acknowledged, but fortune 
changed, and Procopius was defeated 
in Phrygia, and abandoned by his 
armv. His head was cut off, and carried 
to Valentinian, in Gaul, A. D. 366. and 
he had usurped the title of emperor for 
above eight months. Procopius was 
slain in the forty-second year of his age. 
— \ Greek historian of Csesarea, m Pa- 
lestine, secretary to the celebrated Be- 
lisarius, A. D. 534. and author of a hi- 
story of the reign of Justinian, in which 
he Jives a particular account of the 
Persian, Gothic, and Vandalic wars. 

Procris, a daughter of Erech- 
theus, king of Athens. She married 
Cephalus. [Vid, Cephalus.] Virg. 

Procrustes, a famous robber 



PRCE 



PRO 



of Attica, called also Polypemon, who 
was killed by Theseus, near the Cephi- 
sus. He tied travellers on a bed, and, 
if their length exceeded that of the bed, 
he used to cat it off ; but if they were 
shorter, he had them stretched to make 
their length equal to it. Ovid, 

Proculeius, a Roman 
knight, celebrated for his fraternal kind- 
ness to his brothers Muraena and Scipio, 
after they had forfeited their estates, 
and incurred the displeasure of Augus- 
tus for siding with young Pompey. He 
was sent by Augustus to Cleopatra, to 
endeavour to bring her alive into his 
presence, but to no purpose. He de- 
stroyed himself when laboring under a 
heavy disease. Horat. Plut. Ovid. — A 
debauchee in Nero's reign. Juv. 

PSOCULL'S. The most re- 
markable of this name are the follow- 
ing: Julius, a Roman, who, after the 
death of Romulus, declared that he had 
seen him in appearance more than hu- 
man, and that he had ordered him to 
bid the Romans to offer him sacrifices 
under the name of Quirinus. Pint. Liv. 
— An officer who proclaimed himself 
emperor in Gaul, in the reign of Pro- 
bus. He was soon after defeated, and 
exposed on a gibbet. He was very li- 
centious in his manners, and had ac- 
quired riches by piratical excursions. 

Prod ic us, a sophist and rhe- 
torician of Cos about 369 years before 
Christ. He publicly taught at Athens, 
and had among his pupils Euripides, 
Socrates, Theramenes, and Isocvates. 
In his writings he composed a beautiful 
episode, in which virtue and pleasure 
were introduced, attempting to make 
Hercules one of their votaries. The 
hero at last yielded to virtue, and re- 
jected pleasure. This has been imitat- 
ed by Lucian. Prodicus was at last put 
to death by the Athenians, on pretence 
that he corrupted their youth. Xen. 

Proe tides, the daughters of 
Prcetus, king of Argolis, were three in 
number, Lysippe, Iphinoe, and Iphia- 
nassa. They became insane for neglect- 
ing the worship of Bacchus, and they 
ran about the fields believing them- 
selves to be cows. Prcetus applied to 
Melampus [Vid. Melampus] to cure his 
daughters, but he refused to employ 
him when he demanded the third part 
of his kingdom as a reward. This ne- 
glect of Prcetus was punished, the insa- 
nity became contagious, and the mon- 
arch at last promised Melampus two 
parts of his kingdom, and one of his 
daughters, if he would cure them. Me- 
lampus consented, and after he had 
Wrought the cure, he mairied themost 
beautiful of the Proetides. Virg: Ovid. 

Prcetus, a king of Argos, son 

of Abas, and twin brother to Aerisius. 
They quarrelled even before their birth, 
and this dissension between them in- 



creased with their years. After their 
father's death Aerisius succeeded him, 
and Prcetus retired to the court of 
Jobates, king of Lycia, where he mar- 
ried Stenobcea. He afterwards returned 
to Greece, accompanied by Stenobcea, 
who became, by him, mother of the 
Prcetides, and of a son called Megapen- 
thes, who succeeded on the throne of 
Tirynthus. [Vid. Stenoboea.] Hornet* 
Apollod. 

Progne, a daughter of Pan- 
dion, king of Athens, by Zeuxippe. 
She married Tereus, king of Thrace, 
by whom she had a son called Itylus, or 
Itys. [Vid. Philomela.] 

Prolaus, a native of Elis, 
father of Philanthus and Lampus, by 
Lysippe. These two youths went to 
Corinth to enter the- lists of wrestling 
at the Isthmian games, but they were 
strangled by their antagonists before 
they appeared in the arena. Pa us. 

PnoMEXiEA, one of the 

priestesses of the temple of Dodona. It 
was from her that Herodotus received 
the traditiou that two doves had flown 
from Thebes, in Egypt, one to Dodona, 
and the other to the temple of Jupiter 
Ammon, where they gave oracles. He- 
rodot. 

Prometheus, a son of Iape- 

tus, by Clymene, was brother to A tlas 
and Epimetheus, and surpassed all 
mankind in cunning. He ridiculed the 
gods, and deceived Jupiter himself. To 
punish Prometheus and the rest of 
mankind, Jupiter took away fire from 
the earth, but the son of Iapetus climb- 
ed the heavens by the assistance of Mi- 
nerva, and stole fire from the chariot 
of the sun. This provoked Jupiter 
much; he ordered Vulcan to make a 
woman of clay, and after he had given 
her life, he sent her to Prometheus, 
with a box of the most valuable pre- 
sents. [Vid. Pandora.] Prometheus, 
suspecting Jupiter, took no notice of 
Pandora, but made Epimetheus marry 
her, and the god, now more irritated, 
caused this artful mortal to be tied to a 
rock on mount Caucasus, where, for 
30,000 years, a vulture was to feed 
upon his liver, which was never to be 
diminished. He was delivered from 
this punishment thirty years afterwards 
by Hercules. According to Apollodo- 
rus, Prometheus made the first man 
and woman that ever were upon the 
earth, with clay, which he animated by 
means of the fire which he had stolen 
from heaven. To him mankind are in- 
debted for the invention of many of the 
useful arts. He taught them the use of 
plants, with their physical power, and 
from him they received the knowledge 
of taming horses, and different animals, 
either to cultivate the ground, or for 
purposes of luxury. He is generally re- 
presented tied to the rock, and at the 



PRO 



PRO 



moment that Hercules kills the bird 
that preyed on his vitals. Hesiod. Virg. 
Ovid. 6zc. 

Promethis and Prome- 

THIDES, a patronymic applied to the 
children of Prometheus, as to Deuca- 
lion, &c. Ovid. 

Prome thus and D ama- 

SICHTHON, sons to Codrus, and con- 
ductors of colonies into Asia Minor. 

Pronapides, an old Athe- 
nian poet, preceptor to Homer. 

Proxomus, a Theban who 
played so skilfully on the flute, that the 
invention of that musical instrument is 
attributed to him. A statue was raised 
to his honor by the Thebans, and his 
merits were considered so great, that it 
was placed by the side of that of Epa- 
minondas. Paus. 

Pronuba, a surname of Juno, 
because she presided over marriages. 

Properties (Sextus Aure- 
lius), a Latin poet, born in Umbria. 
His father was a Roman Juiight, pro- 
scribed by Augustus. He came to 
Rome, where his genius soon recom- 
mended him to the notice of the great. 
Mecaenas, Gallus, and Virgil became his 
friends, and Augustus his patron. Me- 
caenas wished him to attempt an epic 
poem, of which he proposed the empe- 
ror for hero, but Propertius refused to 
undertake the task. He died about 
nineteen years before Christ, in the for- 
tieth vear of his age. His works con- 
sist of four books of elegies, written 
with so much vivacity and energy, that 
many authors eall him the prince of the 
elegiac poets among the Latins. Cyn- 
thia, the heroine of his elegies, was a 
Roman lady, whose real name was 
Hostia, or Hostilia. Ovid. Mart. &c. 

Propcetides, some women of 
Cyprus, severely punished by Venus, 
whose divinity they had despised. The 
poets have feigned that they were 
changed into stones on account of their 
insensibility to virtuous sentiments. 
Ovid. 

Protontis, a sea which has a 
communication with the Euxine, by 
the Thracian Eosphorus, and with the 
Mgean, by the Hellespont, now called 
the sea of Marmora. Strab. &c. 

Propylea, a surname of 
Diana, who had a temple at Eleusis in 
Attica. 

Prosclystius, a surname of 

Neptune. Pans. 

Proserpina, a daughter of 

Ceres by Jupiter, called by the Greeks 
Persephone. She was so beautiful, that 
Jupiter himself became enamoured of 
her. She made Sicily the place of her 
residence, and delighted in the flowery 



meadows and limpid streams which 
beautified the plains of Enna. From 
this solitary retreat Pluto carried her 
away into the infernal regions, of which 
she became the queen. [Vid. Pluto.] 
Ceres, disconsolate at the loss of her 
daughter, travelled all over the world, 
and, at length, learned from the nymph 
Arethusa, that her daughter had been 
carried away by Pluto, whereupon she 
repaired to Jupiter, and demanded of 
him to punish the ravisher. Jupiter 
having in vain attempted to persuade 
Ceres that Pluto was not unworthy of 
her daughter, then informed her that 
Proserpine might return on earth, if she 
had not taken any aliments in the infer- 
nal regions. Unfortunately she had 
eaten a pomegranate, and Ascalaphus 
was the only one who saw it, [Vid. As- 
calaphus] and for his discovery the god- 
dess instantly turned him into an owl. 
Jupiter, however, to sooth the grief of 
Ceres, permitted that Proserpine should 
remain six months with Pluto, and the 
rest of the year on earth. As queen 
of hell, and wife of Pluto, Proserpine 
presided over the death of mankind, 
and no one could die, if herself, or 
Atrops, [ Vid. Parcae] did not cut off one 
of the hairs from the head. Proserpine 
was universally worshipped by the an- 
cients, and was known by the different 
names of Libitina, Hecate, Juno infer- 
na, &c. Ovid. Virg. Hesiod. Apollod. 

Prosymna, a part of Argolis, 
where Juno was worshipped. It re- 
ceived its name from a nymph of the 
same name, daughter of Asterion, who 
nursed Juno. Pans. 

Protagoras, a Greek philo- 
sopher of Abdera, in Thrace, originally 
a porter. He became one of the disci- 
ples of Democritus. He soon rendered 
himself ridiculous by his doctrines, and 
in a book which he published, he de- 
nied the existence of a supreme being. 
This book was publicly burnt at Athens, 
and the philosopher banished from the 
city. Protagoras visited, from Athens, 
different islands in the Mediterranean, 
and died in Sicily, in a very advanced 
age, about 400 years B. C. Diog. Plut. 
— A king of Cyprus, tributary to the 
court of Persia. 

Protei columns, aplace in 

the remotest parts of Egypt. Virg. 
Protesilaus, a king of part 

of Thessaly, son of Iphiclus, married 
Laodamia, the daughter of Acastus, 
and some time after departed for the 
Trojan war with 40 sail. He was the 
first of the Greeks who set foot on the 
Trojan shore, and as such he was 
doomed by the oracle to perish as soon 
as he had leaped from his ship. Ho- 
mer has not mentioned the person who 
killed him. His wife Laodamia de- 
stroyed herself when she heard of his 
death. [Vid. Laodamia.] He was bu- 



PRO 



PRY 



ried on the Trojan shore, and near his 
tomb were trees, which grew up to a 
great height, but which as" soon as they 
could be seen from Troy, withered 
away ; and afterwards grew up to the 
same height; and this perpetually. 
Homer. Ovid. Propert. 

Proteus, a sea deity, son of 

Oceanus and Tethys, or, according to 
some, of Neptune and Phcenice. He 
received the gift of prophecy from Nep- 
tune. He generally resided" in the Car- 
pathian sea, and reposed himself on the 
shore. He was difficult of access, and, 
when consulted, he refused to give an- 
swers, by immediately assuming differ- 
ent shapes, and eluding the grasp. Aris- 
teeus was in the number of those who 
consulted him, as-also Hercules. Some 
suppose that he was originally a king of 
Egypt, known among his subjects by 
the name of Cetes. Horn. Ovid. Hesiod. 
Virg. &c. 

Prothous, a son of Teuthre- 

don, who went to the Trojan war with 
40 ships, at the head of the inhabitants 
of that part of Thessaly which borders 
on the Peneus and near Pelion. Horn. 

Pro to, one of the daughters 
of Ncreus. 

Pro to genes, a painter of 
Rhodes, about 328 years B. C. originally 
very poor. His countrymen were ignor- 
ant of his ingenuity before Apelles 
tame to Rhodes, and offered to buy his 
pieces. Protogenes was employed for 
seven years in finishing a picture of Ja- 
lysus, a celebrated huntsman. He was 
to represent in the piece a dog panting, 
and with froth at his mouth, but this 
he never could do with satisfaction to 
himself ; and, when all his labors seem- 
ed to be without success, he threw his 
sponge in anger upon the piece. Chance 
alone perfected what labor could not : 
the fall of the sponge upon the picture 
represented the froth at the mouth of 
the dog in the most natural manner, 
and the piece was universally admired. 
When Demetrius took Rhodes, the 
painter was found closely employed in 
finishing a picture ; and when the con- 
queror asked him why he shewed not 
more concern at the general calamity, 
he replied, " Demetrius made war 
against the Rhodians, and not against 
the fine arts." Paus. Plin. Juv.— One 
of Caligula's favorites, famous for his 
cruelty and extravagance. 

Pro to gen I A, a daughter of 

Deucalion and Pyrrha. She was be- 
loved by Jupiter by whom she had 
^Ethlius, the father of Endymion. 
Apollod. Pans. 

Protomedusa, one of the 

Nereides. 

Proxenus, a Boeotian of 

great authority, at Thebes, in the age of 



Xenophon. Polycun. — An author, who 
wrote of the affairs of Athens. 

Prudentius, Aurelius Cle- 
mens, a poet who flourished A. D. 392, 
and was successively a soldier, an advo- 
cate, and a judge. His poems are nu- 
merous, and all theological, devoid of 
elegance and purity, yet greatly valued 
for the zeal which he manifests in the 
cause of Christianity, and for the learn- 
ing and good sense which he every 
where displays. He lived to a great 
age, and his piety was rewarded with 
the highest offices in the church. 

Prusa, a town of Bithynia, 
built by king Prusias, from whom it re- 
ceived its name. 

Prusias, a king of Bithynia, 
who flourished 221 B. C. — Another, 
surnamed Venator, who gave a kind re- 
ception to Annibal, and, by his advice, 
made war against Eumenes, king of 
Pergamus, and defeated him. Eume- 
nes complained before the Romans of 
the hostilities of Prusias, upon which 
Q. Flaminius was sent from Rome to 
settle the disputes of the two monarchs. 
Prusias, upon the arrival of Flaminius, 
in order to gain his favor, prepared to 
deliver to him Annibal, who prevented 
his treachery by a voluntary death, 
Prusias was obliged to make a restitu- 
tion of the provinces he had conquered, 
and when some time after he visited 
the capital of Italy, he appeared in the 
habit of a manumitted slave, calling 
himself the freedman of the Romans. 
Such abject behaviour rendered him 
contemptible in the eyes of his sub- 
jects, and when he returned home, they 
revolted, and placed his sou Nicomedes 
on the throne. He fled to Nicomedia, 
where he was assassinated near the 
altar of Jupiter, about 149 years B. C. 
Some say that his son became his mur- 
derer. Prusias, according to Polybius, 
was the meanest of monarchs, without 
honesty, without morals, virtue, or 
principle; he was cruel and cowardly, 
intemperate and voluptuous, and an 
enemy to all learning. Polyb. Liv. 

Prymno, one of the Oceani- 
des. 

Pry taxes, certain magistrates 
at Athens, who presided over the se- 
nate. They generally met in a large 
hall, called Prytaneum j where they per 
formed their different functions. The 
Prytanes were elected from the sena- 
tors, and presided each for thirty -five 
days, as the year was divided into ten 
parts ; but when the number of tribes 
was increased to twelve, each of the 
Prytanes presided one full month. — 
Some of the principal magistrates of 
Corinth were also called Prytanes. 

Prytanis, a king of Sparta, 
of the family of the Proclidse. Pans — 



PTO 



PTO 



One of the friends of Mueas, killed by 
Turnus. Virg. 

Psamathe, one of the Nere- 
ides, mother of Phocus by JEacus, king 
of iEgina, Ovid. — A daughter of Croto- 
pus, king of Argos. She became mo- 
ther of Linus, by Apollo, and to con- 
ceal her shame from her father, she ex- 
posed her child, which was found by 
dozs, and torn to pieces. Pans. 

PsAMMENiTUS, succeeded his 
father Amasis on the throne of Egypt. 
Cambyses made war against him, and 
defeated him at Pelusium and at M em- 
phis. He was taken prisoner by Cam- 
byses, who treated him with great hu- 
manity ; Psammenitus, however, raised 
seditions against the Persian monarch, 
by whose order he was put to death. He 
reigned about six months, and flourish- 
ed about 525 years before the Christian 
era. Herodot. 

Psammetichus, a king 
ef Egypt. He was one of the 12 princes 
who shared the kingdom among them- 
selves; he was afterwards banished 
from his dominions, but, by the assist- 
ance of some Greeks, he defeated the 
elven princes who had expelled him the 
country. He rewarded the Greeks, by 
whose valor he had recovered Egypt, 
bv allotting them some territory on the 
sea coasts. He confined two children, 
and fed them with milk. The shep- 
herd, to whom they were entrusted, 
was commanded never to speak in their 
presence, but to observe their articula- 
tions. After some time the shepherd 
remarked, that whenever he entered 
their place of confinement, they ex- 
claimed Beccos. The king understand- 
ing, that this word signified bread in 
the Phenician language, concluded, 
that the Phenician tongue was the 
oldest hi the world. He patronized the 
liberal arts, and encouraged commerce 
among his subjects. After having made 
useless inouiries to find the source of 
the Nile, he died 617 years B. C. and 
was buried in Minerva's temple at Sais. 
Herodot. Strab.—A son of Gordius, 
brother to Periander, who held the ty- 
ranny at Corinth for three years, B. C. 
584. Aristot. 

Psyche. us, a river of Thrace. 

When sheep drank of its waters they 
were said always to bring forth black 
lambs. Aristot. 

Psylli, a people of Libya 

near the Syrtes, very expert in curing 
the venomous bite of serpents. Hero- 
dot Fans. 

Pteria, a well fortified town 

of Cappadocia. It was in its neighbour- 
hood, according to some, that Croesus 
was defeated by Cyrus. Herodot. 

Ptolemy us. This name was 
common to thirteen kings of Egypt,, to 
enter into a minute detail of whose hi- 



story would exceed the bounds allotted 
to this classical repository. They suc- 
ceeded in the following order. Ptolemy 
the 1st, surnamed Lagus, was son of 
Arsinoe, who, when pregnant by Philip 
of Macedonia, married Lagus, a" man of 
mean extraction. [Fid. Lagus.] Being 
educated in the court of Macedonia, he 
became one of the friends of Alexan- 
der, and attended him as one of his ge- 
nerals. During the Asiatic expedition, 
he behaved with uncommon valor. 
After the conqueror's death, Ptolemy 
obtained the government of Egypt, 
with Libya, and part of the neighbour- 
ing territories of Arabia. In this ap- 
pointment he gained the esteem of the 
people by his benevolence and cle- 
mency. Though much engaged in mi- 
litary "operations, he, however, was not 
forgetful of literature. In order that his 
subjects might be acquainted with lite- 
rature, he laid the foundation of a li- 
brary, which, under the succeeding 
reigns, became the most celebrated in 
the world. Ptolemy died in the S4ih 
year of his age, after a reign of thirty- 
nine years, about 284 years before 
Christ. He was called So'ter, from his 
giving assistance to the Rhodians 
against Demetrius and Antigonus, and 
all his successors were called' Ptolemies 
from him. Justin. Poh;b. Curt. &e. 
—The 2d, son of Ptolemy the first* 
succeeded his father on the Egyptian 
throne, and was called Philadelphus, 
by antiphrasis, because he killed two of 
his brothers. He shewed himself wor- 
thy in every respect to succeed his great 
father, and died in the 64th year of his 
age, 246 years before the Christian era. 
He left two sons and a daughter, by 
Arsinoe, the daughter of Lysimachus. 
During the whole of his reign, Phila- 
delphus was employed in exciting in- 
dustry, and in encouraging the liberal 
arts, and useful knowledge among his 
subjects. His palace was the asylum of 
learned men, whomheadniired'and pa- 
tronized. It is said that the Old Testa- 
ment, was translated into Greek dur- 
ing his reign, a translation which has 
been called Septuagint, because trans- 
lated bv the labors of seventy different 
persons. Just. Liv. Plut.— The 3d, 
succeeded Ins father Philadelphus on 
the Egyptian throne. The Egyptians 
called him Evergetes, for his "benefi- 
cence and religious zeal in rescuing 
above 2500 statues of Egyptian gods 
carried off into Persia by" Cambyses, 
when he conquered Egypt. Evergetes 
died 221 years before "Christ, after a 
reign of twenty-five years, and, like his 
two illustrious" predecessors, he was a 
liberal patron of learning. It is said 
that he deposited fifteen talents in the 
hands of the Athenians to be permitted 
to translate the original manuscripts cf 
iEschvlus, Euripides, and Sophocles. 
Plut. Pobjb. Just.— The 4th, succeeded 
his father Evergetes on the throne of 



PTO 



PTO 



Egypt, and received the surname of 
Philopater, by antiphrasis, because, ac- 
cording to some historians, he destroy- 
ed his father by poison. He began his 
reign with acts of the greatest cruelty, 
and sacrificed to his avarice his own 
mother, his wife, his sister, and his bro- 
ther. He received the name of Tiphon, 
from his extravagance and debauchery, 
and that of Gallus, because he appear- 
ed in the streets of Alexandria like one 
of the bacchanals, and with all the ges- 
tures of the priests of Cybele. He was 
remarkably hostile to the Jewish na- 
tion, whom he attempted to extirpate. 
At length being weakened and enervat- 
ed by intemperance and continual de- 
bauchery, Philopater died in the 37th 
year of his age, after a reign of 17 years, 
204 years before the Christian era. 
Polyb. Justin. &c. — The 5th, succeeded 
his father Philopater as king of Egypt, 
though only in the 4th year of his age. 
During the years of his minority he was 
under the protection of Sosicius and of 
Aristomenes. When Ptolemy reached 
his fourteenth year, according to the 
laws and customs of Egypt, the years of 
his minoiity expired, and he ascended 
the throne. He received the surname 
of Epiphanes, or Illustrious, and was 
crowned at Alexandria with the greatest 
solemnity. He soon, however, betrayed 
the same vices which had characterized 
his father, and his cruelties raised sedi- 
tions among his subjects. After a reign 
of twenty-four years, 180 years before 
Christ, Ptolemy was poisoned by his 
ministers, whom he had threatened to 
rob of their possessions to carry on a 
war against Seleucus king of Syria. 
Liv. Justin.— The 6th, succeeded" his 
father Epiphanes on the Egyptian 
throne, and received the surname of 
Philometor, by antiphrasis, on account 
of his hatred against his mother Cleo- 
patra. He was in the 6th year of his 
age when he ascended the throne, and 
during his minority the kingdom was 
governed by his mother, and at her 
death by an eunuch, one of his favor- 
ites. He made war against Antiochus 
Epiphanes, and after several successes, 
he fell into the hands of his enemy. 
During the captivity of Philometor, 
the Egyptians raised to the throne his 
younger brother Ptolemy Physcon, also 
son of Epiphanes, but Antiochus turn- 
ed his arms against the usurper, and re- 
stored Philometor. This artful beha- 
viour of Antiochus was soon compre- 
hended by Philometor ; he recalled his 
brother Physcon, and made him part- 
ner on the throne, and concerted with 
him how to repel their common enemy. 
Philometor died 145 years before the 
Christian era, leaving Physcon master 
of Egypt, and all the dependent pro- 
vinces. Philometor has been com- 
mended by some historians for his cle- 
mency and moderation. Diod. Liv. 
Polyb. — The 7th Ptolemy, surnamed 



Physcon, on account of the prominence 
of his belly, ascended the throne of 
Egypt after the death of his brother 
Philometor, and as he had reigned for 
some time conjointly with him, \Vid, 
Ptolemaeus 6th] his succession was ap- 
proved, though the wife and the son of 
the deceased monarch laid claims to 
the crown. Howevery it was at last 
agreed, that Physcon should marry the 
queen, and that her son should succeed 
on the throne at his death. The nup- 
tials were accordingly celebrated, but 
on that very day the tyrant murdered 
Cleopatra's son in her arms. He order- 
ed himself to be called Evergetes, but 
the Alexandrians refused to do it, and 
stigmatised him with the appellation of 
Kakergetes, or evil doer. A series of 
barbarity rendered him odious to his 
subjects, and having at length become 
without friends or support in Egypt, 
he fled to Cyprus, and Cleopatra," his 
divorced queen, ascended the throne. 
In his banishment Physcon levied an 
army, and soon after this he invaded 
Egypt, and obtained a victory over the 
forces of Cleopatra. This decisive blow 
restored Physcon to his throne, where 
he continued to reign for some time, 
hated by his subjects and feared by his 
enemies. He died at Alexandria in the 
67th year of his age, after a reign of 
twenty-nine years, about 116 years be- 
fore Christ. 'Diod. Justin. &c, — The 
8th, surnamed Lathyrus, from an ex- 
crescence like a pea on the nose, suc- 
ceeded his father Physcon as king of 
Egypt. He had no sooner ascended the 
throne, than his mother Cleopatra, 
who reigned conjointly with him, ex- 
pelled him to Cyprus, and placed the 
crown on the head of his brother Pto- 
lemy Alexander, her favorite son. La- 
thyrus, banished from Egypt, became 
king of Cyprus, where he continued to 
reign till the death of his brother Alex- 
ander restored him to his possessions. 
Lathyrus died eighty -one years before 
the Christian era, after a reign of thir- 
ty-five years since the death of his fa- 
ther Physcon, eleven of which he had 
passed with his mothc* Cleopatra on 
the Egyptian throne, eighteen in Cy- 
prus, and seven after his mother's 
death. He was succeeded by his only 
daughter, Cleopatra, whom Alexander, 
the son of Ptolemy Alexander, by 
means of the dictator Sylla, soon after 
married and murdered. Joseph. Jugtin. 
Phit.— The 9th, {Vid. Alexander Pto- 
lemy 1st] : for the 10th Ptolemy, \Vid. 
Alexander Ptolemy 2d]: for the illh, 
\Vid. Alexander Ptolemy 3d.] — The 
12th, the illegitimate son of Lathyrus, 
ascended the throne of Egypt at the 
death of Alexander 3d. He received the 
surname of Auletes, because he played 
skilfully on the flute. He was establish- 
ed III the succession by Caesar the con- 
sul, who granted him the alliance of 
the Romans, after he had received the 



PTO 



PUB 



enormous sum of about 1,1G2,500>. ster- 
ling. Auletes, however, was obliged 
some time after to fly from his king- 
dom, and seek protection among the 
most powerful of his allies, and during 
his absence from Alexandria, his 
daughter Berenice made herself abso- 
lute, and established herself on the 
throne ; but she v.- as soon driven from 
Egypt, when Gabinius, at the head of a 
Roman army, approached to replace 
Auletes on his throne. He was no 
sooner restored, than he sacrificed to 
his ambition his daughter Berenice. 
Auletes died four years after his resto- 
ration, about fifty-one years before the 
Christian era. Cic. Strab. Dion.— The 
13*:h, surnamed Dionysius or Bacchus, 
ascended the throne of Egypt con- 
jointly with his sister Cleopatra, whom 
he had married, according to the direc- 
tions of his father Auletes. He was 
under the care and protection of Pcm- 
pey the Great, but the wickedness and 
avarice of his ministers soon obliged 
him to drive away his sister from the 
throne, and to reign independent. He 
was in the thirteenth year of his age 
when his guardian, after the fatal bat- 
tle of Pharsalia, came to the shores of 
Egypt, and claimed his protection. He 
refused to grant the required assist- 
ance, and basely murdered Pompey, 
after he had brought him to shore un- 
der the mask of friendship. Caesar, on 
his arrival at Alexandria, fcund the 
king of Egvpt as faithless to his cause j 
as to that of his fallen enemy. Csesar 
sat as judge to hear the claims of the 
brother and sister to the throne : he or- 
dered the will of Auletes to be read, 
and confirmed Ptolemy and Cleopatra 
in the possession of Egypt. This deci- 
sion did not please "Ptolemy, who 
thereupon refused to acknowledge Ca?- 
sar a mediator. The Roman enforced 
h:s authority by arms, and three vic- 
tories were obtained over the Egyptian 
forces. Ptolemy, who had been for 
some time a prisoner in the hands of 
Caesar, now headed his armies, but a 
defeat was fatal, and as lie attempted to 
save his life by flight, he was drowned 
in the Nile, about forty-six years be- 
fore Christ, and three years and eight 
months after the death of Auletes. 
Ueepatra, at the death of her brother, 
became sole mistress of Egypt, but, as 
the Egyptians were no friends to fe- 
male government, Caesar obliged her 
to marry her younger brother Pto- 
lemy, who was" then in the eleventh 
vear of his age. Caesar. Strab. Dio. 
Pha. &c.— Ancient writers have re- 
corded ma^y others of this name, of 
whom ihe following are the most re- 
markable: — Ceraunus, a sen of Ptole- 
my Soter, bv Eurydice, : : ..e daughter 
of Antipater/ Unable to succeed to the 
throne of Egypt, Ceraunus fled to the 
c uit of Seleucus, w hom Ceraunus per- 
6 'iouslv murdered, and ascended his 
throne/ 28C B. C. The murderer was 



afterwards defeated in a battle against 
the Gauls, by whom he was taken pri- 
soner, and immediately put to death. 
Ptolemy had been king of Macedonia 
only eighteen months. Justin. Pans. 
— .in illegitimate son of Ptolemy Lz.- 
thyrus, king of Cyprus, of which he 
was tyrannically dispossessed by the 
Roreahs. The monarch poisoned" him - 
self rather than accept the terms pro- 
posed by the Romans, and the trea- 
sures found in the island amounted to 
the sum of 1,356.250'. sterling, which 
were carried to Rome by the conquer- 
ors. Plut. — A celebrated geographer 
and astrologer in the reiga of Adrian 
and Antoninus. He was a native ot 
Alexandria, or Pelusium, and, on ac- 
count of his great learning, he received 
the name of most wise, and most di- 
vine, among the Greeks. In his sy- 
stem of the world, he places the earth 
in the centre of the universe, a doc- 
trine universally beheved and adopted 
till the sixteenth century, when it w r as 
confuted and rejected by Copernicus. 
His geography is valued for its learn- 
ing, and the very useful information 
which it gives. Besides his system and 
geography, Ptolemy wrote other books, 
in one of which he gives an account of 
the fixed stars, of 1022 of which he 
gives the certain and definite longitude 
and latitude. 

Ptolemais, a town of The- 
bais, in Egypt, called after the Ptole- 
mies, who beautified it. There was also 
another city of the same name in the 
territories of Cyrene. It was situated 
on the sea coast, and, according to 
some, it was the same as Baree. [ Vid. 
Barce.] A city of Palestine. Mela. 
PI In. Strab. 

Ptolycus, a sculptor of Cor- 

cyra. 

Ptous, a son of Athamas and 

Themisto, who gave his name to a 
mountain in Bceotia 5< upon which he 
built a temple to Apo lo, surnamed 
Ptous. The god had also a celebrated 
oracle on mount Ptous. Paus.^ 

P ub li ci us, a freedman of 
Rome whose features and figure so 
much resembled Pompey, that they 
were often taken for each other. 

Publicola. [Vid. Valerius.] 

Publius Sybus, a Syrian 
mimic poet, who flourished about 
forty-four vears B.C. He was origin- 
ally a slave sold to Domitius, y»ho 
brought him up with great attention, 
and gave him his freedom. He pined 
the esteem of the most powerful ar 
Rome, and reckoned J. Cresar a.^ong 
his patrons. There remams or Pub- 
lius, a collection of moral sentences, 
written in iambics.— Publius was a prra- 
nomen verv common among the Ro- 
man c . A praetor who conquered Palis- 



PUN 



PUN 



polis. He was only a plebeian, and 
though neither consul nor dictator, he 
obtained a triumph in spite of the op- 
position of the senators. He was the 
first who was honored with a triumph 
during a praetorship. 

Pudicitia, a goddess v/ho, as 
her name implies, presided over chas- 
tity. She hpd two temples at Rome, 
the one erected by JEmilius for the pa- 
tricians ; and the other, for the ple- 
beians, was raised by Virginia, the wife 
of Yolumnius, and none but women, 
arid such as had espoused only one hus- 
band, were permitted to approach her 
threshold. 

PulckERIA. The most re- 
markable of this name are — A sister of 
Theodosius the Great, eminent for her 
many great virtues:— A daughter of 
Arcadius, who held the government 
of the Roman empire for many years. 
She was mother of Valentinian. Her 
piety, and her private as well as public 
virtues, have been universally admired. 
She died A. D. 452, and was interred at 
Ravenna, where her tomb is still to be 
seen. 

Punicum belli: m. The first 
Punic war was undertaken by the Ro- 
mans against Carthage, B. C..*264, and 
the ambition of Rome gave origin to 
it. For upwards of 240 years, the two 
nations had beheld with secret jsalously 
each other's power, when Sicily, an 
island of the highest consequence to the 
Carthaginians, as a commercial nation, 
became the seat of the first dissensions. 
From a private quarrel the war became 
general. The Remans obtained a victory 
in Sicily, but, as their enemies were 
masters at sea, the advantages they 
gained were inconsiderable. To make 
themselves equal to their adversaries, 
they aspired to the dominion of the sea, 
and in 60 days timber was cut down, 
and a fleet of 120 gallies completely 
manned and provisioned. The successes 
they met with by sea were trivial. Dui- 
tius at last obtained a victory, and was 
the first Roman who ever received a 
triumph after a naval battle. The Car- 
thaginians sued for peace, and the Ro- 
mans, whom an unsuccessful descent 
upon Africa, under Regulus, \_Vid. Re- 
gulus] had rendered diffident, listened 
to the proposal, and the first Punic war 
was concluded B. C. 241. The Cartha- 
ginians pledged themselves to pay to 
the Romans, within 20 years, the sum 
of S000 Euboic talents; they promised 
to release all the Roman captives with- 
out ransom, to evacuate Sicily and the 
other islands in the Mediterranean, and 
not to molest Hiero, king of SyraciSe, 
or his rilies. After this, the Carthagi- 
nians, who had lost, by the treaty of 
peace, the dominion of Sardinia and 
Sicily, made new conqu2sts in Spain, 
and soon began to repair their lo^e* by 



industry and labor. The Romans, not 
insensible of their successes in Spain, 
stipulated with them not to cross the 
iberus, or molest the cities of the Sa- 
guntines. This was for some time ob- 
served, but when Annibal succeeded to 
the command of the Carthaginian ar- 
mies in Spain, he took Saguntum, 
whereupon complaints were carried by 
the Romans to Carthage, and war was 
determined upon, by the influence of 
Annibal in the Carthaginian senate. 
Without delay, B. C. 218, Annibal 
marched an army of 90,000 foot, and 
12,000 horse, towards Italy. For the 
farther operations of this war, which 
was terminated 201 B. C. Vid. Anni- 
bal and Seipio. During the 50 years 
which followed the conclusion of the 
second Punic war, the Carthaginians 
were employed in repairing their losses 
by unwearied application ; but they 
found still in the Romans a jealous ri- 
val, and in Masinissa, the ally of 
Rome, an intriguing monarch. The 
king of Xuraidia made himself master 
of one of their provinces ; but as they 
were unable to make war without the 
consent of Rome, the Carthaginians 
sought relief by embassies, and made 
continual complaints in the Roman se- 
nate of the tyranny of Masinissa. Com- 
missioners were appointed to examine 
the cause of their complaints ; but the 
interest of the Carthaginians was neg- 
lected. Upon this the Carthaginians 
entered the field against the Numidi- 
ans, and were defeated in a bloody bat- 
tle by Masinissa, then 90 years old. By 
this bold measure they had broken the 
peace, and when the news of Masinis- 
sa's victory reached Italy, forces were 
sent to Sicily 3 and from thence ordered 
to pass into Africa. The Romans acted 
with the deepest policy, no declaration 
of war had been made, though hostili- 
ties appeared inevitable ; and, on their 
arrival, they demanded of the Cartha- 
ginians that they should deliver into 
their hands 300 hostages, all children of 
senators, and of the most noble and re- 
spectable families, all their ships, their 
arms, engines of war, with all their na- 
val and military stores. To this rigid 
requisition the' Carthaginians submis- 
sively agreed. But when they were 
told, that, to avoid hostilities, they 
must leave their ancient habitations, 
and retire into the inland parts of 
Africa, and found another city, at the 
distance of not less than ten miles from 
the sea, they determined to sacrifice 
their lives for the protection of the 
place which had given them birth. A 
regular siege then began, and two 
years were spent in useless operations, 
when Scipio, the descendant of the 
great Scipio, who finished the second 
Punic war, was sent to conduct the 
siege. The vigor of his operations soon 
baffled the efforts of the besieged. De- 
spair and famine now raged in the city 
R2 



PUT 



PYL 



and having at length carried the fortifi- 
cations, he set fire to the houses. Dur- 
ing 17 days, Carthage was in flames. 
But while others profited from the de- 
struction of Carthage, Scipio repeated 
two lines from Homer, containing a 
prophecy concerning the siege of Troy. 
Polybius, the historian, enquired to 
what he applied the prophecy, " To 
my country," answered Scipio, " for 
her I dread too the vicissitude of hu- 
man affairs, and in her turn she may 
exhibit another burning Carthage. 
This remarkable event happened about 
the year of Rome 606, and the news of 
this victory caused the greatest rejoic- 
ings at Rome. Commissioners were 
appointed by the Roman senate, not 
only to raze the walls of Carthage, but 
even to demolish and burn the very 
materials with which they were made ; 
and in a few days, that city, which had 
been once the seat of commerce, and 
one of the most powerful states of the 
world, left behind no traces of its 
splendor, its power, or even of its ex- 
istence. Polyb. Ftor. Pint. Strab. Liv. 
&c. 

Pupienus, Marcus Claudius 

Maximus, a man of an obscure family, 
who raised himself by his merit to the 
highest offices in the Roman armies. 
His father was a blacksmith. After the 
death of the Gordians, Pupienus was 
elected with Balbinus to the impe- 
rial throne, and immediately marched 
against the Maximini ; but being in- 
formed that they had been sacrificed to 
the fury of their own soldiers, he re- 
tired to Rome. He soon after prepared 
to make war against the Persians, who 
insulted the majesty of Rome, but was 
prevented, and was massacred, A. D. 
236, by the pra?torian guards. Balbi- 
nus shared his fate. He was esteemed 
the constant friend of justice, modera- 
tion, and clemency, and no greater en- 
comium can be passed upon his virtues, 
than to say that he was invested with 
the purple without soliciting it, and 
that the Roman senate said they had 
selected him from thousands, because 
they knew no person more worthy or 
better qualified to support the dignity 
©f an emperor. 

Pupfius, a tragic poet in the 

age of J. Caesar. His tragedies were so 
pathetic, that, when represented on the 
Roman stage, the audience melted into 
tears. Hence Horace calls them lawy- 
mosa. 

Put A, a divinity at Rome who 

presided over the pruning of trees. 

Puteoli, a maritime town of 
Campania, between Baiae and Naples, 
founded by a colony from Cumse, and 
so called from the great number of 
wells in its neighbourhood. It was 



much frequented by the Romans, on 
account of its hot bath s . Strab. &c 

Ptanepsia, an Athenian fe- 
stival , celebrated in honor of Theseus 
and his companions after their return 
from Crete. Some suppose that it was 
observed in commemoration of the He- 
raclidse. 

Pydna, a town of Macedonia, 

where Cassander massacred Olympian 
the mother of Alexander the Great, his 
wife Roxana, and his son Alexander. 
Pydna is famous for a battle fought 
there, B. C. 168, between the Romans 
under Paulus and king Philip, in which 
the latter was conquered. Justin. Plut. 
&c. 

Pygmjei, a nation of dwarfs, 
in the extremest parts of India, or in 
.Ethiopia. Some authors affirm, that 
they were no more than one foot high. 
Aristotle says that they lived under the 
earth, and 'that they came out in the 
harvest time with hatchets to cut down 
the corn as if to fell a forest. They 
made war against certain birds, called 
cranes, which came yearly from Scy- 
thia to plunder them. They were ori - 
ginally governed by a princess, who was 
changed into a crane, for boasting her- 
self fairer than Juno. Philostratus men- 
tions that Hercules once fell asleep in 
the deserts of Africa, after he had con- 
quered Antaeus, and that he was sud- 
denly awakened by an attack which 
had been made upon him, by an army 
of these Lilliputians, who discharged 
their arrows with great fury upon his 
arms and legs. The hero, pleased with 
their courage, wrapped the greatest 
number of them in the skin of the Ke- 
rn sean lion, and carried them to Eury- 
stheus. Homer. Ovid. 

Pygmalion, a king of Tyre, 

son of Belus, and brother to the cele- 
brated Dido, who founded Carthage. 
He became odious by his cruelty and 
avarice. He murdered Sichceus, Dido's 
husband, because he was the most pow- 
erful and opulent of the Phoenicians ; 
but, instead of obtaining the riches 
which he desired, Pygmalion was shun- 
ned by his subjects," and Dido, to avoid 
his cruelty, fled with her husband's 
treasure, and a large colony, to Africa, 
where she founded a city.* [FM. Car- 
thage.] Pygmalion died in the 56th 
year of his age, and in the 47th of hjs 
reign. Virg. Justin. — A celebrated sta- 
tuary of the island of Cyprus, who, ac- 
cording to the mythologists. became 
enamoured of a beautiful statue of 
marble which he had made, and at his 
request the goddess of beauty changed 
the statue into a woman, "whom he 
married. Ovid. 

Pylades. The mtfst cele- 
brated of this name is a son of Stro- 
phius, king of Phoeis, by one of the 
sisters of Agamemnon. He was edu- 



PYL 



PYR 



cated, together with his cousin Orestes, 
with whom he formed the most invio- 
lable friendship, and whom he assisted 
to revenge the murder of Agamemnon, 
by assassinating Clytemnesrra and M- 
gysthus. He also accompanied him 
into Taurica Chersonesus, and for his 
services Orestes rewarded him, by giv- 
ing him his sister Electra in marriage. 
The friendship of Orestes and Pylades 
became proverbial. [Vid. Orestes and 
Electra.] Eurip. Mschyl. 

PyLxE, a town of Asia, between 
Cappadocia and Cilicia. Cic. — The 
word Pylae, which signifies gates, was 
often applied by the Greeks to any 
straits or passages which opened a com- 
munication between one country and 
another, such as the straits of Thermo- 
pylae, of Persia, Hyrcania, &c. 

Pyl^emenes, a king of Mse- 

onia, who sent his sons, Mestes, and 
Antiphus to the siege of Troy. — A Pa- 
phlagonian, who came to the Trojan 
war, and was killed by Menelaus. His 
son, called Harpalion, was killed by 
Meriones. Homer. 

Pylagor^e, a name given to 

the Amphictyonic council, because 
they always assembled at Pylae, near 
the temple'of Delphi. 

Pylaox, son of Neleus and 
Chloris, whom Hercules slew with his 
brothers. 

Pylas, a king of Megara. He 

had the misfortune accidentally to kill 
his uncle Bias, for which he fled, leav- 
ing his kingdom to Pandion, his son-in- 
iaw, who had been driven from Athens. 
Apollod. &c. 

Pylene, a town of iEtolia. 

Pylleon, a town in Thes- 
saly. 

Pylo, daughter of Thespius. 

Pylos, a town of Messenia, 
situate on the western coast of the Pe- 
loponnesus, opposite the island Sphac- 
teria in the Ionian sea. 1 1 was built by 
Pylus, at the head of a colony from 
Megara. — A town of Elis, at the mouth 
of the river Alpheus, between the Pe- 
neus and the Selleis. — Another town of 
Elis. These three cities disputed their 
respective right to the honor of having 
(riven birth to the celebrated Nestor, 
son of Neleus. The Pylos, situated 
near the Alpheus seems to win the 
palm, as it had in its neighbourhood a ■ 
-small village, called Geranus, and a 
river called Geron, of which Homer 
makes mention. Pindar, however, 
calls Nestor king of Messenia, and 
therefore gives the preference to the 
town opposite the island Sphacleria.Ko- 
mer. Strab. &c. 

Pyra, a part of mount (Eta, 

- I 



on which the body of Hercules was 
burnt. Liv. 

Ptracmon, one of Yulean's 

workmen in the forges of mount ^Etna. 
Virg. 

Pframus, a youth of Baby- 
lon, who became enamoured of Thisbe, 
a beautiful virgin, who dwelt in the 
neighbourhood. The flame was mu- 
tual, and the lovers, whom their pa- 
rents forbade to marry, regularly inter- 
changed sentiments through the chink 
of a wall, which separated their houses. 
They both agreed to elude the vigilance 
of their friends, and to meet at the 
tomb of Ninus, under a white mul- 
berry tree, without the walls of Baby- 
lon. Thisbe came first to the appoint- 
ed place, but the sudden arrival of a 
lioness frightened her away ; and as she 
fled she dropped her veil, which the 
lioness found and covered with blood. 
Pyramus soon arrived ; he found This- 
be's veil bloody, and concluding that 
she had been torn to pieces by wild 
beasts, he stabbed himself. Thisbe, 
when her fears vanished, returned from 
the cave, and at she sight of the dying 
Pyramus, she fell upon the sword, 
still reeking with his blood. The tree, 
as the poets mention, was stained with 
the blood of the lovers, and ever after 
bore fruit of the color of blood. Ovid. 
Hygin. 

PYREtfiEi, a ridge of high 
mountains, which separate Gaul from 
Spain, and extend from the Atlantic to 
the Mediterranean sea. They received 
their name from Pyrene, the daughter 
of Bebrycius; or from the conflagra- 
tion, which is said to have occurred 
there, and melted all the silver mines, 
which ran down in large rivulets. Strab. 
Mela. &c. 

Pyren^eus, a king of Thrace, 

who, during a shower of rain, gave 
shelter in his house to the nine Muses, 
and attempted to offer them violence. 
The goddesses upon this took to their 
wings and flew away. Pyrenaeus, who 
attempted to follow them, as if he had 
wings, threw himself down from the 
top of a tower and was killed. 

Pyrene. The most remark- 
able of this name is a daughter of Be- 
brycius, king of the southern parts of 
Spain. Hercules offered violence to her 
before he went to attack Geryon, and 
she brought into the world a serpent, 
which so terrified her, that she fled into 
the woods, where she was torn to riieee^ 
by wild beasts. — The mother of Cycnus 
by Mars.— A small village in Celtic 
Gaul, near which, according to some, 
the river Ister took its rise. 

Pyrgion, a Greek historian, 
who wrote upon the laws of Crete. 

Pyrg'o, the nurse cf Priam's 



PYR 

children, who followed .Eneas in his 
tlight from Troy. Virg. 

Pyrgo teles, a celebrated en- 
graver on gems, in the age of Alexan- 
der the Great. He had the exclusive 
privilege of engraving the conqueror, 
as Lvsippus was the only sculptor who 
was permitted to make statues of him. 
Plin. 

Pyrqis, one of the horses of 
the sun. Ovid. • 
Pyrrha. The most celebrated 

of this name is a daughter of Ephime- 
theus and Pandora, who married Deu- 
calion, the son of Prometheus, who 
reigned in Thessaly. AVhen all man- 
kind were destroyed by a deluge, she 
alone, with her husband, escaped in a 
boat which Deucalion had made. When 
the waters had subsided, Pyrrha with 
her husband, went to the oracle of 
Themis, where they were directed to 
repair the loss of mankind, by throw- 
ing stones behind their backs. They 
obeyed, and the stones which Pyrrha 
threw were changed into women, and 
those of Deucalion into men. [T?>?. 
Deucalion.] Ovid. Hi/gir:. &c. — A beau- 
tiful courtezan at Rome, of whom Ho- 
race was long an admirer. 

Pyrrhic ha, a kind of dance, 

said to be invented and introduced into 
Greece by Pyrrhus the son of Achilles, 
or by the'Corybantes, or Dactyii. The 
cancers were generally armed, and they 
exhibited at the sound of the flute, ail 
the evolutions of military discipline. 
Xenoph. Cyr. 

P y rr h o, a philosopher of 

Eiis, disciple to Anaxarchus, and ori- 
ginally a painter. He was in continual 
suspense of judgment, he doubted of 
every thing, never made any conclu- 
sions', and' when he had caiefuily ex- 
amined a subject, and investigated all 
i is parts, he concluded by still doubt- 
ing its evidence. This manner of 
doubting in the philosopher has been 
called Pyrrhonism, and his disciples 
have received the appellation cf scep- 
tics, &c. Ke pretended to have ac- 
quired an uncommon dominion over 
opinion and passions. He flourished 
B. C. 304, and died at the advanced 
age of 90. Dlod.&2. 

Pyrrhus. [ VuL Neoptole- 
rnus.j — A celebrated king of Epirus, 
descended from Achilles, by the side of 
his mother, and from Hercules by that 
of bus father, and son of yEaeices and 
Phthia. "When his father was banished 
from his kingdom, he was carried to 
the court of Glautiasking of liiyricum, 
who educated him with great 'tender- 
ness. Cassancler, king of Macedonia, 
wished to despatch him, but Glautias 
not only refused to deliver him up, 



PYR 

but even went with an army, and placed 
him on the throne of Epirus, though 
only 12 years of age. About five years 
after he was expelled his throne by 
Xeoptolemus; and he applied to his 
brother-in-law Demetrius for assist- 
ance. He accompanied Demetrius at 
the battle of Ipsus, and fought there 
with all the prudence of an experienced 
general. He afterwards attempted tha 
recovery of his throne, and was suc- 
cessful in the undertaking. In the sub- 
sequent years of his reign, Pyrrhus en- 
caged in* the quarrels which disturbed 
the peace of the Macedonian mon- 
archy ; and was meditating new con- 
quests, when the Tarentines invited 
him to Italy to assist them against the 
Romans. He gladly accepted the invi- 
tation, but his passage into Italy, 
across the Adriatic, proved nearly fatal 
to him. He lost the greatest part'of his 
troops in a storm. At his entrance into 
Tarentum, B. C. 2su, he began to in- 
troduce the strictest discipline among 
their troops, to accustom them to des- 
pise dangers. In the first battle with 
the Romans, he obtained the victory, 
through his elephants, whose bulk, and 
uncommon appearance, astonished the 
Romans . The number of the slain was 
equal on both sides, and the conqueror 
said that such another victory would 
totally ruin him. Though victorious, 
he sued for peace, but his offers were 
refused. Another battle was soon after 
fought near Asculum, where the Ro- 
mans and their enemies reciprocally 
claimed the victory. His fondness of 
novelty, however, soon determined 
him to" quit Italy : he accordingly lefta 
garrison at Tarentum, and crossed over 
to Sicily, by whose inhabitants he had 
been invited, where he obtained two 
victories over the Carthaginians, and 
took many of their towns. Having re- 
turned to Tarentum, he renewed hosti- 
lities with the Romans ; but when his 
army of 80.000 men had been defeated 
by 20,000 of the enemv, under Cuvius, 
he left Italy with precipitation, B. C. 
274, mortified by the victories which 
had been obtained over one of the de- 
scendants of Achilles. In Epirus he 
began to repair his military character, 
by T attacking Antigonus, and he was at 
last restored to the throne of Macedo- 
nia. He afterwards marched against 
Sparta , but was obliged to retire to Ar- 
gos, where, through the treachery of 
Aristens, a bloody conflict ensued, 
during which, a woman who saw Pyrr- 
hus just going to kill her son, threw 
from the top of a house a tile, Which 
brought the king to the ground. liU 
head was cut cSf, and carried to Airti- 
gonus, 272 years before Christ. Pyr- 
rhus lias been deservedly commended 
for his talents as a general ; and not 
only his friends, but also his cneroip?, 
have been warm in extolling him. The 
Romans passed great encomiums upon 



PYT 



PYT 



him, and Pyrrhus was no less struck 
with their magnanimity and valor ; so 
much so, indeed, that he exclaimed, 
that if he had soldiers like the Romans, 
or if the Romans had him for a gene- 
ral, he would leave no comer of the 
earth unseen, and no nation uncon- 
quered. Lie. Pint. Justin. 

Pyste, wife to Seleucus, 
whom the Gauls took prisoner. 

Pythagoras, a celebrated 
philosopher, born at Samos, the son of 
Mnesarchus. He was early made ac- 
quainted with poetry and music, and in 
gymnastic exercises he often bore the 
palm. He, at the Olympic games, ob- 
tained, in the 1 8th year of his age, the 
prize for wrestling. : Having cultivated 
the knowledge of the Grecian schools, 
he retired into the East ; and after he 
liad gathered all the information which 
couid be collected from antique tradi- 
tion concerning the nature of the gods 
and the immortality of the soul, he re- 
visited his native iiland. The tyranny 
of Poly crates at Samos disgusted the 
philosopher, and he retired from the 
island, and a second time assisted at 
the Olympic games. Here he was sa- 
luted in the public assembly by the 
name of Sophist, or wise man ; but he 
refused the appellation, and was satis- 
fied with that of philosopher, or the 
friend of wisdom. From Olympia the 
philosopher visited the republics of 
Elis and Sparta, and retired to Magna 
Grsecia, where he fixed his habitation 
in the town of Crotona, about the 4(kh 
year of his age- Here he founded a 
sect which has received the name of 
the Italian. His skill in music and 
medicine, and his knowledge of ma- 
thematics and of natural ydiilosophy, 
gained him many friends and admirers. 
The sober and religious behaviour of 
the philosopher strongly recommended 
the necessity and importance of his 
precepts. Pythagoras was admired for 
his venerable aspect, his voice was har- 
monious, and his eloquence persuasive. 
He lived upon the purest and most in- 
nocent food, and clothed himself like 
the priests of the Egyptian gods. To 
set himself at a greater distance from 
his pupils, a number of years was re- 
quired to try their various disposi- 
tions ; the most talkative were not per- 
mitted to speak in the presence of their 
master before they had been his audi- 
tors for five years. When capable of 
receiving his instructions, they were 
taught the use of cyphers and hierogly- 
phic writings. So great was his autho- 
rity among his pupils, that to dispute 
his word was deemed a crime ; and, in 
a short time, the ruler* and the legis- 
lators of the principal towns of Greece, 
Sicily, and Italy, boasted in beiug the 
disciples of Pythagoras. The doctrine 
of metempsychosis, or transmigration 
ftf the soul into different bodies, which 



notion he seemed to have imbibed 
among the priests of Egypt, or in the 
solitary retreats of the Brachmans, was 
first supported by him. [Vid. Eupllor- 
bus.] He forbade his disciples to eat 
flesh, as also beans, supposing them 
produced from the same pu trifled mat- 
ter from which, at the creation of the 
world, man was formed. In his theo- 
logical system Pythagoras supported 
that the universe was created from a 
shapeless heap of passive matter, by the 
hands of a powerful being, who himself 
was the mover and soul of the work!, 
and of whose substance the souls cf 
mankind were a portion. The time 
and the place of the death of this great 
philosopher are unknown ; yet many 
suppose that he died at Metapontum 
about 497 years before Christ. Pytha- 
goras distinguished himself also by 
his discoveries in geometry, astronomy, 
and mathematics ; to him the world is 
indebted for the demonstration of the 
47th proposition of the first book of 
Euclid's elements, about the square of 
the hypothenuse. His system of the 
universe, in which he placed the sun in 
the centre, and all the planets moving 
in elliptical orbits round it, was deem- 
ed chimerical and improbable, till the 
philosophy of the lGth century proved 
it to be incontestable. Diogenes, Por- 
phyry, Iamblicus, and others, have 
written an account of his life. 

Pythaules, a celebrated 
flute-player at Delphi, in honor of 
whose skill all other players were call- 
ed by his name. Van: Hygin. 

Pytheas, a native of Massi- 
lia, famous for his knowledge of astro- 
nomy, mathematics, philosophy, and 
geography. He advanced far into the 
northern seas, and discovered theisland 
of Thule, and entered the sea now 
called the Baltic. His discoveries in 
astronomy and geography were ingeni- 
ous., and he was the first who establish- 
ed a distinction of climate by the length 
of days and nights. Pytheas lived, ac- 
cording to some, in the age of Aristo- 
tle. Strdb. Plin.— An Athenian rheto- 
rician, who distinguished himself by 
his intrigues and opposition . to the 
measures of Demosthenes, of whom he 
observed, that his orations smelt of the 
lamp. Pytheas joined Antipater after 
the death of Alexander the Great. 

P y t h e s, a Thracian, who 
obtained a crown at Olympia. 

Pythetts, a Lydian, famous 
for his riches, in the age of Xerxes. 
He kindly entertained the monarch, 
and all his army, when he was march- 
ing on his expedition- against Greece, 
and offered to defray the expenses of 
the whole war. Xerxes thanked him 
with much gratitude, and promised to 



PYT 



PYT 



give him whatever he should require. 
Pytheus asked him to dismiss his son 
from the expedition ; upon which the 
monarch ordered the young man to be 
cut in two, and one half of the body, to 
be placed on the right side of the way, 
and the other on the left, that his army 
might march between them. Herodot. 
Plut. 

Pythia, the priestess of Apol- 
lo at Delphi. She delivered the an- 
swers of the god, and was supposed to 
be suddenly inspired by the sulphure- 
ous vapours issuing from a subterrane- 
ous cavity within the temple, over 
which she sat bare on a three-legged 
stool, called a tripod. At this divine 
inspiration her eyes suddenly sparkled, 
her hair stood on end, and a shivering 
ran over all her body. In this convul- 
sive state she spoke the oracles with 
loud howlings, &c. The Pythia, be- 
fore she placed herself on the tripod, 
used to wash her whole body, and par- 
ticularly her hair, in the waters of the 
fountain Castalis, at the foot of mount 
Parnassus. The Pythiae appeared dress- 
ed in the garments of virgins, to inti- 
mate their purity, and they were bound 
to observe the strictest laws of chastity. 
There was originally but one Pythia, 
besides subordinate priests, and after- 
wards two were chosen, and sometimes 
more. The most celebrated of all these 
is Phemonoe, who is supposed by some 
to have been the first who gave oracles 
at Delphi. The oracles were always 
delivered in hexameter verses, a cus- 
tom which was some time after discon- 
tinued*- [Vid. Delphi, Oraculum.] 
Paus. Diod. Strab. &c— Games cele- 
brated in honor of Apollo, near the 
temple of Delphi. They were first in- 
stituted, according to the more receiv- 
ed opinion, by Apollo himself, in com- 
memoration of the victory he had ob- 
tained over the serpent Python, from 
which they received their name. Some 
say they were established by Agamem- 
non, or by Diomedes, or the council of 
the Amphictyons, B. C. 1263. They 
were originally celebrated once in nine 
years, but afterwards every fifth year. 
The Romans, according to some, intro- 
duced them into their city, and called 
them Apollinares ludi. Paus. Strab. 

&c 

Pythias, a Pythagorean phi- 
losopher, intimate with Damon. [Vid. 
Damon.] 

Pythion, a Greek, who, 

attempting to drive the garrison of 
Demetrius from Athens, was slain with 
420 of his soldiers. 



Pythius, a surname of Apol- 
lo, which he received from his having 
conquered the serpent Python. [Vid. 
Python. — A native of Syracuse, who 
sold his gardens and defrauded Ca- 
nius. 

Pytho, a name given to Del- 
phi, for being the spot, in which the 
serpent rotted, which had been destroy- 
ed by Apollo. 

Pythochabjs, a musician, 
who is said by music to have assuaged 
the fury of wolves. 

Pythocles, an Athenian, de- 
scended from Aratus. It is said, that 
on his account, and for his instruction, 
Plutarch wrote the life of Aratus. 

Pythodortjs, an Athenian, 
who was archon in the time of Themi- 
stocles. 

Pytholaus, the brother of 

Theba, the wife of Alexander, tyrant 
of Pherae. He assisted his sister in de- 
spatching her husband. Plut. 

Python, a native of Byzan- 
tium, in the age of Philip of Macedo- 
nia. He was a great favorite of the 
monarch, who sent him to Thebes, 
when that city, at the instigation of 
Demosthenes, was going to take up 
arms against Philip. Phit. — A cele- 
brated serpent, sprung from the mud 
which remained on the earth after the 
deluge of Deucalion. Some suppose it 
was produced by Juno, and sent by the 
goddess to persecute Latona, then preg- 
nant by Jupiter. [Vid. Latona.] Apol- 
lo, as soon as born, attacked the mon- 
ster, and killed him with his arrows, 
and in commemoration of the victory 
he instituted the celebrated Pythian 
games. Strab. Ovid. &c. 

Pythonice, an Athenian 

prostitute, greatly honored by Harpa- 
lus, whom Alexander, some time be- 
fore, had intrusted with the treasures 
of Babylon. He married her, but, ac- 
cording to some, she died the very mo- 
ment that the nuptials were going to be 
celebrated. Diod. Paus. &c. 

Pythonissa, a name given to 

the priestess of Apollo's temple at Del- 
phi. She is more generally called Py- 
thia. [Fid. Pythia.] 

Pytna, a particular part of 
mount Ida. 

Pyt talus, an athlete, who 
won a prize at Olympia. Paus. 



QUI 



QUI 



QUI 

Quadi, a German nation, near 
the country of the Marcomanni, on the 
borders of the Danube. They rendered 
themselves celebrated by their opposi- 
tion to the Romans, by whom they 
were often defeated, though not totally 
subdued. Tacit. 

Quadra tits, a name given to 
Mercury because the number 4 was 
sacred to him. 

Quadrifrons, or Quadri- 
ceps, a surname of Janus, because h e 
•eras represented with four heads. He 
had a temple on the Tarpeian rock, 
wiih four equal fronts, and one door 
and three windows in each, with the 
intention that the three windows should 
represent the three months of each sea- 
son of the year. [Vid. Janus.] 

Qu jest ores, two officers at 
Rome, first created, A. U. C. 269. They 
received their name a qucerendo, be- 
cause they collected the revenues of 
the state, and had the total manage- 
ment of the public treasury. In the 
year 332, U. C. two more were added to 
the others, to attend the consuls, take 
care of the pay of the armies abroad, 
and to sell the plunder acquired by 
conquest. These were called Peregrini, 
whilst the others in the city received 
the name of Urbanu When the Ro- 
mans were masters of all Italy, four 
more were created, A. U. C. 439, to at- 
tend the pro-consuls and propraetors in 
their provinces, and to collect the taxes 
and customs of the republic. They 
were called Provinciates. Sylla, the 
dictator, created twenty quaestors, and 
f. Ca'iar forty, to fill up the vacant 
seats in the senate ; from whence it is 
evident ihat the quaestors ranked as 
-^m tcrs in the senate. 

Quart, a people of Gaul. 

Querquetulaxus, mount 

CoeJius was sometimes called by this 
name from the number of oaks, which 
grew upon it. 

Quiet is faxum, a temple 
without the wails of the city of Rome. 
■Quies was the goddess, of rest. Her 
temple was situated near the Colline 
gate. 

Quikctilia, a comedian who 

refused to betray a conspiracy which 
had been formed against Caligula. 

Quinctius. This name was 

common to several Roman officers, the 



QUI 

most remarkable of whom is a consul, 
who gained some victories over the 
Mqm and the Volsci, and obtained ? 
triumph for subduing Pneneste. 

Quinde ce m viiti , an order of 
priests, whom Tarquin the Proud, ap- 
pointed to take care of the Sibyllhie 
books. They were originally two, but 
atterwards the number was increased to 
ten, to whom Sylla added five more, 
whence their name. [Vid, Duumviri 
and Decemviri.] 

Quikqu atria, a festival in 
honor of Minerva at Rome, so called 
from the five days devoted to their 
celebration. The beginning of the 
celebration was the 18th of March. 
Scholars at this time obtained holidays, 
and it was usual for them to oiier 
prayers to Minerva for learning and 
wisdom, and, on their return to school, 
they presented their master with a gift 
called Minervah They were much the 
same as the Panathenaa of the Greeks. 

Quinquen >r ales lldi, 

games celebrated by the Chians in ho- 
nor of Homer every fifth year.— There 
were also some games among the Ro- 
mans which bore this name. They are 
the same as the Actian games. {Vid. 
Actia.] 

Quintiliakus, Marcus Fa- 

bius, a celebrated rhetorician, born in 
Spain, who opened a school of rhetoric 
at Rome. After he had remained 
twenty years in this laborious employ- 
ment, and obtained merited applause, 
he, by the permission of the emperor 
Domilian, retired to enjoy the fruits of 
his labors and industry. In his retire- 
ment he assiduously dedicated his time 
to literature, and wrote a treatise on 
the causes of the corruption of elo- 
quence. Some time after he w$9te, in 
twelve books, his Intiiiutioiifia Orato- 
ries, the most perfect and complete 
system or' oratorv extant. lie died A. D. 
95. 

QuiXTiLius Varus, a Ro- 
man governor of Syria. [Vid. Varus.] 

Qulntillus, M. Aurelius 
Claudius, a brother of Claudius, who 
proclaimed himself emperor, and 17 
days after destroyed himself by open- 
ing his veins in a bath, when he heard 
that Aurelian was marching against 
him, about the 270th year of the Chris- 
tian era. 

QUINTUS CURTIUS RlJFUS, 
a Latin historian, who flourished, a* 
R 5 



RAP 



REG 



some suppose, in the reign of Vespa- 
sian or, Trajan. He has rendered him- 
self known by his history of the reign 
of Alexander the Great. It was di- 
vided into ten books, of which the two 
first, the end of the fifth, and the be- 
ginning of the sixth, are lost. The 
work is admired for its elegance, and 
for the purity, and floridness of the 
style : it is however blamed for great 
anachronisms, and glaring mistakes in 
geography and history. 

QuiRINALIA, festivals in ho- 
nor of Romulus, surnaraed Quirinus, 
celebrated on the 13th of the calends of 
March. 

QuirixaliSj a hill at Rome, 

originally called Agonius and ColHnus, 
The name of Quirinalis is obtained 



from the inhabitants of Cures, who 
settled there under their king Tatius. 
Quirinus, a surname of 

Mars, among the Roman:. — This name 
was also given to Romulus, when he 
had been made a god by his supersti- 
tious subjects. Odd. — Also a surname 
of the god Janus. — Snlpitius, a Ro- 
man consul, born at Lanuvium.Though 
descended of an obscure family, he 
was raised to the greatest honors by 
the emperor Augustus. Tacit. 

Quirites, a name given to 
the Roman citizens, because thev ad- 
mitted into their city the Sabines, "who 
inhabited the town of Cures, and who, 
on that account, were called Qu'u it^'. 
After this union, the two nations were 
indiscriminately and promiscuously 
called by that name. Varro. Liv. 



RAP 

Raeirius, C. a Roman 

knight, who lent an immense sum of 
money to Ptolemy Auletes, king of 
Egypt. The monarch afterwards not 
only refused to pay him, but even con- 
fined him. Rabirius escaped from 
Egypt with difficulty, and at his return 
to Rome, he was accused by the senate 
of having lent money to an African 
prince for unlawful purposes. He was 
ably defended by Cicero, and acquitted 
with difficulty.— A Latin poet, in the 
age of Augustus, who wrote a poem on 
the victory which the emperor had 
gained over Antony at Actium. Se- 
neca has compared him to Virgil for 
elegance and majesty, but Quintilian is 
not so favorable to his poetry. 

Racilia, the wife of Cincinna- 
tus. 

R^caces, one of Artaxerxes' 
officers, who, upon his revolt, fled to 
Athens. 

Ramises, see Rhamses. 

Ramnes, or Rhamnenses, 

one of the three centuries instituted by 
Romulus, after the Roman people had 
been divided into three tribes, the king 
elected out of each 100 young men of 
the best and noblest families, with 
which he formed three companies of 
isorse. Liv. &e. 

Ran da, a Persian village, in 
which Chiles slew 3300 seditious Per- 
sians. 

Raphia, a town of Palestine, 
near the sea-coast, at the south of Gaza. 
It was near it that Anticchus, king of 



REG 



Syria, was defeated by the forces of 
Ptolemy the Fourth, king of Egypt, 
under the command of Nicolaus', the 
/Etoiiaii. Polyb. 

Ravenna, a town of Italy, on 

the Adriatic, celebrated under the Ro- 
man emperors for its capacious har- 
bour, which eould contain 260 ships, 
and for being for some time the seat of 
the western empire. It was founded by 
a colony of Thessalians, or, according 
to others, of Sabines. Strut. Pli.u. 
&e. ... ., ui£ r ter*h35 

Reate, a town of Umbria, 

about fifteen miles from Fanum Vacu- 
us. It was famous for its asses. Strab. 
&e. 

Rediculus, a deity whose 

name is derived from the word redlre 
(io return). The Romans raised a tem- 
ple to this imaginary deity on the spot 
where Annibal had retired when he ap^ 
preached Rome, as if to besiege it. 

Regill.-e, a town in the coun- 
try of the Sabines, about twenty miles 
from Rome, celebrated for a < battle 
fought there, A. U. C. 258, between 
24,000 Romans and 40,000 Etrurians, 
who were headed by the Tarquins. 
The Romans obtained the victory, and 
scarce 10.000 of the enemv escaped 
from the field of battle. Liu. Flui. 

Reg-illtanus, Q. Nonius, 

a D:\cian who entered the Roman ar- 
mies, and was raised to the greatest 
honors under Valerian. He was elected 
emperor by the populace, who were 



REM 



EH A 



dissatisfied with Gallienus, and was 
soon after murdered by his soldiers, 
A. D. 202. 

Re gill us, a small lake of 

Latiurn, whose waters fall into the 
Anio. at the east cf Rome. Tlie dicta- 
tor EMsthumius defeated the Latin 
army near it. Liv. 

M. Attilius Kegulus, a 

consul during the first Punic war. He 
reduced Brimdusium, and, in his se- 
cond consulship, took sixty-four, and 
sunk thirty gaiiies of the Carthaginian 
fleet, on the coasts of Sicily. After- 
wards he landed in Africa, where he 
took 200 places of conseoueuce on the 
coast. The Carthaginians sued for 
peace, but the conqueior refused to 
grant it, and poon after he was defeat- 
ed in a battle by Xanthippus, and 
:;o.000 of his men were left on the 
field of battle, and 15,000 taken prison- 
ers. Regulus was in the number of 
the captives, and he was carried in 
triumph to Carthage. He was sent by 
the enemy to Rome, to propose an 
exchange of prisoners ; and if his com- 
mission was unsuccessful, he was bound 
by the most solemn oaths to return to 
Carthage without delay. Yvhen he 
came to Rome, Regulus dissuaded his 
countrymen from accepting the terms 
which the enemy proposed, and v hen 
his opinion had had due hiduenee on 
the senate, Reguius retired to Car- 
thage, agreeable to his engagements. 
The Carthaginians punished him with 
the greatest' severity. His eye-brows 
were cut, and he was expesed for some 
days to the excessive heat of the meri- 
dian sun, and afterwards confined in a 
barrel, whose sides were every where 
filled with large iron spikes," till he 
died in the greatest agonies, about 23 1 
years before Christ. Liv. Horat. 2f/oa\ 
occ. — Memmius, a Roman, made go- 
vernor of Greece by Caligula. Dion. 
Cass. — Roscius, a Roman, who, in the 
reign of Vitellius, held the consulship 
for one day. 

R E m i, a people cf Gaul, 
whose capital was Duricortoriurn, now 
Rheims. 

Remulus, a chief of Tibur, 
whose arms were seized by the Rutu- 
lians , and afterwards became part of the 
plunder which Euryalus obtained. 
Virg. — A friend of Turn us, tramnled 
to death by his horse, which Orsilochus 
had wounded. Id — Sylvias, a king of 
Alba, who, for his impiety, was struck 
with lightning. 

Remuria, festivals established 
at Rome by Romulus, to appease the 
manes of his brother Remus. They 
were afcerwards called Lemuria, and 
celebrated yearly. 

Remus, the brother of Romu- 



lus, was exposed, together with him, 
by the cruelty of his grandfather. In 
the contest which happened between 
the two brothers about building a city, 
Romulus obtained the preference, and 
Remus, for ridiculing the rising walls, 
was put to death by his brothers or- 
ders, or by Romulus himself. [Vid. 
Romulus.] 

R e s je x A, in Mesopotamia, 
where Gordian defeated Sapor. 

Ri-ia, a large river, now the 

Volga, which rises on the borders of 
Lithuania, in Russia, in the north of 
Europe, and falls irrtcrthe Caspian sea, 
after a course of upwards of 1200 miles. 
A medijinal root, which grew on its 
banks, was called rfca barber ion. rhu- 
barb. . ? 

Rhacia, a promontory id the 
Mediterranean sea. projecting from the 
Pyrenean mountains. 

Rhacius, a prince of Crete, 
who led a colony into Ionia, seized 
Claros, and became sovereign of it. 

Rhada3Ianthus, a son of 

Jupiter and Europa, was born in Crete, 
which he abandoned about the thir- 
tieth year of his age. He passed into 
some "of the Cyelades, where he reign- 
ed with so much justice, that the an- 
cients have said he became one of the 
judges of hell, and that he was em- 
ployed in the infernal regions in ob- 
liging the dead to confess their crimes, 
and in punishing them for their of- 
fences. Pans. Homer. Virg. 

Rileti, or RiETi, an ancient 
and warlike nation of Etruria. They 
were driven from their native country 
by the Gauls, and went to settle on the 
other side of the Alps. Plin. Justin. 

R h je t i a, a country at the 
north of Italy, between the Alps and 
the Danube. " The Rhsetians re-udered 
themselves formidable by the frequent 
invasions they made upon the Roman 
empire, and were at last conquered by 
Drusus, the brother of Tiberius, and 
others under the Roman emperors. 
Strab. Karat. 

Rham>:es, a king and augur, 

who assisted Turnus against ."Euca-. 
He was killed in the night bv Nisus; 
Virg. . " '. 

Rhamnus, a town of Attica, 
famous for a temple of Am .miaraus, 
and a statue of the goddess Nemexis, 
thence called Rhamnusia. Pans. 

Riiamses, or Ramises, a 
powerful king of Egypt, who, with an 
army of 700,000 men, conquered .-Ethio- 
pia, 'Libya, Persia, and other Ej||ern 
nations. In his reign, according to 
Pliny, Troy was taken. Some authors 



RHE 



RHO 



consider him to be the same as Sesos- 
tris. Tficit. Flirt. 

Rharos, a plain of Attica, 

where corn was first sown by Tripto- 
lemus. It received its name from the 
sower's father, who was called Rharos. 

Rhea, a daughter of Ccelus 
and Terra, who married Saturn, by 
whom she had Vesta, Ceres, Juno, 
Pluto, Neptune, &c. Her husband, 
however, devoured them all as soon as i 
born, because he had been informed by i 
an oracle that one of his sons would j 
dethrone him. To stop the cruelty of j 
her husband, Rhea, at length, when j 
she brought forth, immediately con- 
cealed the child, and Saturn devoured 
a stone given him as his own child. A 
year after, the child, whose name was 
Jupiter, became so powerful, that he 
drove his father from his throne, Rhea, 
after the expulsion of her husband, fol- 
lowed him to Italy, where he establish- 
ed a kingdom. Her benevolence in 
this part of Europe was so great, that 
the golden age of Saturn is often called 
the age of Rhea. [ Vid. Saturnus.] He- 
siod. Orpheus. Homer. — Sylvia. [Vid. 
Ilia.] — A nymph of Italy, "who is said 
to have borne a son, called Aventinus, 
to Hercules. Virg. 

Rhegium, a town of Italy, in 

the country of the Brutii, opposite 
Messana, in Sicily, where a colony of 
Messenians, under Aleidamidas, set- 
tled, B. C. 723. This town has alwavs 
been subject to earthquakes, by which 
it has often been destroyed, and some 
suppose that it received "its name from 
the Greek word p^y^ou, to break, 
because it is situate on the straits of 
Charybdis, which were formed when 
the island of Sicily, as it were, was 
broken and separated from the conti- 
nent of Italy. The neighbourhood is 
remarkable for its fertility, and for its 
delightful views. Strab. Mela. &c. 

Rhene, a small island of the 
iEgean, about 200 vards from Delos, 
eighteen miles in circumference. It 
was sometimes called the small Delos, 
and the island of Delos the great Delos. 
Strab. The inhabitants of Delos bu- 
ried their dead there, and thither also 
women retired to be delivered. It was 
conquered by Pclycrates, who tied it 
to Delos by a large chain, and then de- 
dicated it to Apollo. 

Rheni, a people on the bor- 
ders of the Rhine. 

Rhenus, one of the largest 
rivers of Europe, dividing Germany 
from Gaul. It rises in the Rhsetian 
Alps, and falls into the German ocean. 
Virgil has called it Bicornis, because it 
divides itself into two streams. This 
river was a long time a barrier between 



the Romans and the Germans. Julius 
Caesar was the first Roman who cross- 
ed it to invade Germany. In modern 
geography, the Rhine is not known as 
dividing itself into four large branches, 
the Waal, Lech, Issel, and the Rhine. 
The branch which still retains the 
name of Rhine loses itself in the sands 
above modern Leyden, and is after- 
wards no longer kiiown by its ancient 
appellation, since the year 8f>0, A. D. 
when the inundations of the sea de- 
stroyed the regularity of its mouth. 
Strab. Mela. C<bs. &c. 

Rhesus, a king of Thrace, 

who, after many conquests in Europe, 
marched to the assistance of Priam, 
king of Troy, against the Greeks. An 
oracle had declared that Troy should 
never be taken, if the horses of Rhesus 
drank the waters of Xanthus, and fed 
upon the grass of the Trojan plains. 
This was known to the Greeks, and 
therefore Diomedes and Ulysses were 
commissioned by the rest to go in quest 
of the Thracian prince. They entered 
his camp in the night, slew him, and 
carried away his horses to their camp. 
Homer. Virg. &c. 

Rhe to genes, a prince of 
Hispania.. who surrendered to the Ro- 
mans. 

Rhianus, a Greek poet of 

Thrace, originally a slave. He wrote an 
account of the war between Sparta and 
Messenia, as also an history of the 
principal revolutions and events which 
had taken place in Thessaly. He flou- 
rished about 200 years before the Chri- 
stian era. Pans. 

Rhidago, a river of Hyrca- 

nia, falling into the Caspian Sea. 
Rhimotacles, a king of 

Thrace, who revolted from Antony to 
Augustus. He boasted of his attach- 
ment to the emperor's person at an en- 
tertainment, upon which Augustus 
said, " Proditionem atno, proditores 
veto odi." 

Rhion, a promontory of 

Achaia, opposite to Antirrhium in 
^Etolia, at the mouth of the Corinthian 
gulf, called also the Dardanelles of Le- 
panto. Liv. PUn. On the top of this 
promontory was the tomb of Hesiod. 

Rhiph^i, large mountains 
supposed to exist at the north of Scv- 
thia, where the Gorgonshad fixed their 
residence. The name of Rhiphwau 
was applied to any cold mountain in a 
northern country. 

Rhifheus, one of the cen- 
taurs killed by Theseus, at the nuptials 
of Pirithous. Ovid. Met. 

R H o p a, a sea-port town of 



RHCE 



ROM 



Spain, at the extremity of the Pyre- 
nean mountains in the Mediterranean. 
Liv.—A town of the Rhone, from 
which the river received its name. It 
was ruined in Pliny's time. 

Rhodanus, now the Rhone, a 
river of Gallia Narbonensis, rising in 
the Rheetian Alps, and falling into the 
Mediterranean sea, near Marseilles. It 
is one of the largest and most rapid 
rivers of Europe. Cces. Ovid. 

Rhode, one of the Danaides. 
Rhodope, or Rhodopis, a 

celebrated courtezan of Greece, fellow 
servant with ^Esop, at the court of a 
king of Samos. She was carried to 
Egypt by Xanthus, and her liberty was 
at last bought by Charaxes of Mitylene, 
the brother of Sappho, who was ena- 
moured of her, and who married her. 

Rhodope, a high mountain 
of Thraee, extending as far as the Eu- 
xine sea. Rhodope, according to the 
poets, was the wife of Haemus, king 
of Thrace, who was changed into this 
mountain, because she preferred her- 
self to Juno in beauty. Ovid. Strab. 
Virg. 

Rhodus, a celebrated island in 

the Carpathian sea, 120 miles in cir- 
cumference, at the south of Caria, 
from which it is distant about twenty 
miles. Its principal cities were Rhodes, 
founded about 408 years B. C. Lindus, 
Camisus, Jalysus. Rhodes was famous 
for a celebrated statue of Apollo. [Vid. 
Colossus.] It received the name of 
Rhodes, either on account of Rhode, a 
beautiful nymph who dwelt there, and 
who was one of the favorites of Apollo, 
or because roses (pobov) grew in great 
abundance all over the island. Strab. 
Homer. &c. 

Rhcebus, a horse of Mezen- 
tius, whom his master addressed, when 
he saw his son Lausus brought lifeless 
from the battle. This beautiful address 
is copied from the Iliad of Homer, 
where likewise Achilles addresses his 
horses. Virg. 

R h (E c u s, one of the Cen- 
taus who attempted to offer violence to 
Atalanta. He was killed at the nup- 
tials of Pirithous by Bacchus. Ovid. 
Virg.— One of the giants killed by Bac- 
chus, under the form of a lion, in the 
war which these sons of the earth 
waged against Jupiter and the gods. 
Horat. 

Rhceteum, or Rhcetus, a 
promontory of Troas, on the Helles- 
pont, near which the body of Ajax was 
buried. Ovid. 

Rhoetus, a king of the Mar* 
rubii, married Casperia, to whom Ar- 



chemorus, his son by a former wife, of- 
fered violence. After this incestuous 
attempt, Archemorus fled to Turnus, 
king of the Rutuli. Virg. 

Rhosaces, a Persian killed 
by Clitus as he was going to stab Alex- 
ander at the battle of the Granicus. 
Curt. 

Rhoxana. [ Vid. Roxana.] 

Riph^ei. [ Vid. Rhiphaei.] 

Riphetjs, a Trojan who join- 
ed .Eneas the night that Troy was re- 
duced to ashes, and was at last killed, 
after making a great carnage of the 
Greeks. He is commended for his love 
of justice and equity. Virg. 

Robigo, orRuBiGO, a god- 
dess of Rome, particularly worshipped 
by husbandmen, as she presided over 
corn. Her festivals, called Robigalia, 
were celebrated on the 25th of April, 
and incense was offered to her, as also 
the entrails of a sheep and of a dog. 
She was entreated to preserve the corn 
from blights. Ovid. Virg. 

Roma, a city of Italy, the ca- 
pital of the Roman empire, situate on 
the banks of the river Tiber, at the di- 
stance of about sixteen miles from the 
sea. Romulus is universally supposed 
to have laid the foundation of this cele- 
brated city, on the 20th of April, ac- 
cording to Varro, in the year 39bT of 
the Julian period, 3251 years after the 
creation of the world, 753 before the 
birth of Christ, and 431 years after the 
Trojan war, and in the fourth year of 
the sixth Olympiad. Rome, at first, 
was but a small castle on mount Pala- 
tine ; but before the death of the foun- 
der, the Roman habitations covered 
the Palatine, Capitoline, Aventine, and 
Esquiline hills, with mount Ccelius, 
and Quirinalis. During 244 years the 
Romans were governed by seven kings, 
but the tyranny of the last of these nio- 
narchs, and of his family, became so 
atrocious, that a revolution happened 
in the state, and the democratical go- 
vernment was established. This regal 
administration has been properly deno- 
minated the infancy of the Roman em- 
pire. Two annual magistrates, called 
consuls, were then appointed, [Vid. 
Consul] which form of government 
continued till the year 724 U. C. when 
the common wealth may be said to have 
terminated. The custom, however, of 
electing consuls, who only enjoyed the 
shadow of power, lasted "till the year 
1294, or 54lst of the Christian era, 
when that office was totally suppressed 
by the emperor Justinian. Under J. 
Csesar and Pompey, the rage of civil 
war was carried to unprecedented ex- 
cess; it was net merely to avenge a 
private injury, but it was a contest for 
sovereignty, and though each of the 



ROM 



ROS 



adversaries professed himself to be the 
supporter of the republic, not less than 
the abolition of freedom was their aim. 
What Julius began, Oetavius achieved ; 
the ancient spirit of national indepen- 
dence was extinguished at Rome, and 
after the battle of Actium, the Romans 
seemed unable to govern themselves 
without the assistance of a chief, who, 
under the title of imperator, an appella- 
tion given to every commander by his 
army after some signal victory, reigned 
with as much power, and as much 
sovereignty as another Tarquin. Under 
their emperors, the Romans lived a 
luxurious - and indolent life; they had 
long forgot to appear in the field, and 
their wars were left to be waged by 
mercenary troops, who fought without 
spirit or animosity, and were ever ready 
to yield to him who bought their al- 
legiance and fidelity with the greatest 
sums of money. The reigns of the 
successors of Augustus were distin- 
guished by variety ; and few were the 
emperors of Rome whose days were not 
shortened by poison, or the sword of an 
assassin. After they had been governed 
by a race of princes', remarkable for the 
variety of their characters, the Roman 
possessions were divided into two dis- 
tinct empires by Constantine, A.D. 32s. 
Constantinople became the seat of the 
eastern empire, and Rome remained in 
the possession of the western emperors, 
and continued to be the capital of their 
dominions. In the year soo of the 
Christian era, Rome "with Italy was 
delivered by Charlemagne, the then em- 
peror of the west, into the hands of the 
pope, who still continues to hold the 
sovereignty, and to maintain his inde- 
pendence under the name of the Eccle- 
siastical States. Liv. Piut.&Q. — A daugh- 
ter of Italus and Luceria. It was after 
one of these females, according to .vome 
authors, that the capital of Italy was 
called Roma. 

Romant, the inhabitants of 
Rome. [Yid. Roma. J 

Romula, a name given to the 
fig-tree under which Romulus and Re- 
mus were found. Ovid. 

Ro mud idje, a patronymic given 
to the Roman people from Romulus 
their first king, and the founder or the 
city. Pirg. 

Romulus, a son of Mars and 

Ilia, grandson of Numitor, king of Al- 
ba, was born at the same birth with 
Remus. These two children were thrown 
into the Tiber ,by order of Amuiius, who 
had usurped the crown of his brother 
Numitor : but they were preserved .,and 
a she-wolf suckled them till they were 
found by Faustulus, one of the 'king'i 
shepherds, who educated them as his 
own children. "When they knew their 
real origin, the twins put "Amuiius to 
death, and restored the crown to their 



grandfather Numitor. They afterwards 
undertook to build a city, and to deter- 
mine which of the two should have the 
management of it, they had recourse to 
omens. Remus went to mount A venture, 
and Romulus to mount Palatine. Re- 
mus saw first a flight Of six vultures, and 
Romulus twelve : and therefore, as his 
number was greater, he began to lay 
the foundations. Romulus marked with 
a furrow the place where he wished to 
erect the wall; but their slenderness 
was ridiculed by Remus, who leaped 
over it with contempt. This irritated 
Romulus, and Remus was immediately 
put to death, either by the hand of his 
brother, or one of the workmen, ^"heu 
the walls were built, the city was with- 
out inhabitants; but Romulus ,by mak- 
ing an asylum of a sacred grove, soon 
collected a multitude of fugitives, fo- 
reigners, and criminals, whom he re- 
ceived as his lawful subjects. He next 
caused the Sabine women who had come 
as spectators of the games in honor of 
the god Consus, to oe forcibly carried 
away. These violent measures offend- 
ed the neighbouring nations ; they made 
war against the ravishers \\ iih various 
success, till atlast it was agreedthat Ro- 
mulus and Tatius, the Sabine king, 
should reign together. Afterwards Ro- 
mulus divided the lands which he had 
obtained by conquest ; one part was pre- 
served for religious uses, another was 
appropriated for the expenses of the 
state, and the third part was equally dis- 
tributed among his subjects, who were 
divided into three clastes or tribes. The 
most aged, to the number of 100, were 
also chosen, whom the monarch might 
consult in matters of the highest im- 
portance, and from their age hey were 
called senators, and from their autho- 
rity patres. The whole body of the 
peopie was also distinguished by the 
name of patricians and plebeians, patron 
and client, who, by mutual interest, 
were induced to promote the public 
good. Some time after Romulus disap- 
peared as he was giving instructions to 
the senators, and it was confidently as- 
serted that the king had been takth up 
to heaven, 714 B. C. after a reign of 
39 years. A temple was raised to him 
under the name of Quirinus,and a regu- 
lar priest, called Fiamen Quirinalis,was 
appointed to offer him sacrifices. Ro- 
mulus was ranked by the Romans among 
the 12 great gods. The fable of the two 
children of Rhea Sylvia being nourished 
by a she-wclf arose from Lupa, Faustu- 
lus's wife, having brought them up. 
[ Fid.Acca.J Liv.Ju^tin.Vir^.Horat. &C 4 

Romus, a son of .Eneas, by 

Lavinia. Some suppose that he was the 
f oun der of Rome. fi t - - 1 ^ J 

Roscianum, the port of Thu- 
rii, now Rossauo. 

Roscia Lex, a, law which re- 



I 



RUD 



RYP 



quired, that none should sit in the first 
l i seats of the theatre, but Roman 
knights. 

Roscius, a celebrated Roman 
actor. II is eyes were naturally distort- 
ed, and he always appeared on the stage 
with a mask; but the Romans over- 
looked the deformities of his face, that 
they might the better hear his elegant 
pronunciation and the sweetness of his 
voice. He was accused on suspicion of 
dishonorable practices; butCicero under- 
took his defence, and cleared him of the 
aspersion in an oration still extant. Rcs- 
cius wrote a treatise., in which he com- 
pared with much judgment and learn- 
ing,the profession of the orator with that 
of the comedian. He died about sixty 
years before Christ. In his private charac- 
ter Roscius was so respectable, that he 
was raised to the rank of senator. His 
daily stipend for acting was a thousand 
denarii, ox about 32Z. 6 s. English money ; 
chough Cicero makes his yearly income 
to be about4S 32-4/. Herat. QuhitH.&c. 

Rosije Campus, cr Rosia, a 
plain in the country of the Sabiues,near 
the lake Velmttrri. Virg. 

Roxana, the daughter of a 
Persian satrap, taken prisoner by Alex- 
ander. The conqueror became ena- 
moured of her, and married her. Sh£ 
behaved with great cruelty afcer Alexan- 
der's death, and she was at last put to 
death by Cassander's order. Curt. && 

Roxolant, a people of Euro- 
pean Sarmatia, who proved very active 
and rebellious in the reign of the Roman 
emperors. 

Rtjbi, a town of Apulia, from 
which the epithet Rubeus is derived. 
Horat. &c 

Rubicon, a small river of Italy, 

which it separates from Cisalpine Gaul. 
It rises in the Apennine mountains, 
and falls into the Adriatic sea. By 
crossing it, then the boundaries of his 
province, J. Ceesar began the civil wars 
against the senate and Pompey. Lu- 
nar.. &c. 

Rueiexus Lappa, a tragic 
poet in the age of Juvenal, conspicuous 
as much for his great genius as his po- 
verty. Juv. &c. 

Rubigo, a goddess. [Vid. Ro- 
Ligo.] 

Rub rum 3i are, (the Red Sea) 
is situate between Arabia, Egypt, and 
.-Ethiopia, and is often called Erythrse- 
um mare,and confounded with the Ara- 
bicus sinus, and the Indian sea. 

RuDi.r, a tdwh of Calabria, 



built by a Greek colony. The poet En- 
nius was born there. Cic. Ital. 

Rdffus CRispiNus,an officer 
of the praetorian guards under Claudius. 
He was banished by Agrippina for his 
attachment to Britannicus and Oetavius, 
the sons of Messalica, and put himself 
to death. His wife Poppa?a Sabina. by 
whom he had a son called Ruffinus Ci is- 
pin us, afterwards married Nero. Tacit. 

Rufillus, a Roman ridiculed 

by Horace for his effeminacy. 

RuMiA,or Rumina, a goddess 
at Rome, who presided over infants 
whilst still at the breast. The oblations 
made by women in hertemple were only 
milk, and no wine. Plin. 

RuNCiXA, a goddess at Rome, 
invoked when the corn was cut down. 
The name is derived a runcare, to cut. 
Varro de L. L. 

Ru pi li us, an officer surnamed 
Rex, for his authoritative manners. He 
was proscribed by Augustus, and tied to 
Brutus. Horat. 

Rusixa.oi Rurina, a goddess 
at Rome, who presided over the coun- 
try. 

Rutilius Rufus, a Roman 

consul in the age of Syria, celebrated 
for his virtues and writings. When Syl- 
la had banished him from Rome he re- 
tired to Smyrna, amidst the praises of 
the people, and when some of his friends 
wished; him to be recalled, he severely 
reprimanded them, and said that he 
wished rather to see his country blush 
at his exile, than to plunge it into dis- 
tress by his return. During his banish- 
menthe employed his time in study, and 
wrote an history of Rome in Greek,and 
an account of his own life in Latin, be- 
sides many other works. Oi iJ. Seneca. 
&e. — A Ron:an proconsul, who is sup- 
posed to have encouraged MithrHates 
to murder all the Romans who were ill 
his provinces. 

Rutuli, a people of Latium, 

known by the name of Aborigines. 
When fl-'neas came into Italy, Turnus 
was their king, whom they supported 
in the war which he made with the 
Trojan prince. The capital of their do- 
minions was called Ardea. Ovid. V&rg* 
&c. 

Rutup.e, a sea-port town on 
the southern coast of Britain, abounding 
with excellent oysters, whence the epi- 
thet of Rutupinus. Some suppose that 
it is^Doi-er. Lucan. Juv. 

RyrH.Ei monies. [ Vid, Rhi- 

phsel] 



SAB 



SAC 



SAB 



Saba, a town of Arabia,famous 

for frankincense, myrrh, and aromatic 
plants. The inhabitants were called 
Sabsei. Strab. Virg. &c. 

Sabachus, or Sabacon, a 

king of ^Ethiopia, who invaded Egypt, 
and reigned there after the expulsion of 
king Amasis. After a reign of 50 years 
he was terrified by a dream, and retired 
into his own kingdom. Herodot. 

SABiEi,a people of Arabia. [ Vid. 
Saba.] 

Sabazius, a surname of Bac- 
chus in Thrace, where his orgies, called 
Sabazia,were observed only in the night, 
on account of the disorder and debauch- 
ery of their secret mysteries. Pint. — A 
surname of Jupiter, whose worship was 
introduced at Rome under the emper- 
ors. Val. Max. 

Sabelli, a people of Italy, de- 
scended from the Sabines, or, according 
to some, from the Samnites . They in- 
habited that part of the country which 
lies between the Sabines and the Marsi. 
Hence the epithet of Sabellicus. Horat. 

Julia Sab in a, a Roman ma- 
tron who married Adrian by means of 
Plotina the wife of Trajan. She is ce- 
lebrated for her private as well as public 
virtues. Adrian treated her with great 
asperity, though he had received from 
her the imperial purple. Adrian, it is 
said,poisonedher,or,aceording to some, 
obliged her to destroy herself. Divine 
honors were paid to her memory. She 
died after she had been married 38 years 
to Adrian, A. D. 138. 

Sab ini, an ancient people of 

Italy, reckoned among the Aborigines. 
Some suppose that they were originally 
a Lacedaemonian colony planted there 
by Sabinus, a Spartan. The possessions 
of the Sabines were situated in the 
neighbourhood of Rome, between the 
river Nar and the Anio,and bounded on 
the north by the Apennines and Umbria 
south by Latium, east by the iEqui,and 
Etruria on 'Jie west. The Sabines are 
celebrated in ancient history as being 
the first who took up arms against the 
Romans, to avenge the rape of their fe- 
males. The greatest part of the Sabines 
migrated to Rome, where they settled, 
and were ranked as Roman" citizens. 
Their chief cities were Cures, Fidense, 
Reate,Crustumerium, Cornicuium,No- 
vnentum, Collatia, &c. Plin. Li v. &c. 

Sabinus. This name was 



SAC 



common to many eminent Romans, the 
most remarkable of whom are the fol- 
lowing :— Aulus, a Latin poet intimate 
with Ovid.— A man from whom the Sa- 
bines received their name. [Vid. Sabi- 
ni.] He received divine honors after 
death, and was one of those deities 
whom yEneas invoked when he entered 
Italy. Virg, — Julius,an officer who pro- 
claimed himself emperor in the begin- 
ning of Vespasian's reign. He was soon 
after defeated in a battle, and to escape 
from the conqueror, he hid himself in a 
cave with two faithful domestics, where 
he continued unseen for nine successive 
years. His wife found out his retreat, 
and spent her time with him, till her 
frequent visits to the cave discovered his 
concealment. He was dragged before 
Vespasian, and was by his orders put to 
death, though his wife, to excite the em- 
peror's pity,showed him the twins whom 
she had brought forth in the subterra- 
neous retreat.— T itius ,a Roman sen ator 
shamefully accused and condemned by 
Sejanus. Hir body, after execution, 
was dragged through the streetsof Rome. 
His dog constantly followed the corpse, 
and when thrown into the Tiber, the 
faithful animal plunged in after it, and 
was drowned. Plin. — Poppaeus, a Ro- 
man consul, who presided above 2i years 
over Moesia, and obtained a triumph for 
his victories over the barbarians. He 
was a great favorite of Augustus and of 
Tiberius. Tacit. Ann. — Flavius, a bro- 
ther of Vespasian, killed by the popu- 
lace. He was well known for his fide- 
lity to Vitellius. He commanded in the 
Roman armies 35 years ,and was govern- 
or of Rome for 12. 

Sabrata, a maritime city of 
Africa, near the Syrtes. It was a Ro- 
man colony, about to miles from the 
modern Tripoli. P//«.&c. 

Sab bin A, the river Severn in 
England. . ■ 

Sabura, a general of Juba, 
king of Numidia, defeated and killed 
in battle. Lncan. 

Sabura^ us, an officer of the 
praetorian guards. When appointed to 
this office bv Trajart, the emperor pre- 
sented him With a sword, saying, " Use 
tthis weapon in my service as long a» 
my commands are just, but turn it 
against my own breast whenever I be- 
come cruel or malevolent." 

Sacje, a people of Scythia, in- 
habiting the country that lies at the 
east of Baetriaua and Sogdiana, and to- 



SAL 



SAL 



wards the north of mount Imaus. They 
had no towns,according to some writers, 
but lived in tents. Ptol. Herodot. 
Sacer mons. [ Vid. Mons sacer.] 

SACERPORTUS,OrSACRI POR- 

TUS, a place of Italy near Praeneste, 
famous for a battle fought there between 
Sylla and Marius, in which the former 
obtained the victory. Paterc. Luiwt. 

Sac ran if a people of Latium, 

who assisted Turnus against iEneas. 
They were descended from the Pelas- 
gians. Virg. 

Sacravia, a celebrated street 
of Rome, through which the triumphal 
processions passed to go to the capitol. 
Horat. 

Sacrum BELLUM,aname given 

to the wars carried on concerning the 
temple of Delphi. The first began B.C. 
448, and in it the Athenians and Lace- 
daemonians were auxiliaries on opposite 
sides. The second war began 357 B. C. 
and was finished nine years after by 
Philip of Macedonia, who destroyed all 
the cities of the Phocians. [ Vid. Pho- 
cis.] 

Sagana, a woman acquainted 
with magic and enchantments. Horat. 
Sagaris. [Vid. Sangarius.] 
Sagunttjm, or Saguntus, 

now Morvedro, a town of Hispania 
Tarraconensis, at the west of the 
Iberus, about a mile from the sea. Sa- 
guntum is celebrated as being the cause 
of the second Punic war, and for its at- 
tachment to the Romans. Annibal took 
it after a siege of about eight months ; 
and the inhabitants, not to fall into the 
enemy's hands, burnt themselves with 
their houses, and all their effects. The 
conqueror afterwards rebuilt it, and as 
some suppose, called it Spartagene. 
Flor. lav. &e. 

Sais, a town in the Delta of 

Egypt, situate between the Canopic and 
Sebenytican mouths of the Nile, and 
anciently the capital of Lower Egypt. 
There was there a celebrated temple de- 
dicated to Minerva, with a room cut out 
of one stone, which had been conveyed 
by water from Elephantis, by the labors 
of 2000 men in three years. This stone 
measured on the outside 21 cubits long, 
14 broad, aiid eight high. Osiris was 
buried near Sais. Strab. Herodot. 

SalamTnia, a name given to a 
ship at Athens, which conveyed the offi- 
cers of state to their different administra- 
tions abroad, &c. 

Sal am is, a daughter of the river 
Asopus, by Methone. Neptune became 
enamoured of her, and carried her to an 
island of the ^Egean, which afterwards 
bore her name,and where she gave birth 
ro a son called Cenchrcus. Diod. 

SAlamiSjSalamins, or Sala- 



mi N A, now Colouri, an island in the 
Saronicus Sinus, on the southern coast 
of Attica, opposite to Eleusis, with a 
town and harbour of the same name. 
It is about 50 miles in circumference. 
It is celebrated for a battle fought there 
between the Greek and Persian fleets 
when Xerxes invaded Attica. The ene- 
my's ships amounted to above 2000, and 
those of the Peloponnesians to about 
380 sail. In this engagement, on the 
20th of October, B. C. 480, the Greeks 
lost 40 ships, and the Persians about 
200, besides an immense number which 
were taken. Teucer and Ajax, the sons 
of Telamon, who went to the Trojan 
war, were natives of Salamis. Strab, 
Herodot. 

SALAMis,or Sal amina, a town 

at the east of the island of Cyprus, built 
by Teucer, who gave it the name of the 
island Salamis, from which he had been 
banished, about 1270 years B. C. His 
descendants continued masters of the 
town for above 800 years. It was de- 
stroyed by an earthquake, and rebuilt 
in the 4th century, and called Con- 
stantia. Strab. Herodot. Horat. 

Salapia, or Salapi^e, a town 
of Apulia, where Annibal retired after 
the battle of Cannae. It was taken from 
the Carthaginian general by Marcellus. 
Lucan. Val. Max, 

Sal as si, a people of Cisalpine 

Gaul,in continual war with the Romans. 
They cut off 10,000 Romans under Ap- 
pius Claudius, A. U. C. 610, and were 
soon after defeated, and at last totally 
subdued, and sold as slaves by Augus- 
tus. 

Saleius, a poet of great merit 
in the age of Domitian, yet pinched by 
poverty, though born of illustrious pa- 
rents, and distinguished by purity of 
manners and integrity of mind. Juv. 
Quint. 

SalentIni, a people of Italy, 

near Apulia, on the southern coast of 
Calabria. Their chief towns were Brun- 
dusium, Tarentum, and Hydruntum. 
Ital. Virg. &c. 

Salernum, now Salerno, a 

town of the Picentini, on the shores of 
the Tyrrhene sea, south of Campania. 
Plin. Liv. &c. 

Sal ii, a college of priests at 
Rome, instituted in honor of Mars, and 
appointed by Numa to take care of the 
sacred shields called Ancylia, B. C. 709. 
[Vid. Ancyle.] They were at first twelve 
in number, but their number was after- 
wards doubled by Tullus Hostilius. The 
Salii were all of patrician families, and 
the office was very honorable. The first 
of March was the day on which the Salii 
observed their festivals in honor of Mars, 
Their names seems to have been derived 
a saliendo, or saltando, because, during 
their festivrjs, it was requisite that they 



SAL 



SAM 



should leap and dance. Their feasts were 
uncommonly sumptuous, whence dapes 
taliaresis proverbially applied to repasts 
splendid and costly. When the Romans 
declared war, it was usual for the Salii 
to shake their shields with great vio- 
lence, as if to call upon the god Mars 
to come to their assistance. Varro. Ovid. 
Virg. 

S alius, an Acarnanian at the 

games exhibited by iEneas in Sicily, and 
killed in the wars with Turn us. It is 
said by some that he taught the Latins 
those ceremonies, accompanied with 
dancing, which afterwards bore his name 
in the "appellation of Salii. Virg, &c. 

CRispusSALLusTius.a Latin 
historian, born at Amiternum, in the 
country of the Sabines. He performed 
the office of questor and consul, but the 
depravity of his manners did not escape 
the censure of the age. He was degraded 
from the dignity of a senator, B. C. 50 ; 
but, by embracing the cause of Csesar 
he was restored to that rank, and made 
governor of Numidia. In the adminis- 
tration of his province, Sallust behaved 
with uncommon tyranny ; he enriched 
himself by plundering the Africans. He 
married Terentia, the divorced wife of 
C icero : and, from this circumstance, 
according to some, arose an immortal 
hatred between the historian and the 
orator. Sallust died in the 5lst year of 
his age, 35 years before the Christian 
era. As a writer, he is peculiarly distin- 
guished. He had composed a history of 
Rome, but nothing remains of it except 
a few fragments, and his only composi- 
tions extant are his history of Catiline's 
conspiracy, and of the wars of Jugurtha, 
king of Numidia. In these works the 
author displays a wonderful knowledge 
of the human heart. No one was better 
acquainted with the vices that prevailed 
in the capital of Italy, and no one seems 
to have been more severe against the fol- 
lies of the age, and the failings of which 
he himself was guilty. — A nephew of the 
historian, by whom he was adopted. He 
was very effeminate and luxurious. Ho- 
race dedicated 2, od. 2, to him.— There 
were also two others of this name, both 
great favorites of the emperor Julian, 
at whose death one of them was univer- 
sally named by the officers of the Roman 
empire to succeed on the imperial throne; 
but he refused this honor, and pleaded 
infirmities and old age. The Romans 
wished upon this to invest his son with 
the imperial purple, but Secundus op- 
posed it, and observed that he was too 
young to support the diguity. 

Salmacis, a fountain of Caria, 

which rendered effeminate all those who 
drank of it. It was there that Herma- 
phroditus changed his sex, though he 
still retained the characteristics of his 
own. Ovid. Hygin. 

Salmoxe, a town of Pelopon- 



nesus, with a fountain, from which the 
Enipeus takes its source, and falls into 
the X Ipheus, about 40 stadia from Olvm- 
pia, which, on account of that, is called 
Salmonis. Ovid. 

SalmOsteus, a king of Elis, 

son of ^Eolus and Enarette : wishing to 
be c.uled a god, he undertook to imitate 
the thunder, by driving a chariot over a 
brazen bridge, and darting burning 
torches on every side, as if to imitate 
the lightning. This impiety provoked 
Jupiter. Salmoneus was struck with a 
thunderbolt, and placed in the infernal 
regions. Homer. Virg. &e. 

Salome, a queen of Judfea. 
This name was common to some of the 
princesses in the family of Herod, Sze. 

Saloxa, or SalON.l, a fawn 
of Dalmatia, about ten miles distant 
from the coast of the Adriatic. It was 
the native place of the emperor Diocle- 
tian, and he retired there to enjoy tran- 
quillity, after he had abdicated the im- 
perial purple. 

Salonika, a celebrated in atrcn 
who married the emperor Gallienus. 
She was the patroness of the fine arts, 
and to her mildness and benevolence 
Rome was indebted some time for her 
peace and prosperity. She was put to 
death by the hands of the conspirators 
who assassinated her husband and fa- 
mily, about the year 2G8 B. C. 

Saloninus., a son of Asinius 
Poilio. He received his name from the 
conquest of Salons by his father. Some 
suppose that he is the hero of Virgil's 
fourth eclogue, in which the return of 
the golden age is so warmly and beau- 
tifully anticipated. 

Sal pis, a colony of Etruria, 
whose inhabitants are called Salpinates. 

Salvias, one of the fathers of 

the fifth century. 

Salvius The most remarka- 

able of this name is a fiute-player,salu ted 
king by the rebellious slaves of bicily in 
theage of Planus. He maintained for 
some time war against the Romans. 

Salus, the goddess of health at 
Rome, worshipped by the Greeks under 
the name of Hygeia. Her first temple 
at Rome was erected by C. J unius Babu- 
leus the censor, and from it one of the 
gates of the city was called Salutarius. 
Liv. Paic&t-Mc, 2 

Samaria, a country and city 

of Palestine. 

Sa3ibetha, the most ancient 

of the Sibyls, who was supposed to re- 
side in Egypt or Babvlon. The time in 
which she" lived, and even her very ex- 
istence, are doubted by ancient and mo- 
dern writers. Paus. Varro. &c. 

S wee. or Samos, a small island 



SAN 



SAP 



in the Ionian sea, near Ithaca, called 
also Caphallenia. Virg. 

Samia, a surname ox Juno, be- 
cause she was worshipped at Samos. 

Samnites, the inhabitants of 
Sairrmum,a country situate between Pi- 
ceaum, Campania, Apulia, and ancient 
Latium. Thsy distinguished themselves 
by their implacable hatred against the 
Romans, till they were at last totally 
extirpated, B.C. 272, after a war of 7*1 
years. Their chief town was called 
Samnium, or Famnis. Liv. &e. 

Samnium. Fid. Saranites. 

Samos, an island in the iEgean 
sea, on the coast of Asia Minor, with a 
capital of the same name, built B. C. 
986. It is about 87 miles in circum- 
ference. It was first in the possession of 
the Leleges, and afterwards of the lo- 
nians. Juno was heid in the greatest 
vexeration there, her temple was un- 
commonly magnificent, and it was even 
said that' the goddess had been born 
there, on the banks of the Jmbraius. 
Mekt. Piut. Virg. — Theislandsof Samo- 
thrace and Cephallenia were also known 
by the name of Samos. 

Samosata, ^ town of Syria, 
near the Euphrates, below mount Tau- 
rus. Lucian was born there. 

S AMO T II EA C E ,or S AMO T HRA - 
CIA, an island in the .T.gean sea, op- 
site the mouth of the Kebrus, on the 
coast of Thrace. It was known by the 
ancientnames of Leucosia,Meiitis,Elee- 
tria, Leueania, and Dardania. It was 
once called Samos, and distinguished 
from the Samos on the coast of Ionia, by 
the epithet of Thracian, or by the name 
of Samothraee. It is about 38 miles in 
circumference, according to Pliny, or 
only 20 according to modern travellers. 
Samothraee is famous for a deluge 
which inundated the country before the 
time of the Argonauts, and reached the 
very top of the highest mountains. This 
inundation was owing to the sudden 
overflow of the waters of the Euxine. 
As all mysteries were supposed to have 
taken their origin there, the island re- 
ceived the surname of sacred, and was 
an inviolable asylum to all criminals. 
Plin. Virg. &c. 

Sax a, a town of mount Athos, 
near which Xerxes began to make a 
channel to convey the sea. 

Saxchoniathox^ Phoenician 
historian, born at Bervtus,or, according 
to others, at Tyre. He flourished a few 
years before the Trojan war, and wrote, 
in the language of his country, an hi- 
story in nine books, in which he amply 
treated of the theology and antiquities 
of Phoenicia and the neighbouring 
places. This history was translated into 
Greek : a few fragments are extant, 
which some suppose to be spurious, 



while others contend that they are au- 
thentic. 

SAxcus,SAXGUS,or Saxctus, 

a deity of the Sabines, introduced among 
the gods of Rome under the name of 
Dius Fidius. According to some, San- 
cus was father to Sabus, or Sabinus, the 
first king of the Sabines. Itah Yarro. 

Saxdkocottus, an Indian of 

a mean origin, who, after the death of 
Alexander, aspired to the monarchy, 
and made himself master of a part of the 
country which was in the hands of Se- 
leucus. Justin. 

Saxgae.ius, or Saxgaris, a 

river of Phrygia,risingin mount Dindy- 
mus, and falling into the Euxine. He- 
cub:'., according to some, was daughter 
of this river. Some of the poets call it 
Safaris. Ovid. &e. 

Sax t oxe s,and Sax t one ,now 
Saiutonge, a people with a town of the 
same name in Gaul. Lucan. 

Sapor, a king of Persia, who 
succeeded his father Artaxerxes about 
the 238th year of the Christian era. Na- 
turally ambitious, and perceiving the 
indolence of the emperors of Rome, he 
laid waste the provinces of Mesopota- 
mia, Syria, and Cilicia. Gordian at- 
tempted to repel him, but his efforts 
were weak ; and Philip, who succeeded 
him, bought the peace of Sapor with 
money. Valerian, afterwards invested 
with the purple, marched against the 
Persian monarch, but was defeated and, 
taken prisoner. Odenatus, a celebrated 
prince of Palmyra, no sooner heard that 
the Roman emperor was a captive in 
the hands of Sapor, than he attempted 
to release him by force of arms. The 
forces of Persia were cut to pieces, the 
wives and the treasures of Sapor fell 
into the hands of the conqueror, who 
penetrated, with little opposition, into 
the very heart of the kingdom. Sapor, 
soon after this defeat, w r as assassinated 
by his subjects, A. D. 273, after a reign 
of 32 years. He was succeeded by his 
son, called Hormisdas. Marcellin. &c. 
—The second of that name succeeded 
his father Hormisdas on the throne of 
Persia. He was as great as his ancestor 
of the same name. Sapor died A. D. 
380, after a reign of 70 years, in which 
he had often been the sport of fortune 
He was succeeded by Artaxerxes, and 
Artaxerxes by Sapor the third, a prince 
who died after a reign of five years, 
A. D. 389, in the age of Theodosius the 
Great. Marcellin. &c. 

Sa ppho, or Sapho, celebrated 
for her beauty, her poetical talents, and 
her amorous disposition, was born in 
the island of Lesbos, about coo years 
before Christ. Her tender passions were 
so violent, that some have represented 
her attachment with three of her female 
companions. She conceived such a pas- 
sion for Phaon, a youth of MUylen.e s 



SAR 

that upon his refusal to gratify her 
passion, she threw herself into the sea. 
Of all her compositions ..nothing now re- 
mains but two fragments, whose un- 
common sweetness show how meritori- 
ously she has been called the tenth Muse, 
Her compositions were all extant in the 
age of Horace. The Sapphic verse has 
been called after her name. Ovid. Horat. 
dec. die. 

Sara cene, part of Arabia Pe- 

irsea, the country of the Saracens who 
embraced the religion of Mahomet. 

Sardanapalus, the 40th and 
last king of Assyria, celebrated for his 
luxury and voluptuousness. The mo- 
narch generally appeared in the midst 
of his concubines disguised in the habit 
of a female, and spinning wool for his 
amusement. This effeminacy irritated 
his officers ; Belesis and Arsaces con- 
spired against him. Sardanapalus quit- 
ted his voluptuousness for a while, and 
appeared at the head of his armies. The 
rebels were defeated in three successive 
battles, but at last Sardanapalus was 
beaten and besieged in the city of Niuus. 
Despairing of success, he burned him- 
self in his palace, with his eunuchs, con- 
cubines, dec. and his empire was divided 
among the conspirators, B. C. 823. He- 
rodot. Diod. &c. 

Sardes. [ Vid* Sardis.] 
Sardt, the inhabitants of Sar- 
dinia. {Vid. Sardinia^] 

Sardica, a town of Thrace, at 

the north of Mount Hasmus. 

Sardinia, the greatest island 

in the Mediterranean, after Sicily, is 
situate between Italy and Africa, at the 
south of Corsica. It received the name 
of Sardinia from Sardus, a son of Her- 
cules, who settled there with a colony 
from Libya. Other colonies, under Ari- 
staeus, Norax, and Iolas, also settled 
there. The Carthaginians were masters 
of it till they were dispossessed of it by the 
Romans, in the Punic wars, B. C. 231. 
Like Sicily, it was called one of the gra- 
naries of Rome. Neither wolves nor 
serpents are found in Sardinia, nor any 
poisonous herb, except one, which, 
when eaten, contracts the nerves, and 
is attended with a paroxysm of laughter, 
the forerunner of death ; hence risus 
Sardonicus s or Sardous. Tacit. Strab.&ic. 

Sardis, or Sardes, a town of 

Asia Minor, the capital of the kingdom 
of Lydia, situate at the foot of mount 
Timolus, on the banks of the Pactolus. 
It is celebrated for the many sieges it 
sustained, and for the battle in which 
B. C. 262, Antiochus Soter was defeated 
by Eumenes, king of Pergamus. It was 
destroyed by an earthquake in the reign 
of Tiberius, who ordered it to be rebuilt. 
It fell into the hands of Cyrus, B. C. 
548, and was burnt by the Athenians 
}!< C . 501, which became the cause of 



_ SAR 

the invasion of Attica by Darius. Plut. 
Strab. drc. 

Sardus, a son of Hercules,who 
led a colony to Sardinia, and gave it his 
name. [Fid. Sardinia.] 

Sarmatia, an extensive coun- 
try at the north of Europe and Asia, di- 
vided into European and Asiatic. The 
European was bounded by the ocean 
on the north, Germany and the Vistula 
on the west, the Jazvgae on the south, 
and Tanais on the east. The Asiatic 
was bounded by Hyrcania, the Tanais, 
and the Euxine sea. The Sarmatians 
were a savage uncivilized nation, and 
generally lived on the mountains with- 
out any habitation. Strab. dec. 

Sarmaticum Mare, a name 
given to the Euxine sea, because on the 
coast of Sarmatia. Ouid. 

Sarmentus, a scurrilous per- 
son, mentioned by Horace. 

Sarnius, a river of Asia, near 

Hyrcania. 

Sarnus, a river of Picenum, 

dividing it from Campania, and falling 
into the Tuscan sea. Virg. 

Saron, a king of Trcezene, 

who was drowned in the sea, where he 
had swam in pursuit of a stag. He was 
made a sea god by Neptune, and divine 
honors were paid to him. That part of 
the sea where he was drowned was called 
Saronicus Sinus, on the coast of Achaia, 
near the isthmus of Corinth. Paus. Strab. 

Saronicus Sinus, abayofthe 
iEgean sea, lying at the south of Attica, 
and on the north of the Peloponnesus. 
The entrance into it is between the pro- 
montory of Sunium and that of Scyllse- 
um. [Vid. Saron.] The Saronian bay 
is about 62 miles in circumference, 23 
miles in its broadest, and 25 in its long- 
est part, according to modern calcula- 
tion. 

Sarpedgn, a son of Jupiter 

by Europa, the daughter of Agenor. He 
banished himself from Crete, and re- 
tired to Caria, where he built the town 
of Miletus. He went to the Trojan war 
to assist Priam, attended by his friend 
and companion Glaucus, and was at 
last killed by Patroclus, after he had 
made a great slaughter of the enemy. 
According to some, the brother of king 
Minos, and the prince who assisted Pri- 
am, were two different persons. This 
last was king of Lycia, and son of Jupi- 
ter, by Laodamia, the daughter of Bel- 
lerophon, and lived about a hundred 
years after the age of the son of Europa. 
Homer. Herodot. die. — A son of Nep- 
tune, killed by Hercules for his barba- 
rous treatment to strangers.— -A town of 
Cilicia, famous for a temple sacred to 
Apollo and Diana. 

Sarra, a town of Phoenicia, 



SAT 



SAT 



the same as Tyre. It receives this name 1 i 
from a shell-fish found in the neighbour- i 
hood, with whose blood garments were 
dyed. Hence came the epithet of Sar- 
ranus,so often applied to Tyrian colors. 
Virg. 

Sarrastes, a people of Cam- 
pania, who assisted Turnus against 
^Eneas. Virg. 

Sarrois t , a king of the Celtae, 

so famous for his learning, that from 
him philosophers were called Sarroni- 

d(B. 

Sarsina, an ancient town of 
Umbria, where the poet Plautus was 
born. Martial* 

Saticula and Saticulus, a 

town near Capua. Virg. 

Satnius ,one of Priam's friends 
against the Greeks, killed by Ajax Oile- 
us. He was son of Enops and a sea 
nymph. Homer. 

Satura, a lake of Latium, be- 
tween Antium and Circeii. Virg. 

Satureitjm, or Sattjreum, 

a town of Calabria, near Tarentum, 
whence the epithet Satureianus in Ho- 
race. 

Saturn al i A,festivals in honor 

of Saturn, instituted, as isgenerally sup- 
posed, long before the foundation of 
Rome, in commemoration of the free- 
dom and equality which prevailed on 
earth in the golden reign of Saturn. 
The Saturnalia were originally cele- 
brated only for one day, but afterwards 
the solemnity continued for three, four, 
five, and at last for seven days. The 
celebration was remarkable for the li- 
berty which universally prevailed. The 
slaves were permitted to ridicule their 
masters, and speak with freedom upon 
every subject. It was visual for friends 
to make presents one to another, all 
animosity ceased, no criminals were 
executed, schools were shut, war was 
never declared, but all was mirth, riot, 
and debauchery. Seneca. Cato. &c. 

Sat urns a, a name given to 
Italy, because Saturn had reigned there 
during the golden age. Virg: — A name 
given to Juno, as being the daughter of 
Saturn. Ibid. 

Saturninus. There were 
many of this name among the Romans, 
the most celebrated of whom are the 
following : P. Sempronius, a general of 
Valerian, proclaimed emperor in Egypt 
by his troops, after he had rendered 
himself celebrated by his victories over 
the barbarians. His soldiers wantonly 
murdered him in the 43d year of his 
v.ge, A. D. 2G2.— Sextus Julius, a Gaul, 
intimate with Aurelia^who was saluted 
emperor at Alexandria, and compelled 
by the clamorous army to accept of the 
purple, which he rejected with disdain. 
Probus marched his forces against him, 



and besieged him in Apamea, where he 
destroyed himself, unable to make head 
against his adversary. — Pompeius, a 
writer in the reign of Trajan. He was 
greatly esteemed by Pliny, who speaks 
of him with great approbation as an 
historian, a poet, and an orator. 

Saturnius, a name given to 
Jupiter, Pluto, and Neptune, as being 
the sons of Saturn. 

Saturnus, a son of Ccelus, or 
Uranus, by Terra, or Thea. He was na- 
turally artful, and, by means of his mo- 
ther, he revenged himself on his father, 
whose cruelty to his children had pro- 
voked her anger. She armed him with 
a scythe, and, as Ccelus was going to 
unite himself to Thea, Saturn mutilated 
him, and for ever prevented him from 
increasing the number of his children, 
After this, Saturn obtained his father'* 
kingdom, by the consent of his brother, 
provided he did not bring up any male 
children. Pursuant to this agreement, 
Saturn always devoured his sons as soon 
as born, till his wife Rhea concealed 
from him the birth of Jupiter, Neptune, 
and Pluto, and instead of the children, 
she gave him large stones to eat. Ti- 
tan some time after made war against 
Saturn, and dethroned and imprisoned 
him with Rhea. Jupiter, who was se- 
cretly educated in Crete, flew to deliver 
his father, who, unmindful of his son's 
kindness, conspired against him, but 
Jupiter banished him from his throne, 
and the father fled for safety into Italy, 
where the country retained the name of 
Latium, as being the place of his con- 
cealment, (kcteo). Janus, then king of 
Italy, received Saturn, and made him 
his partner on the throne. Saturn em- 
ployed himself in civilizingthe barbarous 
mariners of the people of Italy, and in 
teaching them agriculture. His reign 
there was so beneficent, that mankind 
have called it the golden age, to intimate 
the happiness which the earth then en- 
j oy ed. The god is generally represented 
as an old man, bent through age and in- 
firmity. He holds a scythe in his right 
hand, with a serpent which bites its own 
tail, and in his left hand he holds a child, 
which he raises up as if instantly to de- 
vour it. On his statues were generally 
hung fetters, in commemoration of the 
chains he had worn when imprisoned by 
Jupiter. Hesiod. Virg. Horn. &c. 

Saturum, a town of Calabria, 

where stuffs of ali kinds were dyed in 
different colors, with great success. 
Virg. 

Sat yri, demigods of the coun- 
try, whose origin is unknown. They 
are represented like men, but with the 
feet and the legs of goats, short horns 
on the head, and the whole body 
i covered with thick hair. They chiefly 
attended upon Bacchus, and rendered 
themselves knov.n in his orgies by their 



SCA 

Isscivicusness. The first fruits of every 
thing were generally offered to them". 
The Romans promiscuously or. lied 
them Fauni, Panes, and Sylvani. Virg. 
Ovid.6ic. 

Satyrus, a Greek rctcr, who 
instructed Demosthenes, and taught 
him how to have a good and strong de- 
livery. —A peripatetic philosopher and 
historian, who flourished B. C. 118- 

Sauromatje, a people in the 

northern parts of Europe and Asia. 
They are called Sarmatas by the Latins. 
\Vid. Sarmatia.] 

Savus, a river of Pannonia, 
rising in Noricum, at the north of 
Aquileia, and falling into the Danube, 
after flowing through Pannonia, in an 
eastern direction. — A small river of 
Numidia, falling into the Mediterra- 
nean. 

ScJea, one of the gates of Troy, 
where the tomb of Laomedon was seen. 
Homer. 

SciEVOLA. [ Vid. Mutius.3 
Scaldis, or Sc allium, a 
river of Belgium. It is now called the 
Scheldt, and divides the modern coun- 
try of the Netherlands from Holland. 
Ctes. — Pons, a town on the same river, 
kow called C'cnde. 

Scamander, or Scamax- 

DR OS, a celebrated river of Tioas,rising 
at the east of mount Ida, and falling 
into the sea below Sigeeum. It receives 
the Simois in its course. This river, 
according to Homer, was caHed Acan- 
thus by' the gods, and Scamander by 
men. Homer: Strati. — A son of Corybas 
and Dcmodice, who brought a colony 
frora Crete into Phrygia, and settled at 
the foot of mount Ida, where he intro- 
duced the festivals of Cybele, and the 
dances of the Corybantes. He some 
time after lost the use of his senses, 
and threw himself into the river Xan- 
th us, which ever after bore his name. 
His son-in-law, Teucer, succeeded him 
in the government of the colony. 
ApoHod. Diod. — Tho son of Hector and 
Andromache, called also Astyanax. 
Homer. 

Scamandrius, one of the 

generals of Priam, son of Strophius. 
He v.as killed by Menelaus. Homer. 

Scanbaria, a promontory in 
the island of Cos. 

Scandinavia, a name given 

by the ancients to the tract of territory 
which contains the modern kingdoms 
of Norway, S weden, Denmark, &c. 

Scantia Sylva, a wood of 
Campania, the property of the Roman 
peep is. 

Scan til la, the wife of Didius 
Juhanus. It was by her advice that 
her husband bought the empire which 



SCI 

was exposed to sale at the death of 
Perlinax. \_Vid. Didius.] 

Scaur us, This name was 

common to raanv eminent Romans, 
the most celebrated of whom is M. 
^Emilius, a Roman consul, who distin- 
guished himself by his eloquence at the 
bar, and by his successes in Spain, in 
the capacity of commander, 'lie was 
sent against Jugurtha, and some time 
after accused of suffering himself to be 
bribed by the Nurcidian prince. He was 
originally very poor. His son, of the 
same name, made himself known by the 
large theatre he built during his edile- 
ship. This theatre, which could con- 
tain thirty thousand spectators, was 
supported'by three hundred and sixty 
columns of marble, thirty-eight feet in 
height, and adorned with three thou- 
sand brass statues.— The surname of 
Scaurus, which was applied to the 
Aurelian and jEmiiian families, was 
probably derived from the weak rr 
distorted ancles of someof them. Horat. 

Scebasus, a native cf Leu ctra. 
in Eceotia. His two daughters, Meletia 
and Molpia, whom some call Thcano 
or Hippo, were ravished by some Spar- 
tans, in the reign of Cleonibrotus, and 
after this they killed themselves, unable 
to survive the loss cf their honor. The 
father became so disconsolate, that 
when he was unable to obtain relief 
from his country, he killed himself on 
their tomb. Pav.s. Pint. 

SCELERATus.aplainatE.ome, 

near the Coiline gate, where the vestal 
IMinucia was buried alive, when con- 
victed of adultery.— One of the gates of* 
Rome was called Scelerata, because 
three hundred Fabii, who were killed 
at the river Cremera,had passed through 
it when they went to attack the enemv. 
Lit'. 

Scena, a river of Ireland, hcvt 
the Shannon. O)oshis. * 

Schedius, one of Helen's 
suitors, who accompanied Menel: v. 5 to 
the Trojan war, at the head of forty 
ships. He was son of Iphitus, king of 
Phocis, and was slain by Hector. 

Scinis, a cruel robber who tied 
men to the boughs of trees, which he 
had forcibly brought together, and 
which he afterwards unloosed, so that 
their limbs were tr.rn in an instant 
from their body. He was son cf Pt ly- 
pemon, or, according to others, of 
Neptune, and he generally fixed his 
residence on the isthmus of Corinth, 
where Theseus, going from Troezene to 
Athens, met him", and inflicted on him 
the punishment which he cruelly prac- 
tised on innocent travellers. Ovid. &e. 

Scipiad^e, a name applied to 

the two Scipics, who obtained the sur- 
name of Africanus from the conquest 
of Carthage. Virg. 



SCI 



SCI 



Sc ipio, a celebrated family at 

Rome j who obtained the greatest ho- 
nors in the republic. The name seems 
to be derived from Scipio, which signi- 
fies a stick, because one of the family 
had conducted his blind father, and had 
been to him as a stick. The Scipios 
were a branch of the Cornelian family. 
The most illustrious were, Cn. sur- 
named Asina, who was consul A. U. C. 
494 and 500. He was conquered in his 
first consulship in a naval battle, and 
lost seventeen ships. The following 
year he took Aleria, in Corsica, and de- 
feated Hanno,the Carthaginian general, 
in Sardinia. He also took 200 of the 
enemy's ships, and the city of Panor- 
raus, " in Sicily. He was father to 
Publius and Cueus Scipio, who were 
defeated and killed in battle by the 
Carthaginians,in Spain, under the" com- 
mand of the two Asdrubals and Mago. 
IAv, Pmlyb. — Publius Cornelius, sur- 
named Afrieanus, was son of Publius 
Scipio, who was killed in Spain. He 
first distinguished himself at the battle 
of Ticinus, where he saved his father's 
life. The battle of Cannae, instead of 
disheartening Scipio, raised his expecta- 
tions, and he nosooner heard that some 
of his desperate countrymen wished to 
abandon Italy, and to fly from the inso- 
lence of the conqueror, than with his 
sword in his hand, and by his firmness 
and example, he obliged them to swear 
eternal fidelity to Rome. In his twenty- 
first year, Scipio was made an edile, 
and some time after the defeat of his 
father Publius, and his uncle Cneus, 
he was appointed to avenge the death 
of Scipio, in Spain, and to vindicate the 
military honor of the republic. It was 
soon known how able he was to be at 
the head of an army. Having arrived 
in Spain, he, in the space of four years, 
banished the Carthaginians from it, and 
made the whole province tributary to 
Rome. New Carthage submitted" in 
one day, and in one battle 54,000 of the 
enemy* were left dead on the field. 
After these signal victories, Scipio was 
recalled to Rome, where he advised 
the invasion of Africa, as the only 
means of conquering Annibal. Though 
opposed by the eloquence, age, and ex- j 
perience of the great FaL>ius, Scipio i 
was empowered to conduct the war on j 
the coasts of Africa. With the dignity | 
of consul he embarked for Carthage, j 
Success attended his arms, the Cartha- 
ginian armies were routed/the camp of 
Asdrubal was set on fire during the 
night, and his troops totally defeated in 
a drawn battle. These repeated losses 
alarmed Carthage, and Annibal was 
recalled from Italy to defend the walls 
of his country, and the two greatest 
generals of that age met each other in 
the field. Terms of accommodation 
were proposed, but in vain. A cele- 
brated battle wis fought near Zama, > 



and both generals displayed great mili- 
tary knowledge, courage, and intre- 
pidity. The conqueror of Italy was, 
nowever vanquished; about twenty 
thousand Carthaginians were slain, and 
the same number made prisoners of 
war, B. C. 202. Only two thousand of 
the Romans were killed. This battle 
was decisive; the Carthaginians -ued 
for peace, which Scipio at last granted 
on the most humiliating terms. The 
conqueror, after his return to Rome, 
where he was received with the most 
unbounded applause, was honored -with 
a triumph, and dignified with the 
appellation of Afrieanus. Here he en- 
joyed for some time the honors which 
his exploits merited, but he afterwards 
had the mortification to see his services 
slighted. He retired from Rome, no 
longer to be a spectator of the ingrati- 
tude of his countrymen, and, in the 
capacity of lieutenant, he accompanied 
his brother against Antiochus, king of 
Syria. In this expedition his arms were 
attended with the usual success. At his 
return to Rome, Afrieanus found the 
malevolence of his enemies still una- 
bated. Cato, and the Petilii, accused 
him of extortion in the provinces of 
Asia, and of living in an indolent and 
luxurious manner. This accusation was 
stopped, and the accusers were silenced. 
Some time after, Scipio died at Inter- 
num, the place of his retreat about, 184 
years before Christ, in the forty-eighth 
year of his age. If Scipio was robbed 
during his life-time of the honors which 
belonged to him as conqueror of Africa, 
he was not forgotten when dead. The 
Romans viewed his character with 
reverence ; with raptures they read of 
his warlike actions, and Afrieanus was 
regarded in the following ages as a pat- 
tern of virtue, innocence, courage, and 
liberality. The friendship of Scipio 
and Laeiius is well known. Polyb. Plut. 
&c. — Lucius Cornelius, surnamed Asia- 
ticus, accompanied his brother Afri ca- 
llus in his expeditions in Spain and 
Africa. He was rewarded with the con- 
sulship, A. U. C. 564, for his services to 
the state, and he was empowered to 
attack Antiochus, king of Syria, who 
had declared war against the Romans. 
Lucius, by the advice of the conqueror 
of Annibal, soon routed the enemy, and 
in a battle near the city of Sardis, he 
killed fifty thousand foot and four 
thousand horse. The submission of 
Antiochus succeeded this victory, and 
the conqueror, on his return home, ob- 
tained a triumph, and the surname of 
Asiaticus. He did not, however, long 
enjoy his prosperity : Cato, and the two 
Peiilii, charged Asiaticus with having 
suft'ered himself to be corrupted by 
Antiochus. Being summoned before 
the tribunal of Terentius Culeo, he was 
found guilty, and his goods were con- 
fiscated. Scipio declared that he had 



SCI 



accounted to the public for all the 
money which he had brought from 
Asia, and therefore that he was inno- 
cent. For this obstinacy Scipio was 
dragged to prison. The Romans, how- 
ever, ashamed of their severity towards 
him, afterwards rewarded his merit 
with uncommon liberality. Liv. &c. — 
Nasi?a 3 son of Cneus Scipio, and cousin 
to Scipio Afrieanus, distinguished him- 
self by the active part he took in con- 
futing the accusations laid against the 
two Scipios, Afrieanus and Asiaticus. — 
Publ. iEmilianus, son of Pauhis, the 
conqueror of Perseus, was adopted by 
the son of Scipio Afrieanus. He re- 
ceived the same surname as his grand- 
father, and was" called Afrieanus the 
younger, on account of his victories 
over Carthage. He distinguished him- 
self as a legionary tribune m the Spanish 
provinces, where he killed a Spaniard 
of gigantic stature, and obtained a 
mural crown at the siege of Intercatia. 
He next passed into Africa to demand a 
reinforcement from king Masinissa, the 
ally of Rome, and he was the spectator 
of a long and bloody battle which was 
fought between that monarch and the 
Carthaginians, which soon produced 
the third Punic war. Being empowered 
by the Roman senate to conduct this 
war, the surrender of about fifty thou- 
sand men was followed by the reduction 
of the citadel, and the total submission 
of Carthage, before Christ 147. The 
captive city was set on fire, and though 
Scipio was obliged to demolish its very 
walls to obey the orders of the Romans, 
yet he wept bitterly over the melancholy 
scene ; and, in bewailing the miseries of 
Carthage, he expressed his fears lest 
Rome,' in her turn-,, in some future age, 
should exhibit such a dreadful confla- 
gration. The return of ^Emilianus to 
Rome was that of another conqueror of 
Annibal, and, like him, he was honored 
with a magnificent triumph, and re- 
ceived the surname of Afrieanus. He 
was also called Numantinus, from his 
conquering Numantia. Scipio was 
found dead in his bed, and those who 
inquired for the causes of his sudden 
death perceived violent marks on his 
neck, and concluded that he had been 
strangled, B. C. 128. Liv. Polyb. &c. 
The second Afrieanus has often been 
compared to the first of that name ; 
they seemed to be equally great and 
equally meritorious, and the Romans 
were unable to distinguish which of the 
two was entitled to a greater share of 
their regard and admiration. 

Scira, an annual solemnity- 
observed at Athens in honor of Minerva, 
or, according to others, of Ceres and 
Proserpine. It received its name either 
from Sciras, a small town of Attica, or 
from a native of Eleusis, called Seirus. 

Sciressa, a mountain of Ar- 
cadia. Plin. Nat, Hist. 4. c. 5. 



SCV 

Scircw, a celebrated thief in 

Attica, who plundered the inhabitants 
of the country, and threw them down 
from the highest rocks into the sea, 
after he had obliged them to wait on 
him, and to wash his feet. Theseus 
attacked him, and treated him as he 
treated travellers. According to Ovid, 
the earth, as well as the sea, refused to 
receive the bones of Sciron, which re- 
mained for some time suspended in the 
air, till they were changed into large 
rocks called Seironia Saxa, situate be- 
tween Megara and Corinth. Sciron had 
married the daughter of Cyehreus, a 
king of Salamis. He was brother-in- 
law to Telamon, the son of ^Eacus. 
Ovid. Strab. Pint. &c. 

Scirus, a village of Arcadia, 
of which the inhabitants are called 

SciritcB. 

Scolus, a town of Macedonia, 

near Olynthus. 

Scomjbrtjs, a mountain near 
Rhodope in Thrace. 

Scopas, an architect and 

sculptor of Ephesus, employed in mak- 
ing the mausoleum which Artemisia 
raised to her husband, and which was 
reckoned one of the seven wonders of 
the world. One of his statues of Venus 
was among the antiquities with which 
Rome was adorned. Scopas lived about 
450 years before Christ. Paus. Herodot. 

Scordisci and ScoRDisc^,a 

people of Pannonia and Thrace, well 
know r n during the reign of the Roman 
emperors for their barbarity. They 
'were fond of drinking human blood, 
and they generally sacrificed their cap- 
tive enemies to their gods. Strab. Flor. 

Scribonia, a daughter of 

Scribonius,who married Augustus after 
he had divorced Claudia. He had by 
her a daughter, the celebrated Julia. 
Scribonia was some time after repudi- 
ated, that Augustus might marry Livia. 
She had been married twice before she 
became che wife of the emperor* Suet, 
in Aug. 

Scylaceum, a town of Cala- 
bria, built by an Athenian colony. 
Virgil has applied the epithet Navifra- 
gum to Scylaceum, though it is said 
there w r ere no apparent dangers to na- 
vigation there. 

Scylax, a geographer and 
mathematician of Caria, about 550 
years before Christ. He was commis- 
sioned by Darius, the son of Hystaspes, 
to make discoveries in the East, and 
after a journey of thirty months, he 
visited Egypt. Some suppose that he 
was the first who invented geographical 
tables. Herodot. Strab. 

Scylla, a daughter of Nisus, 
king of Megara, who became enamour- 



SCAT 



SEG 



ed of Minos, who besieged her father's 
capital. She informed him that she 
would deliver Megara into his hands, if 
he promised to marry her. Minos con- 
sented, and as the fate of Megara de- 
fended on a golden hair on the head of 
tfkus, Scylla cut it off, and the enemy 
easily became master of the place. 
Minos after this treated her with such 
contempt, that she threw herself into 
the sea, or, according toother accounts, 
she was changed into a lai?k by the gods, 
ana her father into a hawk. Ovid. Virg. 
«fcc— A daughter of Typhon, or of 
Phorcys, who was greatly loved by 
Glaucus, one of the deities of the sea. 
Glaucus, in order to render her more 
propitious, applied to Circe, whose 
knowledge of herbs and incantationswas 
universally admired. Circe herself be- 
cause enamoured of him, and attempted 
to make him forget Scylla, but in vain. 
To punish her rival, Circe poured the 
juice of some poisonous herbs into the 
waters of the fountain where Scylla 
bathed, and no sooner had the nymph 
touched the place, than she found every 
part of her body below the waist chang- 
ed into frightful monsters like dogs, 
which never ceased barking. The rest 
of her body assumed an equally hideous 
form. This sudden metamorphosis so 
terrified her, that she threw herself 
into that part of the si»a which separates 
the coast of Italy and Sicily, where she 
was changed into rocks, which continue 
to bear her name, and which were uni- 
versally deemed very dangerous to na- 
vigators, as well as the whirlpool of 
Charybdis, on the coast of Sicily. Du- 
ring a tempest, the waves are described 
by modern navigators as roaring dread- 
fully when driven into the rough and 
uneven cavities of the rocks. Some 
authors, as Virgil, Ovid, and Proper- 
tius, have confounded the daughter of 
Typhon with the daughter of Nisus. 
Homer. Ovid. Virg. &cc. 

Sc YXLiEusi, a promontory of 
Peloponnesus, on the coast of Argolis. 
—A promontory of the Brutii, in Italy, 
supposed to be the same as Scylaceum. 

Scyllias, a celebrated swim- 
mer, who enriched himself by diving 
after the goods which had been ship- 
wrecked in the Persian ships near Pe- 
lium. It is said that he could dive 
eighty stadia under the water. Herodot. 

Scyluxius, a monarch of Tar- 
tary, who left eighty sons. He called 
them to his bed-side as he expired, and 
by enjoining them to break a bundle of 
sticks tied together, and afterwards sepa- 
rately, he convinced them that when 
all together firmly united, their power 
would be insuperable, but if ever dis- 
united, they would fall an easy prey to 
their enemies. Pint, de Gan . 

Scyros, a rocky and barren 
island in the iEgean, at the distance of 



■ about twenty-eight miles north-east of 
the Eubcea, sixty miles in circumfe- 
rence. Achilles retired there in order to 
avoid going to the Trojan war. Strab, 
Scythe, the inhabitants of 
Scythia. \Vid. Scythia. J 

Scythes, or Scytha, a son 
of Jupiter, by a daughter of Telkis. 
Half his body was that of a man, and 
the rest that of a serpent. He became 
king of a country which he called Scy- 
thia. Diod. 

Scythia, a large country si- 
tuate on the most northern parts of 
Europe and Asia. The boundaries of 
Scythia were unknown to the ancients, 
as no traveller had penetrated beyond 
the vast tracts of land which lay at the 
north, east, and west. Scythia com- 
prehended the modern kingdoms of 
Tartary, Russia in Asia, Siberia, Mus- 
covy, the Crimea, Poland, part of Hun- 
gary, Lithuania, the northern parts of 
Germany, Sweden, Norway, &c. The 
Scythians were divided into several 
nations or tribes ; they had no cities, 
but continually changed their habita- 
tion. They inured themselves to bear 
labor and fatigue ; they despised money, 
and lived upon milk, and covered them- 
selves with the skins of their cattle. 
Some authors represent them as a 
savage people, who fed upon human 
flesh, drank the blood of their enemies, 
and used the skulls of travellers as ves- 
sels in their sacrifices to their gods. 
Herodot. Strab. &c. 

Sebennytus, a town of the 
Delta, in Egypt. That branch of the 
Nile which flows near it has been called 
the Sebennytie. Plin. 

Sebetus, a small river of 
Campania, whence the epithet Sebethis, 
given to one of the nymphs who fre- 
quented its borders,and became mother 
of (Ebalus by Telon. Virg. 

Sect anus, an infamous debau- 
chee in the age of Horace. 

SEDULius,a native of Scotland , 
who, after travelling for information, 
settled at Rome, where he distin- 
guished himself as a Christian writer 
and poet, in the reign of Theodosius 
the younger. His poems possess ele- 
gance and spirit, ancf* prove him to 
have been a man of genius and learn- 
ing. They are all ou scripture sub- 
jects. , . 

Segesta, a town of Sicily, 
founded by /Eneas, or, according to 
some, by Criilistis. 

Segetia, a divinity at Rome, 
invoked by the husbandmen that their 
harvests might be plentiful. Plin. Ma- 
crob. 

Segni, a people with a town 
of the same name in Belgic Gaul. 
SEGOXAX,a prince in the south - 
s 



SEL 



SEL 



em parts of Britain, who opposed Caesar 
bj order of Cassivelauuus, &e. Cces. 

Segovia, a town of Spain, of 
great power in the age of the Cassars. — 
There was also another of the same 
name in Lusitania. Both had been 
founded by the Celtiberi. 

Seguntium, a town of Bri- 
tain,supposed to be Carnarvon in North 
Wales. Caesar. 

Se git si a, a town of Piedmont 
on the Durias. 

Seia, a rural divinity at Rome, 
who presided over corn before it sprang 
up, above the earth, after sowing. The 
growth of corn was under the particular 
protection of different deities, especially 
among a nation devoted to agricultural 
improvement ; hence the worship paid 
to Seia ; to Occator, the god of harrow- 
ing; to Sarriior, the god of weeding; 
to Nodotus, the god who watched over 
the blade when it became knottv to 
Robigus, &c. Plin. &e. 

^Elius Sejanus, a native of 

Vulsinum, in Tuscany, who distin- 
guished himself in the court of Tibe- 
rius. Sejanus attached himself to the 
interest and the views of Tiberius, who 
then sat on the imperial throne. The 
emperor, though naturally suspicious, 
was free and open with Sejanus, and 
communicated to him his greatest se- 
crets. Sejanus improved this confidence, 
and he next endeavoured to become 
the favorite of the soldiers, and the 
darling of the senate. His affability 
gained him the hearts of the soldiers, 
and by appointing his own favorites to 
places of trust, all the officers and cen- 
turions of the army became devoted to 
his interest. His views, however, of 
aspiring to the imperial throne were 
finally discovered, both by the people 
and the emperor ; and being at length 
deserted by all his pretended friends, 
the man who aspired to the empire, 
and who called himself the favorite of 
the people, the darling of the praetorian 
guards, and the companion of Tiberius, 
was seized without resistance, and the 
same day strangled in prison, A. D 31 . 
His remains were exposed to the fury 
of the populace, and afterwards thrown 
into the Tiber. His children and all 
his relatives were involved in his ruin. 
Tacit. Suet. 

Se lex e, signifies in Greek the 

moon, whence it is taken in the same 
sense in Greek writers as Diana, or 
Luna among the Latins. Hesiod. Diod. 

Seleucia, a town of Syria, 
generally called Pieria, to distinguish it 
from others of the same name. There 
were no less than eight other cities 
which were called Seleucia, and which 
had all received their name from Seleu- 
cus Nicator. They were all situate in 
the kingdom of Syria, in (Jilieia, and 



near the Euphrates. Mela. Strab. Plin. 
&c. 

SeleucidjE, a surname given 

to those monarchs who sat onihe throne 
of Syria, which was founded by Seleu- 
cus, the son of Antiochus, from whom 
the word is derived. The era of the 
Seleucida? begins with the taking of 
Babylon by Seleucus, B. C. 312, and 
ends" at the conquest of Syria by 
Pompey, B. C. 65. 

Seleucis, a division of Syria* 

It received its name from Seleucus, 
who was the founder of the Syrian em- 
pire, after the death of Alexander the 
Great. 

Seleucus I. oneof the captains 

of Alexander the Great, surnamed. 
Nicator or Victorious,was son of Antio- 
chus. After the king's death, he received 
Babylon as his province. When he had 
strengthened himself in his empire, 
Seleucus imitated the example of the 
rest of the generals of Alexander, and 
assumed the title of independent mon- 
arch. He was at last murdered by 
one of his servants called Ptolemy Ce- 
raunus, a man on whom he had bestowed 
the greatest favors. He founded no less 
than thirty-four cities in different parts 
of his empire, which he peopled with 
Greek colonies, whose national industry, 
learning, &c. were communicated to 
the indolent inhabitants of Asia. Seleu- 
cus was murdered 2S0 years before the 
Christian era, in the thirty-second year 
of his reign, and the seventy-eighth, or, 
according to others, the seventy-third 
year of his age. He was succeeded by 
Antiochus Soter. Justin. Plin. &c— 
The 2d, surnamed Callinicus,succeedeU 
his father Antiochus Theus on the 
throne of Syria. After he had been a 
prisoner for" some time in Parthia, he 
died of a fall from his horse, before 
Christ 22G, after a reign of twenty 
years. Seleucus had received the sur- 
name of Pogon, from his long beard, 
and that of Callinicus, ironically, to 
express his very unfortunate reign, 
Strab. Justi?i.— The 3d, succeeded his 
father Seleucus II. on the throne of 
Syria, and received the surname of 
Ceraunus, by antiphrasis, as he was a 
very weak timid monarch. He was 
murdered by two of his officers, after a 
r.ign of three years, before Christ 223 ; 
and his brother Antiochus, though only 
fifteen years old, ascended the throne, 
and rendered himself so celebrated tha t 
he acquired the name of the Great. 
Appiaru — The 4th, succeeded his father 
Antiochus the Great on the throne of 
Syria. He was surnamed Philopater, 
or, according to Joseph us, Soter. He 
was poisoned, after a reign of twelve 
years, B. C. 175. Stmb. Justin.— The 
5th, succeeded his father Demetrius 
Nicator on the throne of Syria, in the 
twentieth year of his age. He was put 
to death in the first year of his reign, 



SEM 



SEM 



by Cleopatra his mother. He is not 
reckoned by many historians in the 
number of the Syrian monarchs. — The 
6th, one of the Seleucidas, son of An- 
tiochus Gryphus, was banished from 
his kingdom by Antiochus Pius, and 
fled to Cilicia , where he was burnt in a 
palace by the inhabitants, B. C. 93. 
Appian Joseph. — A prince of Syria, to 
whom the Egyptians offered the crown 
of which they had robbed Auletes. Se- 
leucus accepted it, but he soon disgusted 
his subjects, and received the surname 
of Cybiosactes or Scullion, for his 
meanness and avarice. He was at last 
murdered by Berenice, whom he had 
married. — There were others of this 
name, but of inferior celebrity. 

Selimnus, a shepherd of 
Achaia, who for- some time enjoyed the 
favors of the nymph Argyra, without 
interruption. Argyra was at last dis- 
gusted with her lover, and the shepherd 
died through melancholy, and was 
changed into a river of the sama name. 
Argyra was also changed into a foun- 
tain, and was fond of mingling her wa- 
ters with those of the Selimnus. Pans. 

Selinuns, or SelIktus, a 
town on the southern parts of Sicily, j 
founded A. U. C. 127, by a colony from j 
Megara. It received its name from 1 
0"s?./yov, parsley, which grew there in 
abundance. Virg. 

Sellasia, a town of Laconia, j 
where Cleomenes was defeated by the j 
Acheeans, B. C. 222. Scarcely 200 of a 
body of 5000 Lacedaemonians survived 
the battle. Plut. 

Semele, a daughter of Cad- 
mus, by Hermione, was beloved by Ju- 
piter ; but Juno, always jealous of her 
nusband,determined to punish her rival. 
She borrowed the girdle of Ate, which 
contained every wickedness ; and, in the 
form of Beroe, Semele's nurse, visited 
the house of Semele, who listened with 
attention to the false Beroe, and was 
persuaded to entreat her lover to come 
to. her arms with the same majesty as he 
approached Juno. Jupiter had "sworn 
by the Styx to grant Semele whatever 
she required, he therefore came to her 
bed attended by the clouds, the light- 
ning, and thunder-bolts. Semele could 
not endure so much majesty, and she 
was instantly consumed with fire. The 
child, however, of which she was preg- 
nant, was saved from the flames by 
Mercury , and Jupiter placed him in his 
thigh the rest of the time which he 
ought to have been in his mother's 
womb. This child was called Bacchus, 
or Dionysius. Semele immediately after 
death was honored with immortality 
under the name of Thyone. Hesiod* 
Homer. Ovid. &c. 

Semi ram is, a celebrated queen 
of Assyria. Semiramis, when grown up, 
married Mcnones, the governor of Ni- 



neveh, and accompanied him to the 
siege of Bactra, where, by her prudent 
directions, she hastened the king's ope- 
rations and took the city. These emi- 
nent services, but chiefly her uncom- 
mon beauty, endeared her to king Ni- 
nus, who asked her of her husband, 
who, when Ninus added threats to en- 
treaties, hanged himself. No sooner 
was Menones dead; than Semiramis 
married Ninus, by whom she had a son 
called Nmyas. Ninus was so fond, of 
Semiramis, that, at her request, he re- 
signed the crown to her, and com- 
manded her to be proclaimed queen 
and sole empress of Assyria. Semiramis 
then put him to death, the better to 
establish herself on the throne, and when 
she had no enemies to fear at home, she 
began to repair Babylon, which became 
one of the most superb cities in the 
world. It is supposed that she lived 
about 1965 years before the Christian 
era, and that she died in the 62:1 year 
of her age, and the 25 th of her reign. 
Many fabulous reports have been pro- 
pagated abom Semiramis, and some 
have declared that for some time she 
disguised herself, and passed for her son 
Ninyas. Val. Max. Herodot. Justin. 

Semones, quasi semi-7iomi?ies, 
inferior deities of Rome, that were not 
in the number of the 12 great gods. 
Among these were Faunus, the Satyrs, 
Priapus, Vertumnus, Janus, Pan, Sile- 
nus, &c. 

S e mo san ctuSj one of the gods 
of the Romans among the Indigetes, or 
such as were born and educated in their 
country. 

Sempronia, a Roman matron, 

mother of the two Gracchi, celebrated 
for her learning, and her private as well 
as public virtues.— Also a sister of the 
Gracchi, accused of having assisted the 
triumvirs Carbo, Gracchus, and Fiac- 
cus, to murder her husband, Scipio 
Africanus the younger. The name of 
Sempronia was common to the female 
descendants of the family of the Sem- 
pronii, Gracchi, and Scipios. 

Sempronrjs. This name was 

common to many eminent Romans, the 
most celebrated of whom are— L. Atra- 
tinus, a senator who opposed the Agra- 
rian law, which was proposed by the 
consul Cassius soon after the election 
of the tribunes. — Blaesus, a consul who 
obtained a triumph for some victories 
gained in Sicily. — A legionary tribune, 
who led away from Cannae the remain- 
ing part of the soldiers who had not 
been killed by the Carthaginians. He 
*was afterwards consul, and fought in 
the field against Annibal with great 
success. He was killed in Spain.— Ti- 
berius Gracchus, a consul who defeated 
the Carthaginians and the Campanians. 
He was afterwards betrayed by Fulvius, 
a Lucanian, into the hands of the Car- 
thaginians, and was killed, after he had 
S 2 



SEN 



SEN 



made a long and bloody resistance 
against the enemy. Annibal showed 
great honor to his remains : a funeral 
pile was raised at the head of the camp, 
and the enemy's cavalry walked round 
it in solemn procession. Tacit. Flor. 
Liv. &c. 

Semueium, a place near 

Rome, where Apollo had a temple. 
8 EN" a, a town of Umbria, in 

Italy, on the Adriatic, built by the Se- 
nones, after they had made an irruption 
into Italy, A. 17. C. 396; and on that 
account called Gallica. It was near it 
that Asdrubal was defeated by CI. Nero. 
C. Nep. &c. 

Sexatus, the chief council of 
the state among the Romans. The 
members of this body, called se>iatores 
on account of their age, and patres on 
account of their authority, were of the 
greatest consequence in the republic. 
The senate was first instituted by Ro- 
mulus, to govern the city, and to pre- 
side over the affairs of state during his 
absence. This order was continued by 
his successors; butTarquin the Second, 
disdaining to consult them, diminished 
their authority. The senators whom 
Romulus created were an hundred, to 
whom he afterwards added the same 
number when the Sabines had mi- 
grated to Rome. Tarquin the Ancient 
made the senate consist of 300, and this 
n umber remained fixed for a long time ; 
but afterwards it fluctuated greatly, and 
was Increased to too, and' to 900 by 
J. Caesar. Under Augustus the senators 
amounted to 1000, but this number was 
reduced to 300, and afterwards raised 
to C00. The place era senator was al- 
ways bestowed upon merit. The au- 
thority of the senators, so conspicuous 
in the first ases of the republic, and 
which caused the minister of Pyrrhus 
to declare that the Roman senate" was a 
venerable assembly of kings, dwindled 
into nothing under the emperors. Men 
of the lowest characters were admitted 
into the senate ; and the senators them- 
selves, by their servility, contributed 
as much as the tyranny of the sovereign 
to diminish their own consequence. 
The senate was abolished by Justinian, 
13 centuries after its first institution by 
Romulus. 

Sexeca, M. Annssus, a native 

of Corduba, in Spain. He left Corduba, 
and went to Rome, where he became a 
Roman knight. — His son, L. Annseus 
Seneca, was early distinguished bv his 
extraordinary talents. As one of the 
followers of the Pythagorean doctrines, 
Seneca observed the most reserved abs- 
tinence. In the character of a pleader 
Seneca appeared with great advantage ; 
but the fear of Caligula deterred him 
from pursuing his favorite study. He 
was made quasstor ; but the aspersions 
thrown upon him, on account of a 
shameful amour with Julia Liviila, re- 



moved him from Rome, and the em. 
peror banished him for some time into 
Corsica. The disgrace of Messeiiua at 
Rome, and the marriage of Agrippina 
with Claudius, proved favorable to Se- 
neca, and after he had remained five 
years in Corsica, he was recalled by the 
empress to take care of the education 
of her son Nero, who was destined to 
succeed to the empire. In the honor- 
able duty of preceptor, Seneca gained 
applause, and as long as Nero followed 
his advice, Rome enjoyed tranquillity. 
Seneca, well acquainted with the na- 
tural disposition of Nero> did not think 
himself secure ; he had been accused of 
having amassed the most ample riches 
during the four years in which he had 
attended Nero as a preceptor, and there- 
fore Seneca desired him to accept of the 
riches, and to permit him to retire to 
solitude and study. Nero refused with 
artful duplicity, and Seneca, to avoid 
further suspicions, kept himself at home 
for some time, as if laboring under a 
disease. In the conspiracy of Piso, 
which happened some time after, Se- 
neca's name was mentioned by Natalis, 
upon which Nero ordered him to de- 
stroy himself. Seneea was at table, 
with his wife Paulina, and two of his 
friends, when the messenger from Nero 
arrived. He heard the words which 
commanded him to destroy himself 
with philosophic firmness. His wife re- 
solved to die with him, and their veins 
were opened at the same moment, but 
the life of Paulina was preserved. Se- 
neca's veins bled but slowly, and to 
hasten his death he drank a dose of 
poison, but it had no effect; he then 
ordered himself to be carried into a hot 
bath to accelerate the operation of the 
draught; this was attended with no bet- 
ter success; and, as the soldiers were 
clamorous, he was carried into a stove, 
and suffocated by the steam, on the 
12th of April, in "the 65th year of the 
Christian era, in his 53d year. His body 
was burnt without pomp or funeral ce- 
remony. The compositions of Seneca 
are numerous, and chiefly on moral 
subjects. He is admired for his refined 
sentiments, and virtuous precepts. His 
style is nervous, it abounds with orna- 
ment, and seems well suited to the age 
in which he lived. His treatises are, 
de Ira, de Consolatione, de Provklentia, 
de Tranqmllitate Animi, de dementia, 
de Sapientis Consiantia, de Otio Sapi' 
entis, de Brevitate Yitte, de Beneficiis, 
de Vita Beata ; besides his - Nat u rales 
Qucestiones, Ludus in Claudiam, Moral 
Lettets, &c. There are also some tra- 
gedies ascribed to Seneca, in imitation 
of the sublime works of ^Eschylus and 
Euripides, but they are more probably 
the composition of some writer of his 
name or of his family. Tacit. Suet* 

Sen ones, an uncivilized nation 

of Gallia Transalpine, who left their 



SER 



SER 



native possessions, and under the con- 
duet of Bren.ms, invaded Italy, and pil- 
laged Rome. They afterwards united 
wizh the L'-.nbri, Latins, and Etrurians, 
to make war against the Romans, till 
they were totally destroyed by Dola- 
bella. The chief' of their towns were 
Fanum Fortune, Sena, Pisaurum, and 
Ariminum. Liu. Flo/. — A people of 
Germany near the Suevi. 

Sex tixus, a god whose power 
was exerted in opening and maturing 
the sense and feelings of children newl y 
born. Aug. de Civ.D. 

Se pt eriost, a festival observed 
once in nine years at Delphi, in honor 
of Apollo. It was a representation of 
the pursuit of Python by Apollo, and of 
the victory obtained by the god. 

Tit. Septimius, a Roman 
knight, distinguished by his poetical 
compositions, both lyric and tragic. 
Horace has addressed "the 6 th of his se- 
cond book of Odes to him. 

SequLva, a river of Gaul, 
'which separates the territories of the 
Belgre and the Celtse. It is now called 
la Seine. Strab. Mela. 

Se quant, a people of Gaul, 
near the territories of the iEdui. Ccesat 
de Bell. G. 

Serapto, a Greek poet who 
flourished in the age of Trajan. He 
was intimate with Plutarch. 

Serapis, one of the Egyptian 
deities, supposed to be the same as 
Osiris. He had a magnificent temple 
at Memphis, another at Alexandria, and 
a third at Canopus. The worship of 
Serapis was introduced at Rome by the 
emperor Antoninus Pius, A. D. i-l-G,and 
the mysteries celebrated on the 6th of 
May, but with so much licentiousness 
that the senate was soon after obliged 
to abolish it. Herodotus makes no men- 
tion of the god Serapis. Apollodorus 
says it is the same as the bull Apis. 

Serexus Aulus, a Latin poet 
who excelled as a lyric writer, and de- 
served to be ranked with the first Ro- 
man authors for his genius and learning. 
His poems were highly elegant, and he 
was particularly happy in his love de- 
scriptions, and the humorous sallies of 
his muse. Only ig of his verses are pre- 
served. 

Seres, a nation of Asia, ac- 
cording to Ptolemy, between the Ganges 
and theEasternOc'ean. Silk was brought 
to Rome from their country, and on that 
account it received the name of Seri- 
cum, and thence a garment of silk is 
called serica vestis. Some suppose that 
the Seres are the same as the Chinese. 
rto!. Virg. &c. 

Serge st us, a sailor in the fleet 
of .Eneas, from w hom the family of the 
Sergii at Rome were descended. Virg. 

Sergius and Sergiolus, a 



deformed youth, greatly admired by the 
Roman ladies in Juvenal's age. Juv. 

Serifhtjs, an island in the 
.Egean sea, about 36 miles in circum- 
ference, according to Pliny only i^.very 
barren and uncultivated. "The* Romans 
generally sent their criminals there in 
banishment. Strab. Juv. &c, 

Serraxus, a surname given to 

Cineinnatus, because he was found sow- 
inghis fields when told that he had been 
elected dictator. Liv. I irg.—A poet of 
some merit in Domitian's reign. Ju v.— 
One of the auxiliaries of Turnus, killed 
in the night by Nisus. Virg. 

Quint us Sertorius, a Ro- 
man general, born at Nursia. His first 
campaign was under the great Marius, 
against the Teutones and Cimbri. — 
When Marius and Cinna entered Rome 
and slaughtered all their enemies, Ser- 
torius expressed his sorrow at the melan- 
choly death of so many of his country- 
mem He afterwards fled for safety into 
Spain, when Sylla had proscribed 'him, 
and in this province he behaved him- 
self with so much address, that he was 
looked upon as the prince of the coun- 
try. The Lusitanians universally re- 
vered and loved him. The success of 
Sertorius in Spain, and his popularity 
among the natives, alarmed the Ro- 
mans. They sent some troops to oppose 
him, but with little success. Four ar- 
mies were found insufficient to hurt 
Sertorius: and Pompey and Metellus 
were driven with dishonor from the 
field. But he at length became exposed 
to the dangers which usually attend 
greatness. Perpemia, one of his offi- 
cers, jealous of his fame, conspired 
against him. At a bauquet the conspi- 
rators began to open their intentions by 
speaking with freedom and licentious- 
ness in the presence of Sertorius, whose 
age and character had hitherto claimed 
deference from others. Perpenna over- 
turned a glass of wine as a signal to the 
rest of the conspirators, and immediate- 
ly Antonius, one of his officers, stabbed 
Sertorius, and the example was followed 
by all the rest, 73 years before Christ. 
Sertorius has been commended for his 
love of justice and moderation. Plut. 
Paterc. &c. 

Servilia, a sister of Cato of 

Utica, greatly enamoured of J. Caesar, 
though ner brother was one of the most 
inveterate enemies of her lover. From 
the intimacy which existed between Ser- 
vilia and Cesar, some have supposed 
that the dictator was the father of M. 
Brutus. — Plut. in Cces. C. Nep. in Attic. 
— A daughter of Thrasea, put to death, 
by order of Nero, with her father. Her 
crime was the consulting of magicians, 
only to know what would happen in her 
family. 

Ser.vilianus, a Roman con- 
sul, defeated by Viriathus, in Spain, &c. 



SKR 



SEV 



Servilitjs. This name was 
common to many of the Romans, the 
most celebrated of whom are— Publius, 
a consul who supported the cause of 
the people against the nobles, and ob- 
tained a triumph in spite of the oppo- 
sition of the senate, after defeating the 
Volsci. He afterwards changed his opi- 
nions, and very violently opposed the 
people because they had illiberally treat- 
ed him. — Ahala, a master of horse to 
the dictator Cincinnatus. When Maelius 
refused to appear before the dictator, 
to answer the accusations which were 
brought against him on suspicion of his 
aspiring to tyranny, Ahala slew him in 
the midst of the people, whose protec- 
tion he claimed. Ahala was accused for 
this murder, and banished, but this sen- 
tence was afterwards repealed. He was 
raised to the dictatorship. — Publius, a 
proconsul of Asia during the age of Mi- 
thridates. He conquered Isauria, for 
which service he was surnamed Isauri- 
cus, and rewarded with a triumph. 

Servius Tullids, the 6th 

king of Rome, was son of Ocrisia, a 
slave of Corniculum, by Tullius, a man 
slain in the defence of his country 
against the Romans. Ocrisia was given 
by Tarquin to Tanaquil, his wife, and 
she brought up her son in the king's 
family, and added the name of Servius 
to that which he had inherited from his 
father, to denote his slavery. Young 
Servius was educated in the palace with 
great care, and he raised himself so 
much to consequence, that Tarquin 
gave him his daughter in marriage. 
His own private virtues recommended 
him to the notice of the people and of 
the soldiers ; and by his liberality and 
complaisance he was easily raised to the 
throne on the death of his father-in-law. 
Servius endeared himself as a warrior 
and a legislator. He defeated the Veien- 
tes and the Tuscans, and established the 
census, which told him that Rome con- 
tained about 84,000 inhabitants. He 
increased the number of the tribes, 
beautified the city, and enlarged its 
boundaries by taking within its walls the 
hills Quirinalis, Viroinalis, and Esquili- 
nus. He also divided the Roman people 
into tribes. Servius married his two 
daughters to the grandsons of his fa- 
ther-in-law ; the elder to Tarquin, and 
the younger to Aruns. In this union 
he was unhappily deceived. The wife 
of Aruns, naturally fierce and impetu- 
ous, murdered her own husband to 
unite herself to Tarquin, who had like- 
wise assassinated his wife. These bloody 
measures were no sooner pursued, than 
Servius was murdered by his own son- 
in-law. and his daughter* Tullia cruelly 
ordered her chariot to be driven over 
the mangled body of her father, B. C. 
534. His death was universally la- 
mented by his subjects. Liv. Flor, &c. — 
Sulpitius, an orator in the age of Ci- 
cero and Hortensius. He was sent as 



ambassador to M. Antony, and died 
before his return. Cicero obtained a 
statue for him from the senate and the 
Roman people, which was raised in the 
Campus Martius. His works are lost. 
Cic. in Brut. Phil. &c. 

Sesera, a daughter of Celeus, 
king of Eleusis, sister of Triptolemus. 
Paw*. 

SEsosTRis,a celebrated king of 

Egypt,some ages before the Trojan war, 
who, when he succeeded on his father's 
throne, became ambitious of military 
fame, and marched at the head of a nu- 
merous army to make the conquest of 
the world. Libya, ^Ethiopia, Arabia, 
with all the islands of the Red Sea, were 
conquered, and the victorious monarch 
marched through Asia, and penetrated 
farther into the east than the conqueror 
of Darius. He also invaded Europe,and 
subdued the Thracians, and placed co- 
lumns in the several provinces he had 
subdued : many ages after, this pompous 
inscription was read in many parts of 
Asia — ' ' Sesostris, the king of k'pgs, has 
conquered this territory by his arms." 
At his return home,themonai chemploy- 
ed his time in encouraging the fine arts, 
and in improving the revenues of his 
kingdom. In his old age, Sesostris, 
grown infirm and blind, destroyed him- 
self, after a reign of 44 years, according 
to some. The age of Sesostris is so re^ 
mote from every authentic record, that 
many have supported that the actions 
arsd conquests ascribed to mm are to- 
tally fabulous. Herodot. &c. 

Sessites, now Sessia, a river 
of Cisalpine Gaul, falling into the Po. 
Sestias, a name applied to 

Hero, as born at Sestos. 

Sestos, or Sestus, a town of 

Thrace, on the shores of the Helles- 
spont, exactly opposite Abydos, on the 
Asiatic side* It is celebrated for the 
bridge which Xerxes built there across 
the Hellespont, as also for being the 
seat of the amours of Hero and Leander. 
Strab. Ovid. 

Setabis, a town of Spain, be- 
tween New Carthage and Saguntum, 
famous for the manufacture of linen 
Strab. Mela. 

Se TiA,a town of Campania, ce- 
lebrated for its wines. Martial. 

Sever A, Julia Aquilia, a Ro- 
man ladv, whom the emperor Helioga- 
balus married. She was soon after repu- 
diated, though possessed of all the 
charms of mind and body which could 
captivate the most virtuous. — Valeria, 
the wife of Valenttnian,and the mother 
of Gratian, was well known for her 
avarice and ambition. 

Severus, Lucius Septimius, a 
Roman emperor, born at Leptis,in Afri- 
ca, of a noble family. He gradually ex- 
ercised all the offices of the state, and 



SEV 



SEX 



recommended himself to the notice of 
the world by an ambitious mind, and a 
restless activity. After the murder of 
Pertinax, Severus immediately march- 
ed towards Rome, to crush Didius Ju- 
lianus, and all his partizans. He was 
received as he advanced through the 
country with universal acclamations, 
and Julianus himself was soon deserted 
by his favorites, and assassinated by his 
own soldiers. He next turned his arms 
against Pescennius Niger, another com- 
petitor for the imperiaKpurple, in the 
east, at the head of a powerful army, 
and with the name and ensigns of Au- 
gustus. Many obstinate battles were 
fought between the troops and officers 
of the imperial rivals, till, on the plains 
of Issus, which had been above five cen- 
turies before covered with the blood of 
the Persian soldiers of Darius, Niger 
was totally ruined by the loss of ^0,000 
men. The head of Niger was cut off, 
and sent to the conqueror, who punished 
in a most cruel manner all the partizans 
of his unfortunate rival. Severus after- 
wards resolved to destroy his colleague 
Albinus. He attempted to assassinate 
him by his emissaries; but when this 
had failed of success, Severus had re- 
course to arms, and the fate of the em- 
pire was again decided on the plains of 
Gaul. Albinus was defeated, and the 
conqueror insulted the dead body of his 
rival, and ordered it to be thrown into 
the Rhone, after he had suffered it to 
putrify before the door of his tent, and 
to be torn to pieces by his dogs. The fa- 
mily and the adheren ts of Albinus shared 
his fate. Tired of the inactive life he 
led after his return to Rome, Severus 
marched into the east,with his two sons, 
Caracalla and Geta, and made himself 
master of Seleucia, Babylon, and Ctesi- i 
phon, and advanced, without opposi- 
tion, far into the Parthian territories. 
From Parthia the emperor marched to- 
wards the more southern provinces of 
Asia : after he had visited the tomb of 
Pompey the Great, he entered Alexan- 
dria ; but the revolt of Britain recalled 
him from the east. After he had re- 
duced it under his power,he built a wall 
across the northern parts of the island, 
to defend it against the frequent inva- 
sions of the Caledonians. His son Cara- 
calla attempted to murder him, but he 
did not succeed in his attempt. Severus 
however, soon after expired at York, on 
the 4th of February, in the 2iith year 
of the Christian era, and in the 66th 
of his age, after a reign of 17 years, eight 
months, and three days. Of him, as of 
Augustus, some were fond to say- that 
it would have been better for the world, 
if he had never been born, or had never 
died. Dio. Herodian. &c. — Alexander, 
{Marcus Aurelius) anative of Phoenicia^ 
adopted by Heliogabalus. His father's 
name was Genesius Marcianus, and his 
mother's Julia Mamrnaca, and he re- 
ceived the surname of Alexander, be- 



cause he was born in a temple sacred to 
Alexander the Great. At the death of 
Heliogabalus, who had been jealous of 
his virtues, Alexander, though only in 
the 14th year of his age,was proclaimed 
emperor. He had not long been on the 
throne before the peace of the empire 
was disturbed by the incursions of the 
Persians. Alexander marched into the 
east without delay, and soon obtained a 
decisive victory over the barbarians. At 
his return to Rome, he was honored 
with a triumph, but the revolt of the 
Germans soon after called him away 
from the capital. His expedition in 
Germany was attended with seme suc- 
cess, but his soldiers murmured against 
his severity : their clamors were foment- 
ed by the artifice of Maximinus, and 
Alexander was murdered in his tent, in 
the midst of his camp, after a reign of 13 
years and nine days^n the ISthof March, 
A. D. 235. His mother Mammsea shared 
his fate, with all his friends. Alexander 
has been admired for his many virtues, 
and every historian, except Herodian, is 
bold to assert that if he had lived, the 
Roman empire might soon have been 
freed from those tumults and abuses 
which continually disturbed her peace, 
and kept the lives of her emperors and 
senators in perpetual alarms. He was a 
patron of literature, and dedicated the 
hours of relaxation to the study of the 
best Greek and Latin historians,orators, 
and poets. 

Sevo, a ridge of mountains be- 
tween Norway and Sweden, now called 
Fiell, or Dofre. Plin. &c. 

Seuthes, a friend of Perdio 
cas, one of Alexander's generals. — This 
name is common to several of the 
Thracian princes. 

SEXTiA,a woman celebrated for 
her virtue and her constancy, put to 
death by Nero. 

Sexti^e Aau^E, a place in 
Italy, where the Cimbri were defeated 
by Marius. 

Sextilius, a governor of Afri- 
ca, who ordered Marius when he landed 
there to depart immediately from his 
province. Marius heard this with seme 
concern, and said to the messenger, 
" Go and tell your master that you have 
seen the exiled Marius sitting on the 
ruins of Carthage." Plut, in Mar. 

Sextius Lucius, was remark- 
able for his friendship with Brutus : he 
gained the confidence of Augustus, and 
was consul. Horace, who was in the 
number of his friends, dedicated l Od.4. 
to him.— One of the sons of Tarquin. 
\_Vid. Tarquinius.] 

Sex t us, a son of Pompey the 
Great. [Vid. Pompeius.]— A philoso- 
pher in the age of Antoninus. He was 
one of the followers of the doctrine of 
Pyrrho. Some of his works are still 
extant. 



SIC 



SIC 



Sibylla, certain women in- 
spired by Heaven, who flourished in dif- 
ferent parts of the world. Their rmm- i 
her is unknown. Plato speaks of one, 
others of two, Pliny of three, iElian 
of four, and Varro of ten, a number 
universally adopted by the learned. The 
most celebrated of the Sibyls is that of 
Cumsein Italy, whom some have called 
by the different names of Amalthasa, 
Bemophiie, Herophile, Daphne, Mano, 
Phemonoe, and Deiphobe. It is said that 
Apollo became enamoured of her, and 
granted her extreme longevity provided 
she would pay attention to his passion. 
She received the gift, but denied her fa- 
vors. She had, it is said, already lived 
about 700 years when yEneas came to 
Italy, to whom she gave instructions how 
to find his father in the infernal regions, 
and even conducted him to the entrance 
of hell. It was usual for the Sibyl to 
write her prophecies on leaves placed at 
the entrance of her cave, and it required 
particular care in such as consulted her 
to take up these leaves before they 
were dispersed by the wind, as their 
meaning then became incomprehensible. 
According to the most authentic histo- 
rians of the Roman republic, one of 
the Sibyls came to the palace of Tarquin 
the second, with nine volumes, which 
she offered to sell for a very high price. 
The monarch disregarded her, and she 
immediately disappeared,and soon after 
returned when she had burned three of 
the volumes. She asked the same price 
for the remaining six books ; and when 
Tarquin refused to buy them, she burn- 
ed three more, and still persisted In de- 
manding the same sum of money for the 
threefthat were left. This extraordinary 
behaviour astonished Tarquin ; he 
bought the books, and the Sibyl in- 
stantly vanished, and never after ap- 
peared to the world. These books were 
preserved with great care by the mon- 
arch, and called the Sibylline verses. 
A college of priests were appointed to 
have the care of them. The word Sibyl 
seems to have been derived from ctlcv 
iEolice for A.'op, Jovis, and @ouhyi r 
consilium. Pint. Ovid. Virg. &c. 

Sicambui, or Sygamebi, a 
people of Germany conquered by the 
Romans. They revolted under Augus- 
tus, who marched against them, but 
did not totally reduce them. Drusus 
conquered them, and they were carried 
away from their native country to in- 
habit some of the more westerly pro- 
vinces of Gaul. Strab. Horat. &c. 

Sicani, a people of Spain, who 
left their native country,and passed into 
Italy, and afterwards into Sicily , which 
they called Sicania. They inhabited the 
neighbourhood of mount yEtna, where 
they built some cities and villages. Ovid. 
Virg. Diod. 

Sicania and Sicania, an an- 



c.er.t name of Italy, which it received 
from the Sicani, or from the Sicanus, a 
river in Spain, in the territory where 
they lived. This name is also given to 
Sicily. [Vid. Sicani.] 

SlCELIS, (SlCELlDES, pluT.) 
an epithet applied to the inhabitants of 
Sicily. The Muses are called Sicelides 
by Virgil, because Theocritus was a na- 
tive of Sicily, whom the Latin poet, as 
a writer of Bucolic poetry, professed ro 
imitate. 

SiCHiEus, called also Sicharbas 

and Aherbas, was a priest of the temple 
of Hercules in Phoenicia. His father's 
name was Plisihenes. He married Elisa, 
daughter of Bel us and sister of king 
Pygmalion, better known by the name 
of Dido. He was so extremely rich, that 
his brother-in-law murdered him to ob- 
tain his possessions. Tins murder Pyg- 
malion concealed from his sister Pido. 
The shades, however, of Siehceus ap- 
peared to Dido, and related to her the 
cruelty of Pygmalion, and advised her 
to fly from Tyre, after she had previ- 
ously secured some treasures which, as 
he mentioned, were concealed in an ob- 
scure place. According to Justin, Aeer- 
bas was the uncle of Dido. Virg. Patera. 
Justin. 

Sicilia, the largest and most 

celebrated island in the Mediterranean 
sea, at the bottom of Italy. It was an- 
ciently called Sicania, Trinacria, and 
Triquetra, and is of a triangular form. 
Sicily is about 600 miles in circumfe- 
rence, celebrated for its fertility ; so 
much so, that it was called one of the 
granaries of Rome. Its most famous 
cities were Syracuse, Messana, Leon- 
tini,Lilybseum, Agrigentum, Gela»Dre- 
panum, Eryx, &c. The most famous 
mountain in the island is /Etna, whose 
frequent eruptions are often fatal to 
the inhabitants, from which circum- 
stance the ancients supposed that the 
forges of Vulcan and the Cyclops were 
placed there. The plains of Enna are 
well known for their excellent honey, 
and, according to Diodorus, the hounds 
lost their scent in hunting on account of 
the many odoriferous plants that grew 
in them. Some suppose that Sicily was 
originally joined to the continent, and 
that it was separated from Italy by an 
earthquake, and that the straits of the 
Charybdis were formed in consequence 
of it. Borneo: Virg. Plin. &e — The 
island of Naxos in the iEgean sea was 
called Little Sicily, on account of its 
fruitfulness. 

Sicinius Dentatus, a tri- 
bune of Rome, celebrated for his valor 
and the honors he obtained in the field 
of battle during the period of forty 
years, in which he was engaged in the 
Roman armies. He was present in 121 
battles ; he obtained 1 4 civic crowns i 
three mural crowns ; eight crowns of 
gold ; S3 golden collars ; 60 bracelet? : 



SID 



18 lances ; 23 horses with all their orna- 
ments : and all as the reward of his mi- \ 
common services. He eould show the jj 
scars of 45 wounds, which he had re- ■ 
ceived all in the breast, particularly in 
opposing the Sabines when they took 
the Capitol. The popularity of Sicinius 
became odious to Appius. Claudius, who 
sent him to the army, by which he was 
murdered about 405 years B. C. Of 100 
men who were ordered to fall upon him, 
Sicinius killed 15, and wounded so. 
For this uncommon courage Sicinius 
has been called the Roman Achilles. 
Val. Mar. Dionx/f}.— Vellutus, one of 
the first tribunes in Rome. He raised 
cabals against Coriolanus, and was one 
of his accusers. Pint, in Cor. 

SicikuSj a man sent privately 
by Themistocles to deceive Xerxes, and 
to advise him to attack the combined 
forces of the Greeks. He had been pre- 
ceptor to Themistocles. Plut. 

Sicorus, a river of Hispania 
Tarraconensis, rising in the Pyrensean 
mountains. It was near this river that 
J. Caesar conquered the partizans and 
sons of Pompey. Lucan. 

Siculi, a people of Italy 
driven from their possessions by the 
■Opiei. They fled into Sicania,or Sicily, 
where they settled in the territories 
which the Sieani inhabited. They soon 
extended their borders, and after they 
had conquered their neighbours, the 
Sieani, they gave their name to the 
island. This, as some suppose, hap- 
pened about 300 years before Greek 
colonies settled in the island, or about 
?.059 years before the Christian era. 
Diod. Dionys. Hal. Strab. 

Siculum Fretum, the sea 

which separates Sicily from Italy. This 
strait is supposed to have been formed 
fey an earthquake, which separated the 
island from the continent. Plin. 

Sicyok, a town of Peloponne- 
sus, the capital of Sicyonia, celebrated 
as being the most ancient kingdom of 
Greece, which began B. C. 2089, and 
ended B. C. 1088. Some ages after, 
Agamemnon made himself master of 
the place, and afterwards it fell into 
the hands of the Heraclida?. It became 
very powerful in the time of the Achsean 
league, which it joined B. C. 251, at the 
persuasion of Aratus. Strab. Mela. &c. 

Sicyonia, a province of Pelo- 
ponnesus, on the bay of Coiinth, of 
which Sicyon was the capital. It pro- 
duced many celebrated men, particu- 
larly artists. [ Vid. Sicyon.] 

Sidicinu M, a town of Campa- 
nia, called also Teanum. Virg. 

Si do if, a city of Phoenicia, the 
capital of the country. It is situate on 
the shores of the Mediterranean, at the 
distance of about fifty miles from Da- 
mascus, and twenty-four from Tyre. 



SIL 



The people of Sidon are well known 
for their industry, their skill in commer- 
cial affairs, and sea voyages. The inven- 
tion of glass and linen is attributed to 
them. The city of Sidon was taken by 
Ochus, king of Persia, after the inha- 
bitants had burnt themselves and the 
city, B. C. 351 ; but it was afterwards 
rebuilt by its inhabitants. Lucan. 
Justin. Diod. &c. 

SlDOlSlOltUM ItfSULiE, is- 
lands in_the Persian gulph. 

Sidonis, is the country of 
which Sidon was the capital, situate at 
the west of Syria, on the coast of the 
Mediterranean. Ovid. 

Sidonius Afollinabjs, a 

Christian writer, born A. D. 430. He 
died in the 52d year of his age.— The 
epithet of Sidonius is applied not only 
to the natives of Sidon, but it is iisecl 
to express the excellence of any thing, 
especially embroidery or dyed garments. 
Carthage is called Sidonia urbs } because 
built by Sidonians. Virg. 

SiG^uM,or Si&EUM,atown of 
Troas, on a promontory of the same 
name. It was near Sigaeum that the 
greatest battles between the Greeks and 
Trojans were fought, and there Achilles 
was buried. Virg. Ovid. Strab. 

Sign I a, an ancient town of 
Latium, whose inhabitants were called 
Signini. The wine of Signia was used 
by the ancients for medicinal purposes. 

Sigyni, Sigunve, or Sl- 
GYlSfN^5,anationof European Seythia, 
beyond the Danube. Herodi-t. 

Sil a, or Syl a, a large wood in 
the country of the Brutiinear the Apen- 
nines, abounding with pitch. Strab. 
Virg. 

Silanus, a son of T. Manlius 

Torquatus, accused of extortion in the 
management of the province of Mace- 
donia. The father himself desired to 
hear the complaints laid against his son, 
and after he had spent two days in exa- 
mining the charges of the Macedonians, 
he pronounced on the third day his son 
guilty, and unworthy to be called a citi- 
zen of Rome. So struck was the son at 
the severity of his father, that he hanged 
himself on the following night. Ley.— 
C. Junius, a consul under Tiberius, ac- 
cused of extortion, and banished to the 
island of Cythera. Tacit,— Turpiliusva 
lieutenant of Metellus against Jugurtha. 
He was accused by Marius, though to- 
tally innocent, and condemned by the 
malice of his judges, 

Silarus, a river of Picenum, 

rising in the Apennine mountains, and 
falling into the Tyrrhene sea. Its waters, 
as it is reported, petrified all leaves that 
fell into it. Strab. Virg. 

Silenus, a demi-god, who be- 
came the nurse, the preceptor, and at- 
S 5 



SIM 



SIN 



tendant of the god Bacchus. He was, as 
some suppose, son of Pan, or according 
to others, of Mercury, or of Terra, ^la- 
lea in Lesbos w as the place of his birth. 
After death, he received divine honors, 
and had a temple in Elis. Silenus is ge- 
nerally represented as a fat and jolly old 
man, riding on an ass, crowned with 
Sowers, and always intoxicated. Some 
authors assert, that Si'enus was a phi- 
losopher, who accompanied Bacchus in 
his Indian expedition. From this cir- 
cumstance, therefore, he is often intro- 
duced speaking with all the gravity of a 
philosopher concerning the formation of 
The world, and the nature of things. The 
Fauns in general, and the Satyrs are 
often called Sileni. Paus. Ovid. Virg. 
&c. 

C. Silius Italicus, a Latin 

poet, who was originally at the bar, 
where he for some time distinguished 
himself, till he retired from Rome more 
particularly to consecrate his time to 
study. He was consul the year that Nero 
was murdered. From his great partia- 
lity, not only to the memory but to the 
compositions of the Mantuan poet, he 
has been called the ape of Virgil. Silius 
starved himself when laboring under an 
imposthume which his physicians were 
unable to remove, in the beginning of 
Trajan's reign, about the 75th year of 
his age. There remains a poem of Ita- 
licus, on the second Punic war. The 
poetry is weak and inelegant, yet the au- 
thor deserves to be commended for his 
purity, and his interesting descriptions. 
He has every where imitated Virgil, but 
_with little success.— Caius, a man of 
consular dignity, greatly loved by Mes- 
salina, by whom he was obliged to di- 
vorce his wife. Silius was at last put 
to death for the adulteries which the 
empress obliged him to commit. Tacit. 
Suet. Bio. 

Silvanus, a rural deity, son of 
an Italian shepherd by a goat. From 
this circumstance he is generally repre- 
sented as half a man and half a goat. 
According to Virgil, he was son of Pi- 
cus. The worship of Silvanus was esta- 
blished only in Italy. Pie was some- 
times represented holding a cypress in 
his hand, because he became enamour- 
ed of a beautiful youth, Cyparissus,who 
was changed into a tree" of the same 
name. Silvanus presided over gardens 
and limits. Ovid. Hor. 

Simethus, or Symethtjs, a 

town and river at the east of Sicily, 
which served as a boundary between 
the territories of the people'of Catana 
and the Leontini. In its neighbourhood 
the gods Palici IVid. PalieiJ were born 
and particularly worshipped. Virg. 
Strab. 

SiMOis,(ewf is),a riverof Troas, 
which rises in mount Ida, and falls into 



the Xanthus. It is celebrated by Ho- 
pier, and most of the ancient poets, as 
in its neighbourhood were fought many 
battles during the Trojan war. It is 
found to be but a small rivulet by mo- 
dern travellers, and some have even 
disputed its existence. Homer. Vi,z. 
Ovid. 

Simon, a currier at Athens 

whom Socrates often visited on account 
of his great sagacity and genius. He 
collected all the information he could 
receive from the conversation of the 
philosopher, and afterwards published 
it with his own observations in 33 dia- 
logues. Diog. 

Simon ides, a celebrated poet 

of Cos, who nourished 538 years B. C. 
He wrote elegies, epigrams, and drama- 
tical pieces, esteemed for their elegance 
and sweetness, and composed also epic 
poems, one on Cambyses king of Persia 
&c. Simonides was universally courted 
by the princes of Greece and Sicily. He 
obtained a poetical prize in the" 80th 
year of his age, and he lived to hia 90th 
year. The people of Syracuse erected 
a magnificent monument to his me- 
mory. Simonides, according to some, 
added the four letters >?, a>, £, >{/, to 
the alphabet of the Greeks. Some frag- 
ments of his poetry are extant. Quint, 
Pliced. Horat. 

Sindi, a people of European 

Scythia, on the Palus Maeotis. Flacc. 

Sinn AC ha, a town of Mesopo- 
tamia, where Grassus was put to death 
by Surena. 

Sinoe, a nymph of Arcadia, 

who brought up Pan. 

Sinon, a son of Sisyphus,who 
accompanied the Greeks to the Trojan 
war, and there distinguished himself by 
his cunning,and his intimacy with Ulys- 
ses. When the Greeks had fabricated 
the famous wooden horse, Sinon went 
to Troy with his hands bound behind 
his back, and by the most solemn pro- 
testations assured Priam that the Greeks 
were gone from Asia, and that he had 
fled away from their camp, not to be 
cruelly immolated, for the purpose of 
rendering the wind propitious for their 
return. These false assertions were cre- 
dited, and Sinon advised Priam to bring 
into his city the wooden horse, and to 
consecrate it to Minerva. His advice 
was followed, and to complete his per- 
fidy, he opened in the night the side of 
the horse, from which issued a number 
of armed Greeks, whosurprised the Tro- 
jans, and pillaged their city. Homer. 
Virg. tewhemuh b^fQtfaab 

Sinope, a daughter of the Aso- 

pus, by Methone, beloved by Apollo. 
Diod. — A sea-port town of Asia Minor, 
in Pontus, founded by a colony of Mi- 



SIR 



SIS 



lesians. It was the capital of Pontus, 
■under Mithridates, and was the birth- 
place of Diogenes, the cynic philosopher. 
It received its name from Sinope,whom 
Apollo carried there. Ovid. Strab. 

Sin tii, a nation of Thracians, 
who inhabited Lemnos, when Vulcan 
fell there from heaven. Homer. 

SixuESSA, a town of Campa- 
nia, originally called Sinope. It was ce- 
lebrated for its hot baths and mineral 
"waters, which cured people of insanity, 
and rendered women prolific. Ovid. 
Strab. 

Siphnos, one of the Cyclades, 
situate at the west of Paros,twentymiles 
in circumference, according to Pliny. 
The licentiousness of the inhabitants 
became proverbial. When the inhabit- 
ants refused to continue to offer a tenth 
part of their gold to the god of Delphi, 
the island was inundated.and the mines 
disappeared. The air is so wholesome, 
that many of the natives live to their 
120th year Paus. Strab. 

SiPYLUM,orSiPYLUS, a town 
of Lydia, destroyed by an earthquake 
with twelve others in the neighbour- 
hood, in the reign of Tiberius. Stiab. 
&c. — One of Niobe's children, killed by 
A]>ollo. Ovid. 

Sirenes, sea nymphs who 
charmed so much with their melodious 
voice, that all forgot their employments 
to listen with more attention, and at 
last died for want of food. They were 
daughters of the Aehelous, by the muse 
Calliope, or, according to others, by 
Melpomene or Terpsichore. They were 
three in number, Parthenope, Ligeia, 
and Leucosia, and they usually lived in 
a small island near cape Pelorus in Si- 
cily. Some authors suppose that they 
wese monsters, and had the body of a 
woman above the waist, and the rest of 
the body like that of a bird. The Sirens 
were informed by theoracle,thatassoon 
as any persons passed by them without 
•suffering themselves to be charmed by 
their songs, they should perish : and 
their melody had prevailed in calling 
the attention of all passengers, till 
Ulysses, informed of the power of their 
voice by Circe, stopped the ears of his 
companions with wax, and ordered him- 
self to be tied to the mast of his ship, 
and no attention to be paid to his com- 
mands, should he wish to listen to the 
song. This was a salutary precaution, 
and Ulysses passed the fatal coast with 
safety. " Upon this artifice of Ulysses, 
tire Sirens were so disappointed, that 
they threw themselves into the sea and 
perished. The place where the Sirens 
destroyed themselves was afterwards 
called Sirenis, on the coast of Sicily. 
Virgil, however, places the Sirenum 
Scopuli on the coast of Italy, near the 
island of Caprea. The Sirens are often 
represented holding one a lyre, a second 



a flute, and the third singing. Paus. 
Homer. &c. 

Sirenus^e, three rocky islands 
near the coast of Campania, where the 
Sirens were supposed to reside. 

SiRis,a town of Magna Graeeia, 
at the mouth of a river of the same 
name. There was a battle fought near 
it between Pyrrhus and the Romans. 
Dionys. Perieg. 

SlRI US, the dog-star, whose ap- 
pearance, as the ancients supposed, al- 
ways caused great heat on the earth. 
Virg. 

Sirmio, now Sermione, a pen- 
insula in the lake Benacus, where 
Catullus had a villa. 

Sirmium, the capital of Pan- 
nonia, at the confluence of the Savus 
and Bacuntius, very celebrated during 
the reign of the Roman emperors. 

Sisamnes, a judge flayed 
alive for his partiality, by order of Cam- 
byses. His skin was nailed on the 
benches of the other judges, to incite 
them to act with candor and impartiali- 
ty. Herodot. 

Sisapho, a town in Spain, 
famous for its vermilion mines, whose 
situation is not well ascertained. 

Si senna, Corn, a Roman,who, 
on being reprimanded in the senate for 
the ill conduct and depraved manners 
of his wife, accused publicly Augustus 
of unlawful commerce with her. Bio. 

SlSIGAMBIS, Or SlSYGAMBIS, 
the mother of Darius, the last king of 
Persia, was taken prisoner by Alexan- 
der the Great at the battle of Issus, 
with the rest of the royal family. The 
conqueror treated her with so much 
tenderness, that she no sooner heard 
that he was dead, than she killed her- 
self, unwilling to survive the loss of so 
generous an enemy. She lost in one 
day her husband,and 80 of her brothers, 
whom Ochus had assassinated to make 
himself master of the kingdom of Per- 
sia. Curt. _ ^ 

Sisyphus, a son of iEolus and 

Enaretta, the most crafty prince of the 
heroic ages. He married Merope, the 
daughterof A tlas,or ; according to others, 
of Pandareus, by whom he had several 
children. It is reported that Sisyphus, 
mistrusting Autolycus, who stole the 
neighbouring flocks, marked his bulls 
under the feet, and when they had been 
carried away by Autolycus,he confound- 
ed him, by selecting those bulls which 
he knew to be his own. The artificeoi 
Sisyphus so pleased Autolycus, that he 
permitted him to enjoy the company of 
his daughter Anticlea, afcerwarcls the 
wife of Laertes of Ithaca. After his 
death, Sisyphus was condemned in hell 
to roll to the top of a hill a large stone, 
which had no sooner reached the sum- 



soc 



soc 



m-it, than it fell back into the plain with 
impetuosity, and rendered his punish- 
ment eternal. This rigorous sentence 
is generally attributed to his continual 
depredations in the neighbouring coun- 
try, and his cruelty in laying heaps of 
stones on those w hom he had plundered, 
and suffering them to expire in the most 
agonizing torments. The institution of 
the Pythian games is attributed by some 
to Sisyphus. To be of the blood of Si- 
syphus was deemed disgraceful among 
the ancients. Homer. Vzrg. Ovid. &c.-^- 
A son of M. Antony, who was born de- 
formed, and received the name of Si- 
syphus, because he was endowed with 
genius and an excellent understanding. 
Horat. 

SiTHONiA,a country of Thrace, 
between mount Hsemus and the Da- 
nube. Sithonia is often applied to all 
Thrace, and thence the epithet Sitho- 
nis, so often used by the poets. It re- 
ceived its name from king Sithon. Ho- 
rat. Ovid. 

Si tones, a nation of Germany, 
or modern Norway, according to some. 
Tacit. 

Smaragdus, a town of Egypt 

on the Arabian gulf, where emeralds 
(smaragdi) were dug. Strab. &c. 

Smerdis, a son of Cyrus the 
Great, put to death by order of his 
brother Cambyses. As his execution 
was only known to one of the officers of 
the monarch, one of the Magi, who was 
himself called Smerdis, and who greatly 
resembled the deceased prince, declared 
himself king, at the death of Cambyses. 
After he had reigned for six months, 
seven noblemen of Persia conspired to 
dethrone him, and when this had been 
executed with success, they chose one 
TJarius, the son of Hystaspes, one of 
their number, to reign in the usurper's 
place, before Christ 521. Herodot. 
Justin. 

Smilax, a beautiful shepherdess 

who became enamoured of Crocus. She 
was changed into a flower, as also her 
lover. Ovid. 

Sminthetjs, one of the sur- 
names of Apollo in Phrygia, where the 
inhabitants raised him a temple, be- 
cause he had destroyed a number of 
rats that infested the country. These 
rats were called c/xiyfjod^ in the lan- 
guage of Phrygia, whence the surname. 
One of the scholiasts of Homer says, 
that Apollo was so surnamed by his 
priest Chryses, at Chrysa, whose gar- 
dens and whose fruits were preserved 
by the god from the devastation of 
rats. Horner. Strab. Ovid. &c. 

Socrates, the most celebrated 
moral philosopher, a native of Athens. 
His father Sophroniscus was a sta- 
tuary : he followed for some time the 
occupation of his father, but was called 



away from this employment by Ciito, 
who admired his genius, and courted 
his friendship. Philosophy soon be- 
came the study of Socrates, and under 
Archelaus ami Anaxagoras he laid the 
foundation of that exemplarv virtue 
which succeeding ages have so much 
venerated, He appeared like the rest 
of his countrymen in the field of bat- 
tle, and fought with boldness and in- 
trepidity. But the character of Socra- 
tes appears more conspicuous as- a phi- 
losopher and moralist, than as that of 
a warrior. He was fond of labor, and 
he inured himself to suffer hardships, 
If he was poo?, it was from choice, 
and not the effects of vanity, or the 
wish of appearing singular. He bore 
injuries with patience, and the insults 
of malice or resentment he treated with 
contempt. Socrates was attended by a 
number of illustrious pupils, whom he 
instructed by his exemplary life, as 
well as by his doctrines. He had no 
particular place where to deliver his 
lectures, but was present every where,, 
and drew the attention of his auditors 
either in the groves of Academus, the 
Lyceum, or on the banks of the Ilys- 
sus. He spoke with freedom on every 
subject, religious as well as civil. This 
independence of spirit, and superiority 
of mind over the rest of his country- 
men, created him many enemies. Ari- 
stophanes, at the instigation of Meli- 
tus, in his comedy of " The Clouds,'' 
undertook first to ridicule the venera- 
ble character of Soerates on the stage, 
and the fickle populace soon ceased to 
pay reverence to the philosopher whom 
they had before regarded as a being of 
a superior order. Anitus, Melitns, and 
Lyeon, then stood forth to criminate 
him, and the philosopher was sum- 
moned before the tribunal of the five 
hundred. He was accused of ma*ing 
innovations in the religion of the 
Greeks, and of ridiculing the many 
gods which the Athenians worshipped. 
In his apology he spoke with great 
animation, and the whole of his di.<> 
course was full of simplicity and noble 
grandeur.. Socrates was condemned, 
but only by a majority of three voices, 
to drink hemlock. The solemn cele- 
bration of the Delian festivals prevent- 
ed his execution for 30 days, during 
which time he discoursed with his 
friends and pupils upon different sub- 
jects with his usual cheerfulness and 
serenity. He reproved them for their 
sorrow, and when one of them was un- 
commonly grieved beeause he was to 
suffer, though innocent, the philoso- 
pher replied, " Would you then have 
me die guilty ?* With this composure 
he continued to be a preceptor till the 
moment of his death. He disregarded 
the intercession of his friends, and 
when it was in his. power to make his 
escape out of prison, he refused it. 
When the hour to drink the poison 



SOL 



SOL 



was come, the executioner presented 
rum the cup with tears in his eyes. So- 
crates received it with composure, and 
after he had made a libation to the 
gods, he drank it with an unaltered 
countenance, and a few moments after 
he expired. Socrates died about 400 
years before Christ, in the ?0.th year of 
his age. He was no sooner buried than 
the Athenians repented of their cruelty., 
and his accusers were universally des- 
pised and shunned. The actions, say- 
ings, and opinions of Socrates, have 
been faithfully recorded by two of the 
most celebrated of his pupils, Xeno- 
nhan and Plato, and his philosophy 
forms an interesting epoch in the hi- 
story of the human mind. From his 
principles, which were enforced by the 
unparalleled example of an affectionate 
husband, a tender parent, a warlike 
soldier, and a patriotic citizen, soon 
after the celebrated sects of the Plato- 
nists, the Peripatetics, Academics, Cy- 
renaies, Stoics, &c. arose. Socrates 
publicly declared that he was accom- 
panied by a dtemon, or invisible con- 
ductor, [Vid. Daemon] whose frequent 
Interposition stopped him from the 
commission of evil, and the guilt of 
misconduct. Xenoph. Plut.—Thexe 
were others also of this name, but of 
inferior celebrity. 

S ce mi as, (Julia) mother of 
the emperor Heliogabalus, was made 
president of a senate of women, elected 
to decide the affairs of the Roman ma- 
trons. She at last provoked the people 
by her debaucheries and cruelties, and 
was murdered with her son and fa- 
mily. 

Sogdiana, a country of Asia, 
bounded on the north by Scythia, east 
by the Sacae, south by Bactriana, and 
xvest by Margiana. It is now known by 
the name of Zagatay, or Usbec. The 
people are called Sogdiana. The ca- 
pital was called Marcanda. Herodot. 
Curt. 

Sogdianus, a son of Arta- 

xerxes Longimanus, who murdered his 
eider brother, king Xerxes, to make 
himself master of the Persian throne. 
He was but seven months in possession 
of the crown. His brother Ochus, who 
reigned under the name of Darius No- 
thus, conspired against him, and suf- 
focated him in a tower full of warm 
ashes. 

Sol (the sun) was an object of 

veneration among the ancients. It was 
particularly worshipped by the Per- 
sians under the name of Mithras. Apol- 
lo, however, and Phoebus and Sol, are 
universally supposed to be the same 
deity. 

Solis Foirs, a celebrated 
fountain in Libya. [Vid. Ammon.] 
SOLNES, (C, Julius) a gram- 



marian at the end of the first century, 
who wrote a book called Polyhistor , 
which is a collection of historical re- 
marks and geographical annotations on 
the most celebrated places of every 
country. He has been called Pliny's 
ape, because he imitated that well 
known naturalist. 

S o l o E, a town of Cyprus, 
built by an Athenian colony. The 
name of several other towns ; particu- 
larly two in Cilicia, founded by the 
Greeks, who are supposed to have for- 
got the purity of their original lan- 
guage, and thence arose the term sole- 
cismus, applied to an improper or in- 
elegant expression. 

Solon, one of the seven wise 

men of Greece, was born at Salamis, 
and educated at Athens. After he had 
devoted part of his time to philosophi- 
cal and political studies, Solon tra- 
velled over the greatest part of Greece ; 
but at his return he was distressed with 
the dissensions kindled among his coun- 
trymen. All fixed their eyes upon So- 
lon as a deliverer, and he was unani- 
mously elected archon and sovereign 
legislator. After he had made the most 
salutary regulations in the state, . and 
bound the Athenians by a solemn oath 
that they would faithfully observe his 
laws for the space of 100 years, Solon 
resigned the office of legislator, and re- 
moved himself from Athens. He vi- 
sited Egypt, and in the court of Crce- 
sus, king of Lydia, he convinced the 
monarch of the instability of fortune. 
[Vid. Croesus.] After ten years' ab- 
sence Solon returned to Athens, where 
he found the greatest part of his regu- 
lations disregarded by the factious spi- 
rit of his countrymen, and the usurpa- 
tion of Pisistratus. Not to be longer a 
spectator of the divisions that reigned 
m his country, he retired to Cyprus, 
where he died at the court of king Phi- 
locyprus, in the 80th year of his age. 
558 years before the Christian era. The 
salutary consequences of the laws of 
Solon can be discovered by the length 
of ti me they were in force in the re- 
public of Athens- For above 400 years 
they flourished in full vigor. These 
celebrated laws were engraved on seve- 
ral tables, and that they might be the 
better known, and more familiar to 
the Athenians, they were written in 
verse. About 154 verses are preserved 
in the collection of the Greek poets, 
under the name of Solon's elegies, and 
they contain precepts for the regulation 
of human life, and observations on the 
power of Providence, &c. Plut. Hero* 
dot. Diog. &c. 

Solyma, and Solym^:, a 

town of Lycia. The inhabitants, called 
Solt/mi, were anciently called Milyades, 
and afterwards Termili, and Lycians. 
Sarpedon settled among them. Strab, 



SOP 



SOS 



Homer. — An ancient name of Jerusa- 
lem. Juv. 

Sojinus, son of Erebus and 

Nox, one of the infernal deities, who 
presided over sleep. His palace is a 
dark cave, where the sun never pene- 
trates. At the entrance are a number of 
poppies and somniferous herbs. The 
god himself is represented as asleep on 
a bed of feathers, with black curtains. 
The Dreams stand by him* and Mor- 
pheus, as his principal minister, 
watches, to prevent the noise from 
awaking him. Hesiod. Homer. &c. 

Soph ax, a son of Hercules, 

who founded the kingdom of Tingis, 
in Mauritania. Strab. 

Sophocles, a celebrated tra- 
gic poet of Athens, educated in the 
school of ^Esehylus. He distinguished 
himself not only as a poet, but also as 
a statesman. He commanded the Athe- 
nian armies, and in many battles he 
shared the supreme command with Pe- 
ricles. Sophocles was the rival of Eu- 
ripides for public praise : they divided 
the applause of the populace; and 
while the former surpassed in the sub- 
lime and majestic, the other was not 
inferior in the tender and pathetic. 
The two poets, however, captivated at 
last by popular applause, gave way to 
jealousy and rivalship. Of 120 trage- 
dies which Sophocles composed, only 
seven are extant. The ingratitude of 
the children of Sophocles is well 
known. Tired of his long life, from a 
wish to enjoy his possessions, they ac- 
cused him before the Areopagus of in- 
sanity. The only defence the poet 
made was to read his tragedy of (Edi- 
pus at Colonos, which he had lately 
finished, and then he asked his judges 
whether the author of such a perform- 
ance could be taxed with insanity. The 
father upon this was acquitted, and 
the children returned home covered 
with shame and confusion. Sophocles 
died in the 9lst year of his age, 406 
years before Christ, through excess of 
joy, as some authors report, at having 
obtained a poetical prize at the Olym- 
ic games, though Lucian asserts that 
e was choked with a grape-stone, in 
his 95th year. Athenseus has accused 
Sophocles of licentiousness and de- 
bauchery, particularly when he com- 
manded the armies of Athens. Cic. 
Pint. Quintil. 

Sophonisba, a daughter of 
Asdrubal, married Syphax, a prince of 
Numidia, and when'her husband was 
conquered by the Romans and Masi- 
nissa, she fell a captive into the hands 
of the enemy. Masinissa became ena- 
moured of her, and married her. This 
behaviour displeased the Romans, and 
Scipio, who at that time had the com- 
mand of Africa, rebuked the monarch, I 
and desired him to part with Sopho- 1 



nisba. Masinissa, upon this, entered 
Sophonisba's tent, and told her, that as 
he could not deliver her from the jea- 
lousy of the Romans, he recommended 
her, as the strongest pledge of his love, 
to die like the daughter of Asdrubal. 
Sophcnisba obeyed, and drank with un- 
common composure the cup of poison 
which Masinissa sent to her, about 203 
years before Christ. Liv. Sallust. 

Sophron, a comic poet of Sy- 
racuse, son of Agathocles and Dama- 
syllis. His compositions were so uni- 
versally esteemed, that Plato is said to 
have read them with rapture. Fal. 
Max. Quintil. 

Sophronia, a Roman lady, 

whom Maxentius took by force from 
her husband's house, and married. So- 
phronia killed herself when she saw 
her affections were abused by the ty- 
rant. 

Sophroniscus, the father of 

Socrates. 

Soractes and Soracte, a 

mountain of Etruria, near the Tiber, 
sacred to Apollo, who is from thence 
called Soractis ; and it is said that the 
priests of the god could walk over 
burning coals without hurting them- 
selves. There was, as some report, a 
fountain on mount Soracte, whose 
waters boiled at sunrise, and instantly 
killed all such birds as drank there. 
Strab. Horat. Virg. 

Sosibius, a grammarian of 
Laconia, B. C. 255. He was a great fa- 
vorite of Ptolemy Philopater, and ad- 
vised him to murder his brother, and 
the queen his wife, called Arsinoe. He 
lived to a great age, and was on that 
account called Polychronos. He was 
afterwards permitted to retire from 
the court, and spend the rest of his 
days in peace and tranquillity, after he 
had disgraced the name of minister by 
the most abominable crimes, and the 
murder of many of the royal family. 
His son, of the same name, was pre- 
ceptor to king Ptolemy Epiphanes. 

SosrcRATES, a noble senator 

among the Achseans, put to death be- 
cause he wished his countrymen to 
make peace with the Romans. 

Sosti, celebrated booksellers at 

Rome, in the age of Horace. 

Sosipolis, a divinity worship- 
ped at Elis. A female was the minister 
of his temple, and a cake made with 
honey formed the chief part of the ob- 
lations she presented. Paws.— Also a 
surname of Jupiter. 

So sis t rat us, a tyrant of 

Syracuse, in the age of Agathocles. He 
invited Pyrrhus into Sicily, and after- 
wards revolted from him. He was at 
last removed by Hermocrates. 



SPA 



SPH 



So spit a, a surname of Juno 
in Latium. Her most famous temple 
was at Lanuvium. She had also two 
at Rome, and her statue was covered 
with a goat-skin, buckler, &c. Liv. 
Ovid. Fast. &c. 

SoSTHENES, a general of Ma- 
cedonia, who nourished B. C. 281. He 
defeated the Gauls under Brennus, and 
was killed in the battle. Justin. 

Sostratus. The most re- 
markable of this name is an architect 
of Cnidos, B. C. 2S4, who built the 
white tower of Pharos, in the bay of 
Alexandria. \Vid. Pharos.] — A poet 
who wrote a poem on the expedition of 
Xerxes into Greece. Juv. 

Sotades, a Greek poet of 
Thrace. He wrote verses against Phil- 
adelpus Ptolemy, for which he was 
thrown into the sea in a cage of lead. 
He was called Cincsdus, not only be- 
cause he was addicted to the abomina- 
ble crime which the surname indicates, 
but because he wrote a poem in com- 
mendation of it. Obscene verses were 
generally called Sotadea carmina from 
him. TTiey could be turned and read 
different ways without losing their 
measure or sense, such as the follow- 
ing, which can be read backwards : 
Roma tibi subito motibus ibit amor. 
Si bene te tua laus taxat, sua laute te~ 
nebis. 

Sole mederc pede, ede, perede melos. 

Quintil. Plin. &c. 

Soter, a surname of the first 
Ptolemy. — It was also common to other 
monarch s. 

Soteria, days appointed for 

thanksgivings, and the offering of sacri- 
fices for deliverance from danger. Stat. 
Mart. 

Sparta, a celebrated city of 
Peloponnesus, the capital of Laconia, 
situate on the Eurotas, about 30 miles 
from its mouth. It received its name 
from Sparta, the daughter of Eurotas, 
who married Lacedaemon. [Vid. Lace- 
daemon.] 

Spartacus. The most cele- 
brated of this name is a Thracian gla- 
diator, who, having been kept at Ca- 
pua, in the house of Lentulus, escaped 
from the place of his confinement with 
30 of his companions, and took up 
arms against the Romans. He soon 
found himself at the head of a consi- 
derable number of followers, with 
whom he attacked the Roman generals 
in the field of battle. Two consuls and 
other officers were defeated with much 
loss, and Spartacus, superior in coun- 
sel and abilities, became more terrible. 
Crassus was sent against him, but this 
celebrated general at first despaired of 
success. A bloody battle was fought, 



in which, at last, the gladiators were 
defeated. Spartacus behaved with 
great valor, and at last he fell upon a 
heap of Romans, whom he had sacri- 
ficed to his fury, B. C. 71. In this 
battle no less than 40,000 of the rebels 
were slain, and the war totally finished. 
Flor. Liv. Sec. 

Spart^e, or Sparti, a name 

given to those men who sprang from 
the dragon's teeth which Cadmus sow- 
ed. They all destroyed one another, 
except five, who survived and assisted 
Cadmus in building Thebes. 

Spartani, or Spartiat^e, 
the inhabitants of Sparta. [Vid. Sparta. 
Laced aemon.] 

Spend ius, a deserter of Cam- 
pania, who rebelled against the Ro- 
mans, raised tumults, and made war 
against Amilcar. 

Sperchtus, a river of Thes- 

saly, rising on mount OUta, and falling 
into the sea in the bay of Malia, near 
Anticyra. The name is supposed to be 
derived from its rapidity {cntspysiv^ 
festinare.) Peleus vowed, to the god 
of this river, the hair of his son Achil- 
les, if ever he returned safe from the 
Trojan war. Herodot. Strab. Homer. 

Spe[jsippus, an Athenian 

philosopher, nephew, as also successor, 
of Plato. He presided in Plato's school 
for eight years, and disgraced himself 
by his extravagance and debauchery . 
He died of the lousy sickness, or killed 
himself, according to some accounts, 
B. C. 339. Plut. Biog. 

Sphacterii, three small 

islands opposite Pylos, on the coast of 
Messenia. They are also called Spha- 
gias. 

Sphinx, a monster which had 
the head and breasts of a woman, the 
body of a dog, the tail of a serpent, the 
wings of a bird, the paws of a lion, and 
a human voice. It sprang from the 
uniou of Orthos with the Chimaera, or 
of Typhon with Echidna. The Sphinx 
had been sent into the neighbourhood 
of Thebes by Juno, to punish the fa- 
mily of Cadmus, and it raised conti- 
nual alarms by proposing enigmas, and 
devouring the inhabitants if unable to 
explain them. The The bans, how- 
ever, were told by the oracle, that the 
Sphinx would destroy herself as soon 
as one of her enigmas was explained. 
In this enigma she wished to know 
what animal walked on four legs in the 
morning, two at noon, and three in the 
evening. Upon this Creo^, king of 
Thebes, promised his crown and his 
sister Jocasta in marriage to him who 
could deliver his country by a success- 
ful explanation. It was at last happily 
explained by CEdipus, who observed, 



STA 



ST A 



that man -walked on his hands and 
feet when young or in the morning of 
life, at the noon of life he walked 
erect, and in the evening of his davs 
he supported Iris infirmities upon "a 
stick, [Vid. CEdipusO The Sphinx 
no sooner heard this explanation, than 
she dashed her head against a rock, 
and immediately expired. Some mv- 
thologists unriddle the fabulous tradi- 
tions about the Sphinx, bv supposing 
that one of the daughters of Cadmus', 
or of Laius. infested the country of 
Thebes by her continual depredations, 
because she had been refused a part of 
her father's possessions. The lion's 
paw expressed her cruelty, the body of 
the dog her lasciviousness, her enigmas 
the snares she laid for strangers and 
travellers, and her wings the ^dispatch 
which she used in her expeditions. He- 
eiod. Ovid. Sophocl. &c. 

Spinther, a Roman consul. 

He was one of Porapey's friends, and 
accompanied him at the battle of Phar- 
salia, where he betrayed his meanness 
by being too confident of vic?orv, and 
contending for the possession of Ca?- 
sar's offices and gardens before the 
action. Pint. 

Spitamexes, one of the of- 
ficers of king Darius, who conspired 
against the murderer Bessus, and de- 
livered him to Alexander. 

Sfoletium, now Spokto, a 
town of Umbria, which bravely with- 
stood Annibal while he was iu Italy. 
The people were called Spoletam. An 
inscription over the gates still comme- 
morates the defeat of Annibal. Lie. 
Mart. 

Sporades, a number of islands 
iu the ^Egean sea. They received 
their name from CTrei^w, sparzo, be- 
cause they are scattered here and 
there, at some distance from Delos. 
Strab. 

Sptjbina, a mathematician 
and astrologer, who told J. Ceesar to 
beware of the ides of March. As he 
went to the senate-house on the morn- 
ing of the ides, Casar said to Spurina, 
** the ides are at last come." w Yes," 
replied Spurina, ™ but not vet past." 
Csesar wai murdered a few moments 
afterward!. Suet, in Cces. Vol. Mar. 

Spurius, a praBnomen com- 
mon to rnmy of the Romans. 

L?. Staberius, an avaricious 
fellow who wished it to be known that 
lie was uncommonly rich. Horat. 

Stasis, a maritime town of 
Campania destroved bv Sylla, and 
converted into a villa, whither Pliny 
endeavoured to escape from the eriip- 
SSdf Vesuvius ' in ^ch he pi 



Stagira, a town on the bor- 
ders of Macedonia, near the bav into 
which the Strymon discharges itself, at 
the south of Amphipolis, founded 6G5 
years B. C. Aristotle was born there, 
from which circumstance he is called 
Stagintes. Pans. &c 

Staphyltj s, one of the Argo- 
nauts, sou of Theseus, or, according to 
others, of Bacchus and Ariadne. Fiuec. 

&c, 

St at an us, or Stataltxus 

(from stare), a god invoked at Rome 
to assist infants, and to give them the 
power of standing unright and of walk- 
ing. Van o. Aug. d'e Civ. Dei. 

Statilius, a young Roman, 

an inveterate enemy to Caesar. When 
Cato murdered himse;f, he attempted 
to follow his example, but was pre- 
vented by his friends. He was at last 
killed by the army of the triumvirs. 
Plut. — Lucius, one of the friends of 
Catiline. He joined in his conspiracy, 
and was put to death. — A young gene- 
ral in the waF which the Latins under- 
took against the Romans.. He was 
killed, With 25,000 of his troops. 

Statira, a daughter of Da- 
rius, who married Alexander. The 
conqueror had formerly refused her, 
but when she had fallen into his hands 
at llssus, the nuptials were celebrated 
with uncommon splendor. Statira had 
no children by Alexander. She was 
cruelly put to death by Roxana, after 
the conqueror's death.' Justin.— This 
name was common also to a sister of 
Darius, the last king of Persia; a 
wife of Artaxerxes Memnon; and a 
sister of Mithridates the Great. Plut. 

Statics, (Ca?cilius) a comic 
poet in the age of Ennius. He was a 
native of Gaul, and originally a slave. 
He died a little after Ennius. Cic.de 
sen. — P. Papinius, a poet born at Na- 
ples in the reign of the emperor Domi- 
tian. Statius'wrote two epic poems; 
the Thebais in twelve books, and the 
Achilieis iu two books, which remain- 
ed unfinished on account of his prema- 
ture death. There are besides other 
pieces of his extant, composed on seve- 
ral subjects, and well known under the 
name of Sylvas, divided into four 
books. The two epic poems of Statius 
are dedicated to Domitian, whom the 
poet ranks among the gods. The style 
of Statius is bombastic and affected: 
he often forgets the poet to become the 
declaimer and the historian. Xcne of 
his dramatic pieces are extant. Mar- 
tial has satirized him ; and what Juve- 
nal has written in his praise, some 
have interpreted as an illiberal reflec- 
tion upon him. Statius died about the 
100th year of the Christian era. This 
name was common also to others of in- 
ferior note. 



STH 



STR 



Stat OR, a surname of Jupi- 
ter, given him by Romulus, because 
he < topped (sto) the flight of the Ro- 
mans in a battle against the Sabines. 
The conqueror erected him a temple 
under that name. 

Stellio, a youth turned into 
an elf bv Ceres, because he derided the 
goddess'. Ovid. 

Site NT or, one of the Greeks 

who went to the Trojan war. His 
voice alone wa.s louder than that of 
fifty men together. Homer. Juu. 

Stephaxus, a Greek writer 
of Byzantium, known for his diction- 
ary, givingan account of the towns and 
places of the ancient world. — The name 
of a god, who, according to Parme- 
nide.s, surrounded the heavens with a 
luminous circle like a crown. Cic. de 
Nat. Depr. 

S t e r 5 p E . The most remark - 
able of this name is one of the Pleiades.- 
daughters of Atlas. She married (Euo- 
niaus, _ Via. CEnomaus] king of Pisse, 
by whom she had Hippodamia, &c. 

Sterjpes. [Vid. Cyclops.] 

Stersichorus, a lyric Greek 
poet of Him era, in Sicily, originally 
called Tisias. He obtained the name 
of Stersichorus, from the alterations he 
made in music and dancing. His com- 
positions were written in the Doric 
dialect, and composed in twenty-six 
books, all now lost, except a few frag- 
ments. He was the first inventor of 
that fable of the hor^e and the stag, 
which Horace and some other poets 
have imitated ; and this he wrote to 
prevent hi> countrymen from making 
an alliance with Phalaris. According 
to some, he was the first whojwrote an 
epithalamiurn. He flourished 553 B. C. 
and died at Catapa, in the eighty-fifth 
year of his age. 

Stertixius, a Stoic philoso- 
pher ridiculed by Horace. He wrote in 
Latin verse 220 books, on the philoso- 
phy of the Stoics. 

Sthexelus, a king of My- 
cenae, son of Perseus and Andromeda. 
He married Xicippe, the daughter of 
Peiops, by whom he had Eurystheus, 
b>ru, by Juno's influence, two months 
before the natural time, that be might 
o otain a superiority over Hercules, as 
being older. Homer. — A son of Capa- 
neus, one of the suitors of Helen. — 
There were others of this name, but of 
inferior note. 

S t ii e x o, one of the three 
Gorgons. 

Sthexobcea, a daughter of 

J abates, king of Lycia, Wfio married 



Prcetus, king of Argos. She became 
enamoured of Bellerophon, who had 
taken refuge at her husband's court, 
after the murder of his brother, and 
when he refused to gratify her crimi- 
nal passion, she accused "him before 
Prcetus of attempts upon her virtue. 
Homer. 

Stilicho, a brave general of 

the emperor Theodosius the Great. 
Under the emperor Honorius he show- 
ed himself turbulent and disaffected . 
Being of barbarian extraction, he wish- 
ed to see the Roman provinces laid de- 
solate by his countrymen, but he was 
disappointed. Honorius discovered his 
intrigues, and ordered him to be be- 
headed, before the year of Christ, 4»)B. 
His family were involved in his ruin. 

Stilpo, a celebrated philoso- 
pher of Megara, who flourished 336 
years before Christ, and was greatly 
esteemed by Ptolemy Soter. He was 
naturally addicted to debauchery, but 
reformed his manners when he opened 
a school at Megara. He was univer- 
sally respected, and Demetrius, when 
he "plundered Megara, ordered his 
house to be left unmolested. It is said 
that he intoxicated himself when ready 
to die, to alleviate the terrors of death. 
He was one of the chiefs of the Stoics. 
Plut. 

Stimicox, the name of a 

shepherd in Virgil's 5th eclogue. 

Stiphiltjs, one of the Lapi- 
thas, killed in the house of Pirithous. 

Stob.eus, a Greek writer who 

flourished A. D 405. 

Stcechades, five small 

islands in the Mediterranean, on the 
coast of Gaul, now the Hieres, near 
Marseilles. Pliny speaks of them as 
only three in number. 

Sto-Ici, a celebrated sect of 
philosophers founded by Zeno of Ci- 
•tium. They received their name from 
the portico, froa, where the philoso- 
pher delivered his lectures. They pre- 
ferred virtue to every thing else, and 
whatever was opposite to it, they look- 
ed upon as the greatest of evils. They 
supported that man alone, in the pre- 
sent state of his existence, could attain 
perfection and felicity. They encou- 
raged suicide, and believed "that the 
doctrine of future punishments and re- 
wards was unnecessary to excite or in- 
timidate their followers. [Vid. Zeno.] 

Strabo, a name among the 
Romans, gi- en to such as were natu- 
rally deformed. Pompey's father was 
distinguished by that name. — A native 
of Amasia.on the borders of Cappado- 
eia, who flourished in the age or Au- 
gustus and Tiberius. His geography, 



STR 



sue 



which alone of all his works remains, 
is justly celebrated. He travelled over 
great part of the world in quest of in- 
formation. This celebrated geogra- 
pher died A. D. 25. — A Sicilian, so 
clear-sighted, that he could distinguish 
objects at the distance of 130 miles, 
with the same ease as if they had been 
near. 

Strato, or Straton. The 

most remarkable of this name were, a 
king of the island Aradus, received into 
alliance by Alexander. — A king of Si- 
don, dependent upon Darius. — A phi- 
losopher of Lampsacus, disciple and 
successor in the school of Theophras- 
tus, about 2S9 years before the Christ- 
ian era. He supported that nature was 
inanimate, and that there was no god 
but nature. He was preceptor to Pto- 
lemy Philadelphus, who rewarded his 
labors with unbounded liberality. He 
wrote different treatises, all now lost. 
Diog. 

Stratocles, an Athenian 
general at the battle of Cheronsea, &c. 
Polycen. 

St rat oni ce, a daughter of 
Demetrius Poiiorcetes, who married 
Seleucus, king of Syria. Antiochus, 
her husband's son by a former wife, 
became enamoured of her, and married 
her. 

Strenia, a goddess at Rome, 

who presided over the presents which 
relations and friends made to each 
other on the return of the new year. 

Strentja, a goddess at Rome, 

who gave vigor and energy to the weak 
and indolent. 

St rongyle, one of the 

islands called ^Bolides, in the Tyrrhene 
sea, near the coast of Sicily. It had a 
volcano. Mela. 

Strophades, two islands in 
the Ionian sea, on the western coasts of 
the Peloponnesus, named Strophades 
from cr^ecpw, verto, to turn, because 
Zethes and Calais, the sons of Boreas, 
returned from thence by order of Jupi- 
ter, after they had driven the Harpies 
there from the tables of Phineus. The 
fleet of ^Eneas stopped near the Stro- 
phades. Mela. Virg. 

Strophius, a son of Crisus, 
king of Phocis. He married a sister of 
Agamemnon, called Anaxibia, by 
whom he had Pylades, celebrated for 
his friendship with Orestes. After the 
murder of Agamemnon by Clytemne- 
stra and vEgysthus, the king of Phocis 
educated at his own house with the 
greatest care his nephew, whom Elec- 
tra had secretly removed from the dag- 
ger of his mother, and her adulterer. 
Orestes was enabled by means of Stro- 



phius to revenge the death of his fa- 
ther. Paus. 

Struthophagi, a people of 

^Ethiopia, who feed on sparrows, as 
their name signifies. 

Struthus, a general of Arta- 

xerxes against the Lacedaemonians, 
B. C. 393. 

Strymon, a river which se- 
parates Thrace from Macedonia, and 
falls into a part of the ^Egean sea, 
called Stri/7nonicus sinus. A number of 
cranes, as the poets say, resorted on 
its banks in the summer time. Mela. 
Virg. 

Stymphalus, a king of Ar- 
cadia. Paus. — A town, river, lake, 
and fountain of Arcadia, so called from 
king Stymphalus. The neighbourhood 
of the lake Stymphalus was infested by 
a number of voracious birds like cranes 
or storks, which fed upon human flesh, 
and which were called Stymphalides. 
They were at last destroyed by Hercu- 
les, with the assistance of Minerva. 
Some have confounded them with the 
Harpies, while others pretend that they 
never existed but in the imagination 
of the poets. Apollod. Plin. Ovid. &c. 

Styx, a small river of Nona- 

cris, in Arcadia, whose waters were so 
cold and venomous, that they proved 
fatal to such as drank of them. They 
even consumed iron, and broke all ves- 
sels. The wonderful properties of this 
water suggested the idea, that it was a 
river of hell, especially when it disap- 
peared in the earth a little below its 
fountain head. The gods always swore 
by the Styx, an oath which was invio- 
lable. If any of the gods violated it, 
Jupiter obliged them to drink the wa- 
ters of the Styx, which lulled them for 
one whole year into a senseless stupid- 
ity ; for the nine following years they 
were deprived of the ambrosia and the 
nectar of the gods, and after the expi- 
ration of the years of their punish- 
ment, they were restored to the assem- 
bly of the deities, and all their original 
privileges. Hesiod. Homer. Virg. 

S IT AD A, or Suadela, the god- 
dess of persuasion, called Pitho by the 
Greeks. She had a form of worship 
established to her honor first by The- 
seus. Cic. Horat. 

Sublicius, the first bridge 

erected at Rome over the Tiber. [ Vid, 
Pons.] 

Suburra, a street in Rome 

where all the licentious, dissolute, and 
lascivious Romans and courtezans re- 
sorted. It was situate between mount 
Viminalisand Quirinalis. Varro. Juv. 

Sucro, a river of Hispania 
Tarraconensis, celebrated for a battle 



SUL 



SUN 



fought there between Sertorius and 
Pompey, in which the former obtained 
the victory. Pint.— - A Rutulian killed 
by ^Eneas. Virg. 

Sitessa, a town of Campania, 
called also Arunea, to distinguish it 
from Suessa Pometia, the capital of the 
Volsci. Strab. 

Suessones, a powerful nation 
of Belgic Gaul, reduced by J. Caesar. 
Ccbs. 

Suetonius, C. Paulinus, the 

first Roman general who crossed 
mount Atlas with an army. He presid- 
ed over Britain as governor for about 
twenty years, and was afterwards made 
consul. — C. Tranquillus, a Latin histo- 
rian. He was favored by Adrian, but 
he was banished from court for want 
of attention and respect to the empress 
Sabina. In his retirement Suetonius 
enjoyed the friendship and correspon- 
dence of Pliny the younger, and dedi- 
cated his time to study. The only one 
of his compositions extant is the lives 
of the twelve first Caesars, and some 
fragments of his catalogue of celebrat- 
ed grammarians. In his lives, he is' 
praised for his impartiality and correct- 
ness. His expressions, however, are 
often indelicate, and it has been justly 
observed, that while he exposed the de- 
formities of the Ciusars, he wrote 
with all the licentiousness and extra- 
vagance with which they lived. Plin. 
&c. 

Sue vi, a people of Germany, 

who made frequent incursions upon the 
territories of Rome, under the empe- 
rors. Lucan. 

SuFFETIUS, Or SUFETIUS, 

[Fid. Metius.] 

Suidas, a Greek writer, who 
flourished A. D. 1100. 

Sulcius, an informer whom 

Horace describes as hoarse with the 
number of defamations which he daily 
gave. 

Sulla. [mSylla.] 
Sulmo, now Sulmona, an an- 
cient town of the Peligni, at the di- 
stance of about ninety miles from 
Rome, founded by one of the followers 
of ^neas. Ovid was born there. Ovid. 
— A Latin chief killed in the night by 
Nisus, as he was going with his com- 
panions to destroy Euryalus. Virg. 

Sulpitia, a daughter of Pa- 
terculus, who married Fulvius Flaccus. 
She was so famous for her chastity, 
that she consecrated a temple to Venus 
Verticordia, a goddess who was im- 
plored to turn the hearts of the Roman 
women to virtue. —A poetess in the age 
of Domitian, against whom she wrote a 



poem, because he had banished the 
philosophers from Rome. This com- 
position is still extant. 

Sulpitia Lex, militaris, by 
C. Sulpicius the tribune, A. U. C. 665. 
invested Marius with the full power of 
the war against Mithridates, of which 
Sylla was to be deprived. — Another, de 
senatu, by Servius Sulpicius the tri- 
bune, A. U. C. 665. It required that 
no senator should owe more than 2000 
drachmae.— Another, de civitate, by P. 
Sulpicius the tribune, A. U. C. 665. It 
ordered that the new citizens who com- 
posed the eight tribes lately created, 
should be divided among the thirty-five 
old tribes, as a greater honor. 

Sulpitius, or Sulpicius. 

The chief of this name were an illus- 
trious family at Rome, of whom the 
most celebrated are — Peticus, a man 
chosen dictator against the Gauls. His 
troops mutinied when he first took the 
field, but soon after he engaged the 
enemy, and totally defeated them. — 
C. Paterculus, a consul sent against 
the Carthaginians. He conquered Sar- 
dinia and Corsica, and obtained a com- 
plete victory over the enemy's fleet. 
He was honored with a triumph at his 
return to Rome. — Spurius, one of the 
three commissioners whom the Ro- 
mans sent to collect the best laws 
which could be found in the different 
cities and republics of Greece. — P. 
Galba, a Roman consul, who signa- 
lized himself greatly during the war 
with the Achseans and the Macedo- 
nians. — Publius, one of the associates 
of Marius, well known for his in- 
trigues and cruelty. He became at 
last so seditious, that he was proscribed 
by S ylla's adherents, and immediately 
murdered. His head was fixed on a 
pole in the rostrum, where he had 
often made many seditious speeches in 
the capacity of tribune.— A Roman 
consul who fought against Pyrrhus and 
defeated him.— C. Longus, a Roman 
consul, who defeated the Samnites, and 
killed 30,000 men.— Gall us, an astrolo- 
ger in the age of Paulus. He accom- 
panied the consul in his expedition 
against Perseus, and told the Roman 
army that the night before the day on 
which they were to give the enemy 
battle, there would be an eclipse of the 
moon. This explanation encouraged 
the soldiers, which on the contrary 
would have intimidated them, if not 
previously acquainted with the causes 
of it. Cic. Liv. Pint. 

Summanus, a surname of 
Pluto, as prince of the dead, summits 
manium. He had a temple at Rome, 
and the Romans believed that the 
thunderbolts of Jupiter were in his 
power during the night. Cic. 

Sunium, a promontory of 



sirs 



At.ua, about forty-five miles distant 
from the Piraeus. There was there a 
small harbour, as also a town. Plin. 
Strab. 

Stjovetaurilia, a sacrifice 

among the Roman*, which consisted of 
the immolation of a sow (sus), a sheep 
(nvis , and a bull, (tan, usJ J whence the 
name. It was generally observed every 
fifth year. 

StiPERU m mare, a name of 
the Adriatic sea:, because it was situate 
above Italy. Cic 

Sura, ^Ejiylius, a Latin 
writer, &e. — L. Licinius, a favorite of 
Trajan. — A writer in the age of the em- 
peror Gallienus. He Wrote an history 
of the reign of the emperor. 

Surexa, a powerful officer in 
the armies of Orodes king of Parthia. 
His family had the privilege of crown- 
ing the kings of Parthia. He was ap- 
pointed to conduct the war against the 
Romans, and to protect the kingdom 
of Parthia against Crassus, who wished 
to conquer it. He defeated the Ro- 
man triumvir, and after he had drawn 
him perfidiously to a conference, he 
ordered his head to be cut off. He 
afterwards returned to Parthia, mi- 
micking the triumphs of the Romans. 
Orodes ordered him to be put to death, 
B. ( ::. 52. viut. 

SURRENTUM, a town of Cam- 
pania, famous for the wine which was 
rnad§ in the neighbourhood. Mela. 
Strab. Herat. 

Stjrtjs, one of the ./Edui, who 

made war against Cassar. 

Susa {ontm\ a celebrated city 

of Asia, the chief town of Susiana, and 
the capital of the Persian empire, built 
by Tithonus the father of Memnon. 
Cyrus took it. The walls of Susa were 
above 320 stadia in circumference. 
The treasures of the kings of Persia 
were generally kept there, and the 
royal palace was built with white mar- 
ble, and its pillars were covered with 
gold and precious stones. It has been 
called Memnonia, or the palace of 
Memnon, because that prince reigned 
there. Plin. Strab. Xenoph. 

Susana, a town of Hispania 
Tarraeonensis. 

Susarion, a Greek poet of 
Megara, who is supposed with Dolonto 
be the inventor of "comedy, and to have 
first introduced it at Athens on a mov- 
able stage, B. C. 562. 

Susiana, or Sus is, a country 

of Asia, of which the capital was called 
Susa. It was situate at the east of As- 
syria. It abounds with lilies, whence it 
got its name, Susan signifying a lily in 
Hebrew. 



SYL 



Syagrus, a poet, the first who 

wrote on the Trojan war. Milan. 
Sybaris, a river of Lucania 

in Italy, whose waters were said to ren- 
der men more robust. Strab.— There 
was a town of the same name on its 
banks, which in its most flourishing si- 
tuation had the command of twenty- 
five towns, and could send an army of 
three hundred thousand men into the 
field. In a more recent age, the inha- 
bitants became so effeminate, that the 
word Sybarite became proverbial to in- 
timate a man devoted to pleasure. Sy- 
baris was destroyed no less than five 
times, and always repaired. Diod. Strab. 
Plat. — A vouth enamoured of Lydia. 
Herod. 

Sybota, two or three small 

islands with an harbour of the same 
name, between Thesprotia in Epirus, 
and the south-east of Corcyra, opposite 
the promontory of Leucymna in that 
island. Thucyd. Strab. ike. 

Sycinxus, a slave of The- 

mistocles. sent by Xerxes- to fight 
against the Peloponnesian fleet. 

Syene, a town of Thebais, on 

the extremities of Egypt. Juvenal the 
poet was banished there on pretence of 
commanding a praetorian cohort sta- 
tioned in the neighbourhood. It was 
famous for its quarries of marble. 
Strab. Mela. Ovid. 

Syexesius, a Cilician, who, 

with Labinetus of Babylon, concluded 
a peace between Alyattes, king of Ly- 
dia, and Cyaxeres, king of Media, 
while both armies were terrified by a 
sudden eclipse of the sun, B. C. 5*85. 
Herodot. 

Sylla (L. Cornelius), a cele- 
brated Roman of a noble family. He 
first entered the army under the great 
Marius, whom he accompanied in Nu- 
midia, in the capacity of questor. He 
left him, and carried arms under Catu- 
lus. Some time after, he was appoint- 
ed by the Roman senate to place Ario- 
barzanes on the throne of Cappadoeia, 
against the views and interest of Mi- 
thridates, king of Pontus. This he 
easily effected, and before he quitted 
Asia, he received in his camp ambassa- 
dors from the king of Parthia, to treat 
of an alliance with the Romans. Hav- 
ing been opposed by Marius in his 
wishes to take the administration of 
the Mithridatic war as consul, after 
subduing the Marsi, he entered Rome, 
sword in hand /slaughtered all his ene- 
mies, set a price upon the head of Ma- 
rius, put to death the tribune Sulpi- 
tius, and marched towards Asia. When 
he reached the coast of Peloponnesus, 
he was delayed by the siege of Athens, 
and of the Piraeus. He made no scru- 
ple to take the riches of the temples of 



SYL 



SYP 



the gods to bribe his soldiers, and ren- 
der them devoted to his service. His 
boldness succeeded; the Pira:us sur- 
rendered; and, as if struck with reve- 
rence at the beautiful porticoes where 
the philosophic followers of Socrates 
and Plato had often disputed, he 
spared the city of Athens , which he had 
tievoted to destruction, and forgave the 
living for the sake of the dead. Two 
celebrated battles at Cheronsea and Or- 
chomenos rendered him master of 
Greece. He crossed the Hellespont, 
and attacked Mithridates in the very 
heart of his kingdom. The monarch 
made proposals of peace, Sylla accept- 
ed them, and returned to Rome to dis- 
pute with his rival the sovereignty of 
the republic with a victorious army. 
Mura?na was left at the head of the Ro- 
man forces in Asia, and Sylla hastened 
to Italy. Notwithstanding the alarm- 
ing accounts he had heard on the way 
of the strength and success of his ri- 
vals, he was not in the least discou- 
raged, but artfully proposing terms of 
accommodation to his adversaries, he 
secretly strengthened himself, and saw 
his armies daily increase, by the revolt 
of soldiers whom his bribes or pro- 
mises had corrupted. Pompey em- 
braced his cause, and marched to his 
camp with three legions. Soon after 
he appeared in the field with advan- 
tage ; the confidence of Marius decayed 
with his power, and Sylla entered 
Rome like a tyrant and a conqueror. 
The streets were daily filied with dead 
bodies, and 7000 citizens, to whom the 
conqueror had promised pardon, were 
suddenly massacred in the circus. The 
senate, "at that time assembled in the 
temple of Bellona, heard the shrieks 
of their dying countrymen ; and when 
they inquired into the cause of it, 
Sylla coolly replied, " They are only a 
few rebels whom I have ordered to be 
chastised." No less than 4700 of the 
most powerful and opulent were slain, 
and Sylla wished the Romans to forget 
his cruelties in aspiring to the title of 
perpetual dictator. In this capacity, he 
made new laws, abrogated such as were 
inimical to his views, and changed 
every regulation where his ambition 
was obstructed. After he had finished 
whatever the most absolute sovereign 
may do, from his own will and author- 
ity, Sylla abdicated the dictatorial 
power, and retired to a solitary retreat 
at Puteoli, where he spent the rest of 
his days. His intemperance hastened 
his end, his blood was corrupted, and 
an imposthume was bred in his bowels. 
He at last died in the greatest torments 
of the lou-v disease", about seventy- 
eight years before Christ, in the six- 
tieth year of his age; and it has been 
observed, that like Marius, on his 
death-bed, he wished to drown the 
stings of conscience and remorse by 
being in a continual state of intoxica- 



tion. The character of Sylla is that of 
an ambitious, dissimulating, credu- 
lous, tyrannical, debauched, and reso- 
lute commander. He was revengeful 
in the highest degree, and the surname 
of Felix, or the fortunate, which he as- 
sumed, showed that he was more in- 
debted to fortune than to valor for the 
great fame he had acquired. He patro- 
nized the arts and sciences ; he brought 
from Asia the extensive library of 
Apellicon, the Peripatetic philosopher, 
in which were the works of Aristotle 
and Theophrastus ; and he himself 
composed twenty-two books of me- 
moirs concerning himself. Cic, C. Nep. 
Pans. Liv. Pint. &c— Pubiius, a rela- 
tion of the dictator, who lost the con- 
sulship on occount of his bribery. He 
was accused of having a share in Cati- 
line's conspiracy. In the battle of 
Pharsalia he commanded Csesar's right 
wing. He was afterwards engaged in 
disposing of the effects of those who 
had been proscribed by his friend. Sal- 
lust. 

Sylvanus, a god of the 

woods. [Vid. Silvanus.J 

Sylvia, or Ilia, the mother 

of Romulus. \_Vid. Rhea.] 

Sylvius, a son of jEneas by 
Lavinia, from whom afterwards all 
the kings of Alba were called Sylvii. 
Firg. 

SY3IA, or Syme, a town of 

Asia. 

Symmachus, an officer in the 

army of Agesilaus. — A celebrated orator 
in the age of Theodosius the Great. 
His father was prefect of Rome. 

Symplegades, two islands 

at the entrance of the Euxihe sea. 

Symus, a mountain of Arme- 
nia, from which flows the Araxes. 

SyxesIus, a bishoj3 of Cyrene, 

in the age of Theodosius the younger, 
as conspicuous for his learning as his 
piety. He wrote 155 epistles, besides 
other treatises in Greek, in a style pure 
and elegant, and bordering much upon 
the poetic. 

Synxas, a town of Phrygia, 

famous for its marble quarries. 

Syphax, a king of the Masse- 
syllii in Libya, who married Sopho- 
nisba, the daughter of Asdrubal, and 
forsook the alliance of the Romans to 
join himself to the interest of his fa- 
ther-in-law, and of Carthage. He was 
conquered in a battle by Masinissa, the 
allv of Rome, and given to Scipio the 
Roman general. The conqueror car- 
ried him to Rome, where he adorned 
his triumph. Syphax died in prison 
201 vears before Christ, and his pos* 



TAC 



TAC 



sessions were given to Masinissa. Liv. 
Plut. Ovid. 

Syraces, one of the Sacse, 
who mutilated himself, and by pretend- 
ing to be a deserter, brought Darius, 
who made war against his country, 
into many difficulties. 

SYRACOSIA, festivals at Syra- 
cuse, celebrated during ten days. 

Syracuse, a celebrated city 
of Sicily, founded about 732 years be- 
fore the Christian era, by Archias, a 
Corinthian, and one of the Heraclida?. 
It was divided into four different dis- 
tricts, which were of themselves sepa- 
rate cities, and were fortified with three 
citadels and three-folded walls. It had 
two capacious harbours separated from 
one another by the island of Ortygia. 
The people of Syracuse were very "opu- 
lent and powerful : it is said that it 
produced the best and most excellent 
of men, when they were virtuous ; but 
the most wicked and depraved, when 
addicted to vicious pursuits. The wo- 
men of Syracuse were not permitted to 
adorn themselves with gold, or wear 
costly garments, except such as prosti- 
tuted themselves. Syracuse gave birth 
to Theocritus and Archimedes. It fell 
into the hands of the Romans, under 
the consul Marcellus, after a siege of 
three years, B. C. 212. Cic. Mela. Liv. 
&c. 

Syria, also called Assyria, 

a large country of Asia. It was divided 
into several districts and provinces, 
among which were Phoenicia, Pales- 
tine, Mesopotamia, Babylon, and Assy- 
ria. Syria was subjected to the mon- 
archs of Persia ; but afcer the death of 
Alexander the Great, Seleueus, sur- 
named Nicator, raised it into an em- 
pire, known in history by the name of 
the kingdom of Syria, or Babylon, 
B. C. 312. The successors of Seleueus 
were surnamed Seleucida?, and conti- 



nued to reign until Antiochus Asiati- 
cus was dethroned by Pompey, B. C. 
05 ; in consequence of which Syria be- 
came a Roman province. Herodot. 
Apollod. Mela. 

Syrinx, a nymph of Arcadia, 
daughter of the river Ladon. Pan be- 
came enamoured of her, and attempted 
to offer her violence ; but Syrinx escap- 
ed, and at her own request was changed 
by the gods into a reed called Svrinx 
by the Greeks. 

Syros, one of the Cyclades in 

the ^Egean sea, about twenty miles in 
circumference, very fruitful'in wine and 
corn of all sorts. Homer. Strdb* 

Strtes, two large sand bank? 

in the Mediterranean, on the coast of 
Africa, one of which was near Leptis, 
and the other near Carthage. As they 
often changed places, and were some- 
times very high or very low under the 
water, they were deemed very danger- 
ous in navigation , and proved fatal to 
whatever ships touched upon them. 
From this circumstance, therefore, the 
word has been used to denote any part 
of the sea of which the navigation was 
attended with danger either from whirl- 
pools or hidden recks. Mela. Salhist. 
Virg. &c. 

Syrus, son of Apollo by Si- 

nope, who gave his name to Syria. 
Sysigambis, the mother cf 

Darius. \_Vid. Sisygambis.] 

Sysimethres, a Persian sa- 
trap, who had two children by his mo- 
ther, an incestuous commerce" tolerated 
by the laws of Persia. Curt. 

Sysinas, the elder son of Da- 
tames, who revolted from his father to 
Artaxerxes. 

Sythas, a river of Pelopon- 
nesus, flowing through Sicyonia into 
I the bay of Corinth. 



TAC 

Taautes, a Phoenician deity, 

the same as the Saturn of the Latins. 
Varro. 

Tab R AC a, a maritime town of 

Africa, near Hippo, made a Roman 
colony. The neighbouring forests 
abounded with monkeys. Juv. PHn. 

Tab urn us, a mountain of 
Campania, which abounded with olives. 
Virg: 

Tacfarikas, a Numidian 

who commanded an army against the 



TAC 



Romans in the reign of Tiberius. He 
had formerly served in the Roman le- 
gions. After he had severally defeated 
the officers of Tiberius, he was at last 
routed and killed in the field of battle, 
fighting with uncommon fury, by Do- 
labellar Tacit. 

Tachos, or Tachus, a king 

of Egypt, in the reign of Artaxerxes 
Ochus", 'against whom he sustained a 
long war. He was assisted by the 
Greeks ; but his confidence in Agesi- 
laus, king of Laeedsemon, proved fatal 



TAC 



TAL 



to him : for disregarding his engage- 
ment, and joining with Nectanebus, 
who had revolted from Tachus, he 
ruined the affairs of the monarch, and 
obliged him to save his life by flight. 
C. Xep. 

Tacita, a goddess who pre- 
sided over silence. 

- Tacitus (C. Cornelius), a ce- 
lebrated Latin historian, born in the 
reign of Nero. His father was a Ro- 
man knight, who had been appointed 
governor of Belgic Gaul. Tacitus was 
honored with the consulship, and he 
gave proofs of his eloquence at the 
bar, by supporting the cause of the in- 
jured Africans against the proconsul 
Marius Priscus, and in causing him to 
be condemned for his avarice and ex- 
tortion. The friendship of Tacitus and 
of Pliny almost became proverbial, and 
one was scarce mentioned without the 
other, as the following instance may 
indieate. At the exhibition of the spec- 
tacles in the circus, Tacitus held a long 
conversation on different subjects with 
a Roman knight, with whom he was 
unacquainted ; and when the knight 
asked him whether he was a native of 
Italy, the historian told him that he 
was not unknown to him, and that for 
their distant acquaintance he was in- 
debted to literature. Then you are, re- 
plied the knight, eitne) Tacitus or 
Pliny. . The only compositions of Ta- 
citus, as some of the ancients observe, 
were contained in thirty books, of 
which we have now left only sixteen of 
his annals, and five of his history. The 
historian every where shows hisreader 
that he was a friend to public liberty 
and. national independence, a lover of 
truth, and of the general good and wel- 
fare of mankind. The history of the 
reign of Tiberius is his master-piece. 
Candor and impartiality were his stan- 
dard ; and his claim to' these essential 
qualifications of an historian has never 
been disputed.— M. Claudius, a Ro- 
man, elected emperor by the senate, 
after the death of Aurelian. The time 
of his administration was very popu- 
lar; the good of the people was his 
care. He abolished the brothels in 
Rome, and ordered all the public baths 
to be shut at sun-set. The senators 
under Tacitus seemed to have recover- 
ed their anekn: dignity and long-lost 
privileges. During a "short reign of 
about six months, he not only repelled 
the barbarians who had invaded the ter- 
ritories of Rome in Asia, but he pre- 
pared to make war against the Persians 
and Scythians. He died in Cilicia, as 
he was on his expedition, of a violent 
distemper ; or, according to some, he 
was destroyed by the secret dagger of 
an assassin", on the 13th of April, in the 
276th year of the Christian era. It has 
been observed, that he never passed a 
day without consecrating some part of 



his time to reading or writing. Tacit, 
vita. 

T.edifera, a surname of 

Diana. She had a temple at^Egium, 
in Achaia, where she was represented 
in a statue covered from head to foot 
with a veil, with one hand extended, 
and with a torch in the other. Paus. — 
The name is also applied to Ceres, 
either because she lighted torches in 
Mina., when in pursuit of Proserpine, 
or because a torch was borne by her 
priests at the Eleusinian mysteries. 
Ov id. Horn. 

TjEN arus, a promontory of 

Laconia, where Neptune had a temple. 
In it was a large and deep cavern, 
whence issued a black and unwhole- 
some vapor, and hence it was fabled by 
the poets to be one of the entrances of 
hell. This fabulous tradition arises, 
according to Pausanias, from the con- 
tinual resort of a large serpent near the 
cavern of Taenarus, whose bite was 
mortal. The town of Taenarus was at 
the distance of about forty stadia from 
the promontory. The town, as well as 
the promontory, received its name from 
Taenarus, a son of Neptune. Homer. . 
Paus. Ovid. Strab. 

Tagaste, a town of Nu- 

midia. 

Tages, a son of Genius, 
grandson of Jupiter, w r as the first who 
taught the twelve nations of the Etru- 
rians the science of augury and divina- 
tion. It is said that he was found by a 
Tuscan ploughman in the form of a 
clod, and that he assumed a human 
shape to instruct this nation, which be- 
came so celebrated for their knowledge 
of omens and incantations. Cic. Ovid. 

Tagoxius. a river of Hispa- 

nia Tarraconensis. 

T a g n s, a river of Spain, 
which falls into the Atlantic after it 
has crossed Lusitania, and now bears 
the name of Tajo. The sands of the 
Tagus, according to the poets, were 
covered with gold. Mela. Ovid. Virg. 

Talasius. [ Vid. Thalasius.] 

Talayra, the sister of Phoebe. 
She is also called Hilaira.f Vid. Phoebe.] 

Taletum, a temple sacred to 
the Sun on mount Taygetus in Laco- 
nia. Horses were generally offered there 
for sacrifices. 

Talthybius, a herald in the 

Grecian camp during the Trojan war, 
the particular minister and friend of 
Agamemnon. He brought away Bri- 
seis from the tent of Achilles, by order 
of his master. Talthybius died at 
JEgiumin Achaia. Homer. 

Talus, a youth, son of the 



TAN 



TAR 



sister of Daedalus, who invented the 
saw, compasses, and other mechanical 
instruments. His uncle became jealous 
of his growing fame, and murdered him 
privately. Pans. — A friend of ^Eneas, 
killed by Turnus. Virg. 

Tamarus, a mountain of Epi- 

rus. 

Tamasea, a beautiful plain of 

Cyprus, sacred to the goddess of beauty. 
It" was in this place that Venus gathered 
the golden apples with which Hippoma- 
nes was enabled to overtake Atalanta. 
Oi'.'cr. Met. 

Tamesis, a river of Britain, 
now the Thames. Ctc. 

Tamos, a native of Memphis, 

made governor of Ionia, by ycung Cy- 
rus. After the death of Cyrus, Tamos 
fled into Egypt, where he was murder- 
ed on account of his immense trea- 
sures. Diod. — A promontory of India, 
in the Ganges. 

Tamyris, a queen, [ Vid. 
Thamyris.] 

Tanagra, a famous town of 
Boeotia, near the Euripus; between the 
Asopus and Thermodou. It was found- 
ed by Pcemandros, a son of Chaeresi- 
laus. Strab. Pans. 

Taxais, an eunuch, freedman 

to "Maecenas. Horat. Sat. — A river of 
Scythia, which divides Europe from 
Asia. It is now called the Don. Mela. 
Strab. — A deity among the Persians 
and Armenians, who patronized slaves ; 
supposed to be the same as Venus. 
The daughters of the noblest of the 
Persians and Armenians prostituted 
themselves in honor of this deity, and 
were received with greater regard and 
affection by their suitors. Artaxerxes, 
the son of Darius, was the first who 
raised statues to Tanais. Strab. — A 
city of Egypt.— Another on the Bospho- 
rus. 

Taxacluil, called also Caia 
Csecilia, was the wife of Tarquin, the 
fifth king of Rome. After the murder 
of Tarquin, she raised her son-in-law 
Servius Tullius to the throne, and en- 
sured him the succession. She distin- 
guished herself by her liberality. Liv. 
Dismys. Hal. 

Taxtalides, a patronymic 

applied to the descendants of Tanta- 
lus. 

Tax talus, a king of Lydia, 
son of Jupiter, by a nymph called Plu- 
to. He was father of Niobe, Pelops, 
&c. by Dione, one of the Atlantides. 
He is "represented by the poets as pu- 
nished in hell with an insatiable thirst, 
and placed up to the chin in the midst 
of a pool of water, which flows away as 
soon as he attempts to taste it. There 



hangs also above his head a bough, 
richly loaded with delicious fruit, 
which, as soon as he attempts to seize, 
is carried away from his reach by a 
sudden blast of wind. He is thus pu- 
nished either for theft, cruelty, and im- 
piety, or laseiviousness, for the causes 
are "variously explained. Plw. Ho- 
mer. Eurip. Horai.—A son cf Thyes- 
tes, the first husband of Clvtenxuestra. 
Pa us. 

Taphije, islands in the Ionian 

sea, between Achaia and Leucadia. 
They were also called Teleboides. They 
received these names from Taphius 
and Telebous, the sons of Neptune, 
who reigned there. The Taphians 
made war against EJectryon, king of 
Mycenae, and killed all his sons* upon 
which the monarch promised his king- 
dom and his daughter in marriage to 
him who could avenge the death of his 
children upon the Taplmns. Amphi- 
tryon did it with success, and obtained 
the promised reward. The Taphians 
were expert sailors, but too fond of 
plunder and piratical excursions. Ho- 
rner. 

Taphius, a son of Neptune by 

Hippothoe, the daughter of Nestor. 

Strab. 

Taphiusa, a place near Leu- 

cas, near whicn is found a stcne, called 
Tcphhtsiv.?. It is mentioned by Pliny, 
xxxvi. c. 21. 

Taproeane, an island in the 
Indian ocean, now called Ceylon. Its 
inhabitants were very rich, and lived to 
a great age. Strab. 

Taras, a son of Neptune, who 
built Tarentum. 

Taraxippus, a deity, son of 
Neptune, worshipped at Eiis. His sta- 
tue was placed near the race ground, 
and his protection was implored, that 
no harm might happen to the horses 
during the race. Pans. &c . 

T a R c h E t i u s, an impious 
j king of Alba. 

Tarchox, an Etrurian chief, 
who assisted .-Eneas against the Ru- 
tuli. He founded Mantua. Yiig.Mn. 

Tare xt um, or Tarextu?, 

a town of Calabria, situate on a bay of 
the same name, near the mouth of ihe 
river Galesus. It was founded, or ra- 
ther repaired, by a Lacedaemonian co- 
lony, about 707 years before Christ, 
under the conduct of Phalanthus. It 
was lonsr independent, and could once 
arm one hundred thousand foot, and 
three thousand horse. The people of 
Tarentum were so luxurious and vo- 
luptuous, that the delights of Taren- 
tum became proverbial. The Tarentine 
war is greatlv celebrated in history. 



TAR 



TAR 



This war, which had been undertaken 
before Christ 281 , by the Romans, to 
avenge the insults which the Taren- 
tines had offered to their ships when 
near their harbours, was terminated 
after ten years ; thirty thousand prison- 
ers were taken, and Tarentum became 
subject to Rome. It was for some time 
the residence of Pythagoras, who in- 
spired the citizens with the love of vir- 
tue, and rendered them superior to 
their neighbours in the cabinet as well 
as in the field of battle. The large, 
beautiful, and capacious harbour of 
Tarentum is greatly commended by 
ancient historians. * Tarentum, now 
called Tarento, is inhabited by about 
13,000 souls, who still maintain the cha- 
racter of their forefathers in idleness 
and -effeminacy, and live chiefly by 
fishing. Flor.'Plut. Liv. Strab. 

Tarpa (Spurius Maetius), a 
critic at Rome, in the age of Augustus. 
He was appointed with four others in 
the temple of Apollo to examine the 
merit of every poetical composition 
which was to be deposited in the tem- 
ple of the Muses. All the pieces that 
were represented on the Roman stage 
had previously received his approba- 
tion. Horat. 

Tarpeia, the daughter of 
Tarpeius, the governor of the citadel 
of Rcrae. She promised to open the 
gates of the city to the Sabines, pro- 
vided they gave her their golden brace- 
lets, or, as she expressed it, what they 
carried on their left hands. Tatius, 
the king of the Sabines, consented ; 
and, as he entered the gates, to punish 
her perfidy, he threw not only his 
bracelet but his shield upon Tarpeia. 
His followers imitated his example, 
and Tarpeia was crushed under the 
weight of the bracelets and shields of 
the Sabine army. She was buried in 
the Capitol, which from her has been 
called the Tarpeian rock, and there 
afterwards many of the Roman male- 
factors were thrown down a deep preci- 
pice. Plut. 

Sp. Tarpeius, the governor 
of the citadel of Rome, under Romu- 
lus. His descendants were called Mon- 
tani and Capitolini. 

Tarpeius moists, a hill at 
Rome, which received its name from 
Tarpeia, who was buried there. It is 
the same as the Capitoline hill. Virgi 

Matt. 

Tabquinii, a town of Etruria, 
built by Tarehon, who assisted .Eneas 
against Turnus. Tarquinius Priscus 
was educated there, and he made it a 
Roman colony when he ascended the 
throne. Strab. 

Tarquin ia, a daughter of 



Tarquinius Priscus, who married Ser- 
vius Tullius. When her husband was 
murdered by Tarquinius Superbus, she 
privately conveyed away his body by 
night, and buried it. This preyed upon 
her mind, and the following night she 
died. — A vestal virgin, who, as some 
suppose, gave the Roman people a 
large piece of land, which was after- 
wards called the Campus Martius. 

Tarquinius Priscus, the 

5th king of Rome, was son of Demara- 
tus, a native of Greece. His first name 
was Lucumon. AncUs Martius, the 
reigning monarch, nominated him, at 
his death, the guardian of his children. 
The princes were young, and an artful 
oration delivered "to the people imme- 
diately transferred the crown of the de- 
ceased monarch on the head of. Lucu- 
mon. Tarquin reigned with modera- 
tion and popularity. He increased the 
number of the senate, and made him- 
self friends by electing one hundred 
new senators from the plebeians, whom 
he distinguished by the appellation of 
Patres minorum gentium, from those 
of the patrician body, who were called 
Patres ma jorum gentium. He showed 
that he possessed vigor and military 
prudence in the victories which he ob- 
tained over the united forces of the La- 
tins and Sabines, and in the conquest 
of the twelve nations of Etruria. He 
adorned Rome with many elegant 
buildings and useful ornaments. He 
laid the foundations of the Capitol ; 
and to the industry and the public spi- 
rit of this monarch the Romans were 
indebted for their aqueducts and sub- 
terraneous sewers. Tarquin was the 
first who introduced among the Ro- 
mans the custom to canvass for offices 
of trust and. honor : he distinguished 
the monarch, the senators, and other 
inferior magistrates with particular 
robes and ornaments, with ivory chairs 
at spectacles, and the hatchets carried 
before the public magistrates were by 
his order surrounded with bundles of 
sticks, to strike more terror, and to be 
viewed with greater reverence. Tar- 
quin was assassinated by the two sons 
of his predecessor, in the eightieth year 
of his age, thirty-eight of which he had 
sat on the throne, 578 years before 
Christ. Dion. Hal. — The second Tar- 
quin, surnamed Superbus, was grand- 
son of Tarquinius Priscus. He was the 
seventh and last king of Rome. He 
murdered his father in law, and seized 
the kingdom, at the instigation of his 
wife Tullia. The crown which he had 
obtained with violence, he endeavour- 
ed to keep by a continuation of tyranny. 
He paid no regard to the decisions of 
the senate, or the approbation of the 
public assemblies ; and by wishing to 
disregard both, he incurred the jea- 
lousy of the one and the odium of the 
other. The public treasury was soon 



TAR 



TAU 



exhausted by Tarquin ; and to silence 
the murmurs of his subjects, he resolv- 
ed to call their attention to war. He 
was successful in his military opera- 
tions ; but while the siege of Ardea was 
continued, the wantonness of the son 
of Tarquin at Rome for ever stopped 
the progress of his arms ; and the Ro- 
mans no sooner saw the virtuous Lu- 
cretia stab herself, not to survive the 
loss of her honor, than the whole city 
and camp arose with indignation 
against the monarch. The gates of 
Rome were shut against him, and Tar- 
quin was for ever banished from his 
throne, in the year of Rome 244. He 
retired among the Etrurians, who at- 
tempted in vain to replace him on his 
throne ; whereupon the republican go- 
vernment was established at Rome. 
Tarquin died in the ninetieth year of 
his age, about fourteen years after his 
expulsion from Rome. He had reign- 
ed about twenty-five years.— Collati- 
nus, one of the relations of Tarquin 
the Proud, who married Lucretia. 
IVid. Collatinus.]— Sextius, the eldest 
of the sons of Tarquin the Proud, ren- 
dered himself well known by a variety 
of adventures. When his father be- 
sieged Gabii, he came before the city 
with his body all mangled and bloody 
with stripes. He had no sooner declar- 
ed that this proceeded from the tyranny 
and oppression of his father, than the 
people of Gabii entrusted him with the 
command of their armies. When he 
had thus succeeded, he despatched a 
private messenger to his father, who 
gave no answer to be returned to his 
son. When Sextus heard from the 
messenger, that when the message was 
delivered, Tarquin cut off with a stick 
the tallest poppies in his garden, he 
followed the example, by putting to 
death the most noble and powerful citi- 
zens of Gabii. The town soon fell into 
the hands of the Romans. Sextius was 
at last killed, bravely fighting in a 
battle during the war which the Latins 
sustained against Rome in the attempt 
of re-establishing the Tarquins on their 
throne. Liv. 

Tarquitus, a son of Faunus 

and Dryope, who assisted Turnus 
against ^Eneas. He was killed by 
iEneas. Virg. 

TarracIna, or Anxur, a 

town of the Volsci in Latium, between 
Rome and Neapolis. Strab. Mela. 

Tarraco, a city of Spain, si- 
tuate on the shores of the Mediterra- 
nean, founded by the two Scipios, who 
planted a Roman colony there. Mar- 
tial. 

Tars A, a Thracian, who re- 
belled under Tiberius. 

Tarsius, a river of Troas. 



Tarsus, or Tarsos, a town 

of Cilicia, on the Cydnus, founded by 
Triptolemus and a colony of Argives, 
or as others say, by Sardanapalus. It 
was once the rival of Alexandria and 
Athens in literature and the study of 
the polite arts. Lucan. Strab. 

Tartarus, one of the regions 

of hell, where the most impious and 
guilty among mankind were punished. 
x\ccording to Hesiod, it was a separate 
prison, at a greater distance from the 
earth than the earth is from the hea- 
vens. Virgil says, that it was surround- 
ed by three impenetrable walls, and by 
the impetuous and burning streams of 
the river Phlegethou. In it were also 
punished, according to the same poet, 
such as had been disobedient to their 
parents, traitors, adulterers, faithless 
ministers, and such as had undertaken 
unjust and cruel wars, or had betrayed 
their friends for the sake of money. 
Hesiod. Virg. Homer. 

Tartessus, a town in Spain. 

near the columns of Hereules, on the 
Mediterranean, better known by the 
name of Gades, when Hercules had set 
up his columns on the extremity of 
Spain and Africa. Tartessus has been 
called the most distant town in the ex- 
tremities of Spain, by the Romans. 

L. Taruntius Spurina, a 

mathematician, who flourished sixty- 
one years B. C. 

Tatienses, a name given to 

one of the tribes of the Roman people 
by Romulus, in honor of Tatius, king 
of the Sabines. They lived on mounts 
Capitolinus and Quirinalis. 

Tatius (Titus) king of Cures 

among the Sabines, made war against 
the Romans after the rape of the Sa- 
bines. The gates of the city were be- 
trayed into his hands by Tarpeia, and 
the army of the Sabines advanced as 
far as the Roman forum, where a 
bloody battle was fought. Theories of 
the Sabine virgins at last stopped the 
fury of the combatants, and an agree- 
ment was made between the two na- " 
tions. Tatius consented to leave his 
ancient possessions, and with his sub- 
jects to come and live in Rome. He 
shared the royal authority with Romu- 
lus, and lived in the greatest union. 
He was murdered about six years after 
at Lanuvium, before Christ, 742, for 
an. act of cruelty to the ambassadors of 
the Laurentes. "This was done by or- 
der of his royal colleague, according to 
some authors. Liv. Plut. &c. 

Tatta, a large lake of Phry- 
gia, on the confines of Pisidia. 

Tavola, a river of Corsica. 

Tauri, a people of European 
Sarmatia, who inhabited Tauriea Cher- 



TAY 



TEG 



sonesus. They sacrificed all strangers 
to Diana. Strab. 

Taurica ChersonIsus, a 

large peninsula of Europe, at the south- 
west of the Palus Mssotis, now called 
the Crimea. The inhabitants, called 
Tauri, were a savage and uncivilized 
nation. \_Vid. Tauri.] Strab. Plin. 

Taurica, a surname of Diana, 
because she was worshipped by the in- 
habitants of Taurica Chersonesus. 

Taurint, the inhabitants of 
Taurinum, a town of Cisalpine Gaul, 
now called Turin. Sil. 

Tauro minium, a town of 
Sicily, between Messana and Catana, 
built by the Zaneleans, Sicilians, and 
Hybleans, in the age of Dionysius, the 
tyrant of Syracuse. The hills in the 
neighbourhood were famous for the 
fine grapes which they produced. Diod. 

Taurus, the largest mountain 
of Asia, as to extent. It extends as far 
as the most eastern extremities of 
Asia, branches in! several parts, and 
runs far into the north. Mount Tau- 
rus was known by several names, parti- 
cularly in different countries. It was 
called Taurus Amanus from the bay 
of issus as far as the Euphrates ; Anti- 
taurus from the western boundaries of 
Cilicia up to Armenia ; Caucasus be- 
tween the Hyrcanian and the Euxine 
sea, &c. The word Taurus was more 
properly confined to the mountains 
that separate Phrygia and Pamphylia 
from Cilicia. The several passes in it 
were called Pylae, and hence frequent 
mention is made in ancient authors of 
the Armenian Pylae, Cilician Pylae, 
&c. Mela. Plin.— A mountain in Ger- 
many. Tacit.— Titus Statil ius, a con- 
sul made prefect of Italy by Augustus. 
— A proconsul of Africa, accused by 
Agrippina, that she might become mis- 
tress of his gardens. Tacit. — An officer 
of Minos, king of Crete. He had an 
amour with Pasiphae, whence arose the 
fable of the Minotaur, from the son , 
.who was born some time after. \_Vid. 
Minotaurus.] 

TaxIla, a large country in 
India, between the Indus and the Hy- 
daspe . 

Taxilus, or Taxiles, a king 

of Taxila, in the age of Alexander. He 
submitted to the conqueror, who re- 
warded him with great liberality. Curt. 
— A general of Mithridates, who assist- 
ed Archelaus against the Romans in 
Greece. He was afterwards conquered 
by Muraena, the lieutenant of Sylla. 

Taximaquilus, a king in the 
southern parts of Britain when Caesar 
invaded it. C<es. 

Taygetus, or Taygeta, a 



mountain of Laconia, in Peloponnesus, 
at the west of the river Eurotas. It 
hung over the city of Lacedaemon, and 
it is said that once a part of it fell 
down by an earthquake, and destroyed 
the suburbs. It was on this mountain 
that the Lacedaemonian women cele- 
brated the orgies of Bacchus. Mela, 
Pans. Strab. 

Teanum, a town of Campa- 
nia, on the Appian road. 

Tearus, a river of Thrace 3 
rising in the same rock from thirty- 
eight different sources, some of which 
are hot and others cold. Darius raised 
a column there when he marched 
against the Scythians, as if to denote 
the sweetness and salubrity of the wa- 
ters of that river. Herodot. 

Techmessa, the daughter of 
a Phrygian prince, called Teuthras. 
When her father was killed in war by 
Ajax, son of Telamon, the young prin- 
cess became the property of the con- 
queror, and by him she had a son called 
Eurysaces. Sophocles, in one of his 
tragedies, represented Techmessa as 
moving her husband to pity by her 
tears and entreaties, when he wished to 
stab himself. Horat. &c. 

Tecmon, a town of Epirus. 

Tectamus, son of Dorus, 

grandson of Hellen, the son of Deuca- 
lion, went to Crete with the ^Etolians 
and Pelasgians, and reigned there. 

Tectosages, or Tectosa- 

GJE,a people of Gallia Narbonensis so 
called. Some of them passed into Ger- 
many, where they settled near the Her- 
cynian forest, and another colony pass- 
ed into Asia, where they conquered 
Phrygia, Paphlagonia, and Cappado- 
cia. They were among those GauSs 
who pillaged Rome under Brennus, 
and who attempted some time after to 
plunder the temple of Apollo at Del- 
phi. At their return home f rom-Greeee, 
they were visited by a pestilence, and 
ordered to stop it, to throw into the ri- 
ver all the riches and plunder they had 
obtained in their distant excursions. 
Coes. Strab. Liu. Justin. 

Tecum, a river in Gaul, fall- 
ing from the Pyrenees into the Medi- 
terranean. 

Tegjeus, a surname of Pan 

from the worship he received at Teggea. 
Virg. 

Tegea, or Teg.ea, a town of 

Arcadia, in the Peloponnesus, founded 
by Tegeates^ a son of Lycaon. The 
gigantic bones of Orestes were found 
ouried there, and removed to Sparta. 
Apollo and Pan were worshipped there, 
and also Ceres, Proserpine, and Venus. 
The epithet Tegsea was applied to Ata- 



TEL 



TEL 



lanta, as a native of the place. Ovid. 
Virg. Strdb. 

Tegula, P. Licin. a comic 

poet, who flourished 8. C. 198. 

Tegyra, a town of Boeotia, 
where Apollo was worshipped. There 
was a battle fought there between the 
Thebans and the Peloponnesians. 

Teios. [Vid. Teos.] 
Teium, a town of Paphlago- 

nia, on the Euxine sea. 

Telamok, a king of the island 

of Salarnis, son of ^fSacus and Endeis. 
He was brother to Peleus, and father 
to Teucer and Ajax, who on that ac- 
count is often called Telamonius heros. 
He fled from Megara, his native coun- 
try, after he had accidentally murdered 
his brother Phocus in playing with the 
quoit, and he saded to the island of Sa- 
lamis, where he soon after married 
Glauce, the daughter of Cychreus, the 
king of the place. At the death of his 
father-in-law, who had no male issue, 
Telamon became king of Salamis. He 
accompanied Jason in his expedition to 
Colchis, and was arm-bearer to Her- 
cules, when that hero took Laomedon 
prisoner, and destroyed Troy. Tela- 
mon was rewarded by Hercules for his 
services with the hand of Hesione, 
whom the conqueror had obtained 
among the spoils of Troy, aud with her 
he returned to Greece." He also mar- 
ried Peribcea, whom some call Eriboea. 
Ovid. Sophocl. Pindar. &c. 

Telamoniades, a patrony- 
mic given to the descendants of Tela- 
mon. 

TelchInes, a people of 

Rhodes, the inventors of many useful 
arts. They were the first who raised 
statues to the gods. They had the 
power of changing themselves into 
whatever shape they pleased, and, ac- 
cording to Ovid, they could poison and 
fascinate all objects with their eves, and 
cause rain and hail to fall at pleasure. 
They insulted Venus, for which the 
goddess inspired them with sudden 
fury, so that they committed the gross- 
est crimes, and offered violence even 
to their own mothers. Jupiter destroy- 
ed them all by a deluge. Diod. 

Telchinia, a surname of 
Minerva.— Also a surname of Juno in 
Rhodes. 

Telebo^e, or Teleboes, a 
people of vEtolia, called also Taphians, 
some of whom left their native coun- 
try, and settled in the island of Caprae. 
Virg. IVid. Taphise.] 

Teleboides, islands opposite 
Leucadia. Plin. 

Telecles, or Teleclus, a 



Lacedaemonian king, of the family of 
the Agidse, who reigned 40 years, B.C. 
813. Herodot. Paus. — A philosopher, 
disci pie of Lacidas, B. C. 214. 

TeleclIdes, an Athenian 
comic poet, in the age of Pericles. 

Teleg6nus, a son of Ulysses 
and Circe, born in the island of JSaea, 
where he was educated. He went to 
Ithaca to make himself known to his 
father, but was shipwrecked on the 
coast, and bei ng destitute of provisions, 
he plundered some of the inhabitants 
of the island. Ulysses and Telemachus 
came to defend the property of their 
subjects ; a quarrel arose, and Telego- 
nus killed his father without knowing 
who he was. He afterwards returned 
to his native country, and carried 
thither his father's body, where it was 
buried. Telemachus and Penelope also 
accompanied him in his return, and 
soon after the nuptials of Telegonus 
with Penelope were celebrated by order 
of Minerva. Penelope had by Telego- 
nus a son called Italus, who gave his 
name to Italy. Telegonus founded 
Tusculum in Italy, and left one daugh- 
ter, .called Mamilia, from whom the 
noble family of the Mamilii at Rome 
were descended. Horat. Ovid. Hi/gin. 
— A king of Egypt, who married Io 
after she had been restored to her ori- 
ginal form by Jupiter. 

Telemachus, a son of Ulys- 
ses and Penelope. He was still in the 
cradle when his father went with the 
rest of the Greeks to the Trojan war. 
At the end of this war, Telemachus, 
anxious to see his father, went to seek 
him, and visited the court of Menelaus 
and Nestor to obtain information. The 
suitors of his mother Penelope had con- 
spired to murder him on his return, 
but he avoided their snares, and by 
means of Minerva, he discovered his 
father, who had arrived in the island 
two days before him, and was then in 
the house of Eumaeus. With this faith- 
ful servant and Ulysses, Telemachus 
delivered his mother from the impor- 
tunities of her suitors. After the death 
of his father, Telemachus went to the 
island of iEsea, where he married Circe, 
or, according to others, Cassiphone, 
the daughter of Circe, by whom he 
had a son called Latinus. He some 
time after had the misfortune to kill 
his mother-in-law Circe, and fled to 
Italy, where he founded Clusium. Te- 
lemachus was accompanied in his visit 
to Nestor and Menelaus by the goddess 
of wisdom, under the form of Mentor. 
It is said, that when a child, Telema- 
chus fell into the sea, and that a dol- 
phin brought him safe to shore, after 
he had remained some time under wa- 
ter. From this circumstance Ulysses 
had the figure of a dolphin engraved on 
the seal which he wore on his ring. 
Homer. Horat. Ovid, &c. 



TEL 



TEM 



Telephassa, the mother of 
Cadmus, Phoenix, and Cilix, by Age- 
nor. She died in Thrace, as she was 
seeking her daughter Europa, whom 
Jupiter had carried away. 

Telephus, a king of Mysia, 
son of Hercules and Auge, the daugh- 
ter of Aleus. He was exposed as soon 
as born on mount Parthenius, but his 
life was preserved by a goat, and by 
some shepherds. Telephus, according 
to the more received opinions, was 
ignorant of his origin, and he was or- 
dered by the oracle, if he wished to 
know his parents, to go to Mysia. Obe- 
dient to this injunction, he came to 
Mysia, where Tenthras offered him his 
crown, and his adopted daughter Auge 
in marriage, if he would deliver his 
country from the hostilities of Idas, 
the son of Aphareus, Telephus readily 
complied, and, at the head of the My- 
sians, he soon routed the enemy, and 
received the promised reward. As he 
was going to unite himself to Auge, 
the sudden appearance of an enormous 
serpent separated the two lovers ; Auge 
implored the assistance of Hercules, 
and was soon informed by the god that 
Telephus was her own son. The nup- 
tials were not celebrated, and Telephus 
some time after married one of the 
daughters of king Priam. Telephus 
prepared to assist Priam against the 
Greeks, and with uncommon fury he 
attacked them when they had landed 
on his coasts. Telephus was victo- 
rious, had not Bacchus suddenly raised 
a vine from the earth, which entangled 
the feet of the monarch, and laid him 
fiat on the ground. Achilles imme- 
diately rushed upon him, and wounded 
him so severely, that he was carried 
away from the battle. The wound 
was mortal, and Telephus was inform- 
ed by the oracle, that he alone who had 
inflicted it could totally cure it. Appli- 
cations were made to Achilles, but in 
vain ; the hero observed that he was no 
physician; till Ulysses, who knew that 
Troy could not be taken without the 
assistance of one of the sons of Hercu- 
les, and who wished to make Telephus 
the friend of the Greeks, persuaded 
Achilles. Achilles consented, and the 
hero scraped the rust from the point of 
his spear, and by applying it to the 
sore, gave it immediate relief. It is 
said that Telephus showed himself so 
grateful to the Greeks, that he accom- 
panied them to the Trojan war, and 
fought with them against his father-in- 
law. Paus. Ovid. Plin. — A friend of 
Horace, remarkable for his beauty, and 
the elegance of his peison. He was the 
favorite of Lydia, the mistress of Ho- 
race, &c. Horat. — L. Verus, wrote a 
book on the rhetoric of Homer, as also 
a comparison of that poet with Plato, 
and other treatises, now lost. 



Telesephorus, a divinity 

who presided over medicine, and the 
recovery of diseased persons. On some 
of Adrian's medals he is represented as 
a young man. 

Tele si a, a town of Campa- 
nia, taken by Hannibal. 

Telesicles, a Parian, father 
to the poet Archilochus, by a slave, 
named Enippo. 

Telesilla, a lyric poetess of 
Argos, who bravely defended her coun- 
try against the Lacedaemonians, and 
obliged them to raise the siege. A 
statue was raised to her honor in the 
temple of Venus. Paus. 

Tele sinus, a general of the 

Samnites, who joined the interest of 
Marius, and fought against the gene- 
rals of Sylla. He marched towards 
Rome, and defeated Sylla with great 
loss. He was afterwards routed in a 
bloody battle, and left in the number 
of the slain, after he had given great 
proofs of his valor and courage. Plut. 

Telesippus, a poor man of 

Phera?, father to the tyrant Dinias. 

Telestas, a son of Priam. 

Apollod. — A king of Corinth, who died 
779 B. C. 

Tellus, a divinity, the same 
as the Earth, the most ancient of all 
the gods after Chaos. She was mo- 
ther, by Ccelus, of Oceanus, Hyperion, 
Ceus, Rhea, Japetus, Themis, Saturn, 
Phoebe, Tethys, &c. She is the same 
as Cybele, Rhea, Vesta, Ceres, Tithea, 
Bona Dea, Proserpine, &c. She was 
generally represented as a woman with 
many breasts, distended with milk, to 
express the fecundity of the earth. She 
also appeared crowned with turrets, 
holding a sceptre in one hand, and a 
key in the other; while at her feet was 
lying a tame iion without chains, as if 
to intimate that every part of the earth 
can be made fruitful by means of culti- 
vation. Hesiod. Virg. — A poor man, 
whom Solon called happier than Croe- 
sus, the rich and ambitious king of Ly- 
dia. Tellus had the happiness to see a 
strong and healthy family of children, 
and at last to fall in the defence of his 
country. Het odot. 

Telphusa, a nymph of Ar- 
cadia, daughter of the Ladon, who gave 
her name to a town and fountain of 
that place. The waters of the fountain 
Telphusa were so cold, that Tiresias 
died by drinking them. Diod. Strab. 

Te menus, the son of Aristo- 

machus. was the first of the Heraclidse 
who returned to Peloponnesus with his 
brother Ctesiphontes, in the reign of 
Tisamenes, king of Argos. Temenus 



TEN 



TER 



made himself master of the throne of 
Argos, from which he expelled the 
reigning sovereign. After death he was 
succeeded by his son-in-law, Deiphon, 
who had married his daughter Hyr- 
netho, and this succession was in pre- 
ference to his own son. Apcllod. Pa us. 
&c. 

Temerinda, the name of the 
Pa-lus Maeotis among the natives. 

Temesa, a town of Cyprus. — 
Another in Calabria in Italy, famous 
for its mines of copper. Ovid. Strab. 

Temnos, a town of JEolia, at 
the mouth of the Hermus. 

Tempe, a valley in Thessaly, 
between mount Olympus at the north, 
and Ossa at the south, through which 
the river Peneus flows into the JEgean. 
The poets have described it as the most 
delightful spot on the earth, with con- 
tinually cool shades, and verdant, walks, 
which the warbling of birds rendered 
more pleasant and romantic. Tempe 
extended about five miles in length, 
but was scarce one acre and a half 
wide. All valleys that are pleasant, 
either for their situation or the mild- 
ness of their climate, are called Tempe 
by the poets. Strab. Plut. 

Tenedos, a small fertile 

island of the iEgean sea, opposite Troy, 
at the distance of about 12 miles from 
Sigaeum, and 56 miles north from Les- 
bos. It became famous during the 
Trojan war, as it was there that the 
Greeks concealed themselves the more 
effectually to make the Trojans believe 
that they" were returned home without 
finishing the siege. It was anciently 
called Leucophrys, till Tenes, the son 
of Cycnus, settled there, and built a 
town, which he called Tenedos, from 
which the whole island received its 
name. Homer. Strab. '■■ Virg. 

Tenes, a son of Cycnus and 

Proclea. He was exposed on the sea on 
the coast of Troas, by his father, who 
credulously believed his wife Philono- 
me, who had accused him of attempts 
upon her virtue, when he refused to 
gratify her passion. Tenes arrived safe 
in Leucophrys, which he called Tene- 
dos, and of which he became the sove- 
reign. Cycnus discovered the guilt of 
his wife Philonome, and wishing to be 
reconciled to his son, he went to Tene- 
dos. But when he had tied his ship to 
the shore, Tenes cut off the cable with 
a hatchet, and suffered his father's ship 
to be tossed about in the sea. Hence, 
the hatchet of Tenes is become prover- 
bial to intimate a resentment that can- 
not be pacified. This hatchet was 
carefully preserved at Tenedos, and 
afterwards deposited in the temple of 
Delphi, where it was still seen in the 
age of Pausanias. Tenes was killed by 



Achilles, as he defended his country 
against the Greeks, and he receive!; 
divine honors after death. Strab* Pan*. 
Diod. 

Tennes, a king of Sidon,who ? 

when his country was besieged by the 
Persians, burnt himself and the city to- 
gether, B. C. 351. 

Tenos, a small island in the 
JEgean, near Andros, called also Hy- 
drussa, from the number of its foun- 
tains. It was very mountainous, but it 
produced excellent wines, universally 
esteemed by the ancients. Tenos was 
about 15 miles in extent. The capital 
was also called Tenos. Strab. Ovid. 

Tentyra, (plur.) and Ten- 

TYRIS, a small town of Egypt, on the 
Nile, whose inhabitants were at enmity 
with the crocodiles, and made war 
against those who paid them adoration. 
Sirab. Juv. 

Teos, or Teios, a maritime 

town on the coast of Ionia, in Asia 
Minor, opposite Samos. It was one of 
the 12 ciiies of the Ionian confederacy, 
and gave birth to Anacreon and Heca- 
tseus. According to Pliny, Teos was an 
island. Augustus repaired Teos, whence 
he is often called the founder of it on 
ancient medals. Strab. Paus. Horat. 

Terambus, a shepherd, son of 
Euseims, and grandson of Neptune, 
who was changed into a beetle, and is 
supposed to be the same withCerambus, 
who, as Ovid mentions, was changed 
into a bird. 

Teredon, a town on the 

shores of the gulf of Arabia. 

Tekentia, the wife of Cicero, 
mother of M. Cicero, and Tulliola. Ci- 
cero repudiated her, because she had 
been faithless to his bed, when he was 
banished in Asia. She married Sallust, 
Cicero's enemy, and afterwards Messala 
Corvinus. She lived to her 103d, or, 
according to Pliny, to her mth year, 
Plut. Cic. — The wife of Meca?nas,"with 
whom it was said that Augustus carried 
on an intrigue. 

Terentia lex, called also 

Cassia, f> ujnentaria, by M. Terentius 
Varro,Lucullus, and C. Cassius, A.U.C. 
6S0. It ordered that the same price 
should be given for all corn bought in 
the provinces, to hinder the exactions 
of the quaestors. — Another bv Terentius 
the tribune, A. 17. C. 291, to eleet fi%-e 
persons to define the power of the con- 
suls. 

Terentianus, a Roman, to 

whom Longinus dedicated his Treatise 
on the Sublime. 

Terentius Publius, a na- 
tive of Africa, celebrated for the come- 
dies he wrote. He was sold as a slave 
to Terentius Lucanus, a Roman sena- 
tor, who educated him with great care* 



TER 



TER 



and manumitted him for the brilliancy 
of his genius. He bore the name of his 
master and benefactor, and was called 
Terentius. He applied himself to the 
study of Greek comedy with uncommon 
assiduity, and merited the friendship 
and patronage of the learned and power- 
ful. Scipio, the elder Africanus, and 
his friend Lselius, have been suspected, 
on account of their intimacy, of assist- 
ing the poet in the composition of his 
comedies ; and the fine language, the 
pure expressions, and delicate senti- 
ments with which the plays of Terence 
abound, seem perhaps to favor the 
supposition. Terence was in the 25 th 
year of his age when his first play ap- 
peared on the Roman stage. All his 
compositions were received with great 
applause ; but when the words. 

Homo sum, humani nil a me alienum 
puto, 

were repeated, the plaudits were reite- 
rated, and the audience, though com- 
posed of foreigners, conquered nations, 
allies, and citizens of Rome, were una- 
nimous in applauding the poet, who 
spoke, with such elegance and simpli- 
city, the language of nature, and sup- 
ported the native independence of man. 
The talents of Terence were employed 
rather in translating than in search of 
originality. 1 1 is said that he translated 
108 of the comedies of the poet Me- 
nander, six of which only are extant. 
Quintiliau, who candidly acknowledges 
the deficiencies of the Roman comedy, 
declares that Terence was the most ele- 
gant and refined of all the eomedians 
whose writings appeared on the stage. 
The time and the manner of his death 
are unknown. He left Rome in the 
35th year of his age, and never after 
appeared there. Some suppose that he 
was drowned in a storm as he returned 
from Greece, about 159 years before 
Christ. Quintil. Horat. — Culeo, a Ro- 
man senator, taken by the Carthagini- 
ans, and redeemed by Africanus. When 
Africanus triumphed, Culeo followed 
his chariot with a pileus {cap) on his 
head. He was some time after appoint- 
ed judge between his deliverer and the 
people of Asia,and had the meanness to 
condemn him and his brother Asiaticus, 
though both innocent. Liv.— Varro, a 
writer. {Vid. Varro.] — A consul with 
iEmilius Paulus,at the battle of Cannae 
He was the son of a butcher, and had 
followed for some time the profession of 
his father. He placed himself totally in 
the power of Annibal, by making an 
improper disposition of his army. After 
he had been defeated, and his colleague 
slain, he retired to Canusium, with the 
remains of his slaughtered countrymen, 
and sent word to the Roman senate of 
his defeat. He received the thanks of 
this venerable body, because he had en- 
gaged the enemy, however improperly, 



and not despaired of the affairs of the 
republic. Plut. Liv. Tacit. 

Te re nt us, a place in the 

Campus Martins near the Capitol,where 
the infernal deities had an altar. Those 
festivals, which were celebrated every 
lGOth year, were called Ludi Terentini. 
Ovid. Fast. 

Tereus, a king of Thrace, 

son of Mars and Bistonis. He married 
Progne, the daughter of Pandion, king 
of Athens, whom he had assisted in a 
war against Megara. He offered vio- 
lence to his sister-in-law, Philomela, 
whom he conducted to Thrace by de- 
sire of Progne. {Vid. Philomela and 
Progne.] 

TergEminus, or Tricor- 

POR, a name applied to Cerberus, and 
also to Gerion, king of Gades, from 
having three bodies or three heads. — 
Diana is also called Tergemina, because 
called Diana on earth, Luna in heaven ; 
and Hecate in hell. Virg. 

Tergeste and Tergestum, 

now Triest, a town of Italy, on the 
Adriatic sea, made a Roman colony. 
The adjacent gulf bears its name. Mela. 
Plin. &c. 

Teribazus, a nobleman of 

Persia, sent against Evagoras, king of 
Cyprus, accused of treason and super- 
seded. 

Teridates, a favorite eunuch 
at the court of Artaxerxes. At his death 
the monarch was in tears for three days* 
Mlian. 

Terigum, a town of Macedo- 
nia. 

Terioli, now Tirol, a for- 

tified town in the north of Italy, in the 
country of the Grisons. 

Termerus, a robber of Pelo- 
ponnesus, who killed people by crush- 
ing their heads against his own. He 
was slain by Hercules. Plut. 

Terminalia, annual festivals 
at Rome, in honor of the god Terminus, 
in the month of February. It was then 
usual for peasants to assemble near the 
principal land marks which separated 
their fields, and, aftertheyhad crowned 
them with garlands and flowers, to 
make libations of milk and wine, and 
to sacrifice a lamb or a young pig. They 
were first established by Numa. Ovid. 
Cic. 

Terminalis, a surname of 

Jupiter. Dionys. Hal. 

Terminus, a divinity at Rome 

who was supposed to preside over bounds 
and limits, and to punish all unlawful 
usurpation of land. He was represented 
with a human head, without feet or 
arms, to intimate that he never moved., 
wherever he was placed. It is said that 
when Tarquin the Proud, wished to 



THE 



THE 



Theagenes, an athlete of 1 

Thasos, famous for h's strength. He 
■was crowned above a thousand times at 
the public games of the Greeks, and 
oeeame a god after death. Pans. — A 
Theban officer, who distinguished him- 
self at the battle of Chasronea. Pint,— 
.\ writer who published commentaries 
on Homer's works. 

Theano, a daughter of Cis- 
fteus, sister to Hecuba, who married 
Antenor, and was supposed to have be- 
trayed the palladium of the Greeks, as 
she was priestess of Minerva. Homer* 
Paus. — The mother of Pausanias. She 
was the first, as it is reported, who 
brought a stone to the entrance of Mi- 
nerva's temple,to shut up her son, when 
*he heard of his crimes and perfidy to 
his country. — A daughter of Scedasus, 
to whom some of the Lacedaemonians 
offered violence at Leuctra. — A Trojan 
natron, who became mother of Mimas 
by Amycus, the same night that Paris 
was born. Yirg. 

Theanum, a town of Italy. 

iVid. Teanum.] 

The arid as, a brother of Dio- 

r.ysius the elder. He was made admiral 
of his fleet. 

Thearius, a surname of 

Apotio at Trcezene. 

Theba or There, a town of 

Cilicia. [Vid. Thebae.] 

Theb^e (arum), a celebrated 
city, the capital of Boeotia, situate on 
the banks of the river lsmenus. Cad- 
mus is supposed to have first begun to 
found it by building the citadel Cadmea. 
It v/as afterwards finished by Amphion 
and Zethus, but, according to Varro, 
it owed its origin to Ogyges. Its go- 
vernment was monarchical, and many 
of the sovereigns are celebrated for thei'r 
misfortunes, such as Laius, CEdipus, 
Polynices, Eteocles, &c The war 
which Thebes supported against the 
Argives is famous, as well as that of the 
Epigoni. The Thebans were looked 
upon as anindolentand sluggish nation, 
and the words of Theban pig became 
proverbial to express a man remarkable 
for stupidity and inattention. This, 
however, was not literally true. Under 
Epaminondas, the Thebaas, though be- 
fore dependent, became masters of 
Greece, and every thing was done ac- 
cording to their will and pleasure. When 
Alexander invaded Greece, he ordered 
Thebes to he totally demolished, except 
the house where the poet Pindar was 
born and educated. Thebes was after- 
wards repaired by Cassander, the son of 
An ti pater. The monarchical govern- 
ment was abolished there at the death 
of Xanthus, about 1190 years B. C. and 
.Thebes became a republic. It received 
lis name from, Thebe, the daughter of 



Asopus, to whom thefouuder Amphion 
was nearly related. Apollod. Paus. Strab. 
— Anancient and celebrated city of The- 
bais, in Egypt, called also Hecatompy- 
los, on account of its hundred gates.aud 
Diospoli9, as being sacred to Jupiter. 
In the time of its splendor it' extended 
above 23 miles, and, upon any emer- 
gency, could send into the field/by each 
of its hundred gates, 20,000 fighting 
men, and 200 chariots. Thebes was 
ruined by Cambyses, king of Persia. 
Juv. Tacit. Herodot. Strab. Mela. 

Thebais, a country in the 

southern parts of Egypt, of which 
Thebes was the capital. — There have 
been some poems which have borne the 
name of Thebais, but of these the only 
one extant is the Thebais of Statius. 1 1 
gives an account of the war of the The- 
bans against the Argives. The poet was 
twelve years in composing it, and though 
the style is often inelegant, yet the poem 
is highly valuable for the information 
which it contains respecting the mytho- 
logy, and the unknown particulars of 
ancient times. — A river of Lydia. — A 
name given to a native of Thebes. 

Thebe, the wife of Alexander, 

tyrant of Pherae, who was persuaded by 
Pelopidas to murder her husband. 

T H E I a, a goddess. [ Vid. 
Thea.] 

THELxioPE,one of the Muses. 

according to some writers. Civ. 
Themis, a daughter of Cceius 

and Terra, who married Jupiteragainst 
her own inclinations. She became mo- 
ther of Dice, Irene, Eunomia, the Par- 
cae, &c. and was the first to whom the 
inhabitants of the earth raised temples. 
Her oracle was famous in Attica in the 
age of Deucalion, who consulted it w ith 
great solemnity, and was instructed 
how to repair the loss of mankind, b'he 
was generally attended by the Seasons. 
• Among the moderns she is represented 
as holding a sword in one hand,, and a 
pair of scales in the other. Ovid, 

Themisgyra, a town of Cap- 

padocia, at the mouth of the Therm o- 
don , belonging to the Amazons. The 
territories round it bore the same name. 

The mis on, a famous physician 
of Laodicea, disciple to Aselepiades. 
He was founder of a sect called method- 
ists, because he wished to introduce 
methods to facilitate the learning and 
the pracrice of physic. He flourished in 
the Augustan age. Plin. — One of the 
generals of Antiochus the Great. He 
was born at Cyprus. Milan. 

The3iista or Themistis, a 

goddess, the same as Themis. 

THEMisxius,acelebrated phi- 
losopher of Paphlagonia in the age of 
Constantius, greatly esteemed by the 
Roman emperors, and called the fine 



THE 



THE 



speaker, from his eloquent and com- 
manding delivery. He was made a Ro- 
man senator, and always distinguished 
for his liberality and munificence^ His 
school was greatly frequented. He wrote 
when young some commentaries on 
Aristotle, fragments of which are still 
extant, and SS of his orations. In his 
addresses to the emperors, he strongly 
recommends humanity, wisdom, and 
clemency. 

The mis to, daughter of Hyp- 
?eus, was the third wife of Athamas, 
king of Thebes, by whom she had four 
sons, called Ptous, Leucon, Schceneus, 
and Erythroes. She endeavoured to 
kill the children of Ino, her husband's 
second wife, but she killed her own by 
means of Ino, who lived in her house 
In the disguise of a servant maid, and to 
whom she entrusted her bloody inten- 
tions. Pans.— The mother of the poet 
Homer, according to a tradition men- 
tioned by Pausanias. 

The mist ocles, a celebrated 
general born at Athens, the son of Neo- 
cles and Euterpe, a native of Halicar- 
nassus. The beginning of his youth 
was marked by vices so flagrant", that 
Ms father disinherited him. But the 
protection which he was denied at home 
he sought in courting the favors of the 
populace, and in having a share in the 
administration of public affairs. Vv hen 
Xerxes invaded Greece, Themistocles 
was at the head of the Athenian repub- 
lic, and in this capacity the fleet was 
entrusted to his care. His naval ope- 
rations and the combined fleet of the 
Peloponnesians were directed to destroy 
the armament of Xerxes, and to ruin 
his maritime power. The obstinate wish 
■of th generals to command the Grecian 
fleet might have proved fatal to the in- 
terest of the allies, had not Themistocles 
freely relinquished his pretensions, and 
nominated his rival Eurybiades master 
of the expedition. The Persian fleet 
was distressed at Artemisium by a vio- 
lent storm, and the feeble attack of the 
Greeks; but it was owing to Themisto- 
cles that a decisive batilewas everfought ; 
for the Greeks, actuated by different 
views, were unwilling to make head by- 
sea against the enemy ; but Themisto- 
cles sent intelligence of their intentions 
to the Persian monarch. Xerxes, by 
immediately blocking them with his 
Heet in the bay of Salamis, prevented 
their escape, and obliged them to fight 
for their safety, as well as for the honor 
of their country. This battle, whieh 
was fought near the island of Salamis, 
B. C. 480, was decisive, the Greeks ob- 
tained the victory. Further to ensure 
the peace of his country, Themistocles 
informed the Asiatic monarch, that the 
Greeks had conspired to cut down the 
bridge whieh he had built across the 
Hellespont, and to prevent his retreat 
into Asia. Xerxes hastened away from 



Greece, left his forces without a general, 
and his fleets an easy conquest to the 
victorious Greeks. Themistocles was 
received with the most, distinguishing 
honors, and by his prudent administra- 
tion, Athens was soon fortified with 
strong walls, her Pireus was rebuilt, 
and her harbours were filled with a nu- 
merous and powerful navy, which ren- 
dered her the mistress of Greece. Yet 
in the midst of that glory,the conqueror 
of Xerxes incurred the displeasure of 
his countrymen. He was banishedfrom 
the city, and obliged to throw himself 
into the arms of a monarch, whose fleets 
he had defeated, and whose father he 
had ruined. Artaxerxes received the 
illustrious Athenian with kindness ; 
made him one of his greatest favorites, 
and bestowed three rich cities upon him, 
to provide him with bread, wine, and 
meat. But Themistocles still remem- 
bered that Athens gave him birth, and 
according to some writers, the wish of 
not injuring his country, and therefore 
his inability of carrying on war against 
Greece, at the request of Artaxerxes, 
obliged him to destroy himself by drink- 
ing bull's blood. The manner of his 
death, however, is uncertain. His bones 
were conveyed to Attica, and honored 
with a magnificent tomb by the Atheni- 
ans, who began to repent too late of 
their cruelty to the saviour of his coun- 
try. Themistocles died in the 65th year 
of his age, about 449 years before the 
Christian era. Pint. C Nep. 

Theoclymenus, a soothsayer 
of Argolis, descended from Melampus. 
His father's name was Thestor. An ac- 
cidental murder obliged him to fly from 
Argos, and he reached Pylos just as Te- 
lemachus was going to return to Ithaca, 
and he easily obtained permission to 
accompany him. Here, at the sight of 
some birds, he foretold to his patron 
and to Penelope the speedy return of 
Ulysses ; and the prophecy was soon 
after fulfilled.^ Homer. Odyss. Hi/gin. 

Theocritus, a Greek poet 
who flourished at Syracuse in Sieilv* 
282 B. C. His father's name was Prax'a- 
goras, and his mother's Philina. He 
lived in the age of Ptolemy Philadel- 
phus, whose praises he sang, and whose 
favors he enjoyed. Theocritus distin- 
guished himself by his poetical compo- 
sitions, of which SO idyllia and some 
epigrams are extant, written in the Do- 
ric dialect, and admired for their beauty, 
elegance, and simplicity. Virgil, in his 
Eclogues, has imitated and often copied 
him. Theocritus has been blamed for 
the many indelicate and obscene expres- 
sions which he uses ; and while he intro- 
duces shepherds and peasants with all 
the rusticity and ignorance of nature, 
he often disguises' their character by 
making them speak on high and exalted 
subjects. It is said he wrote some in- 
vectives against Hiero king of Syracuse, 
who ordered him to be strangled.— A, 



THE 



THE 



Greek historian of Chios, who wrote an 
account of Libya. Plut. 

Theodamas or Thiodamas, 

a king of Mysia, in Asia Minor, father 
of Hvlas \Vid. Hylas] by Menodice. 
He was killed by Hercules because he 
refused to treat him and his son Hyllus 
with hospitality, and the hero carried 
away Hylas, on'whom he bestowed his 
tenderest regards. Ovid, in lb. Apollod. 

Theodectes, a Greek orator 
and poet of Phaselis in Paraphylia, son 
of Aristander, and disciple of Isocrates. 
He wrote 50 tragedies, besides other 
works now lost. He had such a happy 
memory, that he could repeat with ease 
whatever verses were spoken in his pre- 
sence. When Alexander passed through 
Phaselis, he crowned with garlands the 
statue which had been erected to the 
memory of the deceased poet. Cic. 
Pint. 

THEODONis, a town of Ger- 
many, now Tbionville, on the Moselle. 

eodOra, a daughter-in- 
law of the emperor Maximian, who 
married Constantius. — A woman who 
from being a prostitute became empress 
to J ustinian, and distinguished herself 
by her intrigues and enterprizes— The 
name of Theodora is common to the 
empresses of the East i a later period. 

Theodorus, a Syracusan of 
great authority among his countrymen, 
who severelv inveighed against the ty- 
ranny of Dionysius. — A philosopher, 
disciple to Aristippus. He denied the 
existence of a god. He was banished 
from Cyrene, and fled to Athens, where 
the friendship of Demetrius Phalereus 
saved him from the accusations which 
were carried to the Areopagus against 
him. Some suppose that he was at last 
condemned to death for his impiety and 
that he drank poison.— A preceptor to 
one of the sons of Antony, whom he 
betrayed to Augustus.— A consul in the 
re">gn"of Honorius. Claudian wrote a 
Tioem upon him, in which he praises 
him with great liberality.— A secretary 
of Valens. He conspired against the 
emperor, and was beheaded. — A man 
who compiled a history of Rome. Of 
this nothing but his history of the reigns 
of Constantine and Constantius is ex- 
tant.— A Greek poet in the age of Cleo- 
patra. He wrote a book of metamor- 
phoses, which Ovid imitated, as some 
suppose. — An artist of Samos. He was 
the first who found out the art of melt- 
ing iron, with which he made statues. — 
A Greek writer, called also Prodromus. 
The time in which he lived is unknown. 
There is a romance of his composition 
extant, called the amours of Rhbdanthe 
and Dosicles. 

Theodosiop5lis, a town of 

Armenia, built by Theodosius, &e. 
Theodosius Flavius, a Ro- 



man emperor surnamed Magnus. The 
first years of his reign were marked by 
different conquests over the barbarians. 
The Goths were defeated in Thrace, 
and 4000 of their chariots, with an im- 
mense number of prisoners of both 
sexes, were the reward of the victory. 
This glorious campaign intimidated the 
inveterate enemies of Rome ; they sued 
for peace, and treaties of alliance were 
made with distant nations. Some con- 
spiracies were formed against the em- 
peror, but Theodosius totally disre- 
garded them. He triumphed over the 
barbarians, and restored peace in every 
part of the empire. He died of a dropsy 
at Milan, in the 60th year of his age", 
after a reign of 16 years, the iTth of 
January, A. D. 395. His body was con- 
veyed to Constantinople, and buried by 
his son Arcadius, in the tomb of Con- 
stantine. Theodosius was the last of 
the emperors who was the sole master 
of the whole Roman empire. He left 
three children, Arcadius and Honorius ; 
who succeeded him, and Pulcheria. He 
has been commended by ancient writers 
as a prince blessed with every virtue, 
and debased by no vicious propensity. 
Though master of the world, he was'a 
s f ranger to pride or arrogance ; he was 
affable in his behaviour, benevolent and 
compassionate, and it was his wish to 
treat his subjects as himself was treated 
when a private man, and a dependent. 
Men of merit were promoted to places 
of trust and honor, and the emperor 
was fond of patronizing the cause of 
virtue and learning. He wished to sup- 
port the revealed religion, as much by 
his example, meekness, and Christian 
charity ,as by his edicts and ecclesiastical 
institutions. His want of clemency, 
however, in one instance was too openly 
betrayed, for by his order no less than 
6000 persons, without distinction of 
rank , age, or sex, were cruelly butchered 
in Thessalonica, in the space of three 
hours, because the inhabitants of that 
town had unmeaningly, perhaps, killed 
one of his officers. Theodosius was 
compelled by St. Ambrose to do open 
penance in the church, and publicly to 
make atonement for this act of barba- 
rity. In his private character Theodo- 
sius was an example of soberness and 
temperance. He was fond of bodily ex- 
ercise. The laws and regulations which 
he introduced in the Roman empire 
were of the most salutary nature. Anibros. 
Augustin- — The2d,succeeded his father 
Arcadius as emperor of the western Ro- 
man empire, though only in the Sth 
year of his age. He was governed by 
his sister Pulcheria,and by his ministers 
and eunuchs. He married Eudoxia, 
the daughter of a philosopher called 
Leontius, a woman remarkable for her 
virtues and piety. The territories of 
Theodosius were invaded by the Per- 
sians, but the emperor soon appeared at 
the head of a numerous force, and the 



THE 



THE 



two hostile armies met on the frontiers 
of the empire. The consternation was 
universal on both sides : without even a 
battle, the Persians fled,andnoless than 
100,000 were lost in the waters of the 
Euphrates. He died on the 29th of July, 
in the 49th year of his age, A. D. 450, 
leaving only one daughter, Liehiia Eu- 
doxia,' whom he had married to the em- 
peror Valentinian 3d. His carelessness 
and inattention to public affairs are well 
known, He signed all the papers that 
were brought to him without even open- 
ing them, till his sister rendered him 
more careful by making him sign a 
paper, in which he delivered into her 
hands Eudoxia his wife as a slave and 
menial servant. The laws and regu- 
lations promulgated under him, and se- 
lected from the most useful and salutary 
institutions of his imperial predecessors, 
have been called the Theodosian code. 
Theodosius was a warm advocate for 
the Christian religion. Socrates. — A 
Roman general, father of Theodosius 
the Great : he died A. D. 376. 

The od ota, a beautiful cour- 
tezan of Elis, whose company was fre- 
quented by Socrates. 

THEODOTUS,aii admiral of the 
Rhodians, sent by his countrymen to 
make a treaty with the Romans.— A 
native of Chios, who advised Ptolemy 
to murder Pompey. He carried the 
head of the unfortunate Roman to Cse- 
sar. He was at last put to death by 
Brutus. — A Syracusan, accused of a 
conspiracy against Hieronymus the ty- 
rant of Syracuse. — One of the generals 
of Alexander. 

Theognis, a Greek poet of 
Megara, who flourished about 549 years 
before Christ. He wrote several poems, 
of which only a few sentences are now 
extant, quoted by Plato and other Greek 
historians and philosophers. — A tragic 
poet whose compositions were so lifeless 
and inanimated, that they procured him 
the name of Chion, OYsn'ow. 

Theomxestus, a rival of Ni- 
eias in the administration of public 
affairs at Athens. Strati. Pans. — An 
Athenian philosopher among the fol- 
lowers of Plato's doctrines. He had 
Brutus, Caesar's murderer, among his 
pupils. 

The ox, a philosopher who 

used frequently to walk in his sleep. — 
An astronomer of Smyrna, in the reign 
of Adrian. — An infamous reviler. Horat. 

Theophane, a daughter of 
Bisaltus, whom Neptune changed into 
a sheep, to remove her from her nu- 
merous suitors. Ovid. 

Theophanes, a Greek histo- 
rian, born at Mitylene. He was very 
intimate with Pompey, and from his 
friendship with the Roman general his 
countrymen derived many advantages. 



After the battle of Pharsalia, he advised 
Pompey to retire to the court of Egypt. 
Cic. Plut. 

Theophania, festivals cele- 
brated at Delphi in honor of Apollo. 

The o phil us, a comic poet of 
Athens. — A governor of Syria in the age 
of Julian. — The name of Theophilus is 
common among the primitive Chris- 
tians. 

Theophrastus, a native of 
Eresus, in Lesbos, son of a fuller. He 
studied under Plato, and afterwards 
under Aristotle, whose friendship he 
gained, and whose warmest commenda- 
tions he deserved. His original name 
was Tyrtarnus, but this the philosopher 
made him exchange for that of Eu- 
phrastus, and afterwards for that of 
Theophrastus,as more expressive of his 
eloquence, the brilliancy of his genius, 
and the elegance of his language. After 
the death of Socrates, Theophrastus 
succeeded Aristotle in the Lyceum; and 
rendered himself so conspicuous, that 
in a short time the number of his au- 
ditors was increased to two thousand, 
Kings and princes were desirous of his 
friendship ; and Cassander and Ptolemy 
regarded him with uncommon tender- 
ness* Diogenes has enumerated the 
titles of above 200 treatises, which he 
wrote with great elegance and copious- 
ness. Some of these are still extant, 
among which are his history of stones, 
his treatise on plants, and his charac - 
ters, an excellent moral treatise, which 
was begun in the 99th year of his age. 
He died loaded with years and infirmi- 
ties in the 107th year of his age, B. C. 
288, complaining of the partiality of 
nature in granting longevity to the crow 
and stag, but not to mankind. To his 
care we are indebted for the works of 
Aristotle, which the dying philosopher 
entrusted to him. Cic. Strab. Quintii. 

The o pom pus, a king of Sparta. 
He created the Ephori, and died after a 
long and peaceful reign, B. C. 723. — A 
famous Greek historian of Chios, dis- 
ciple of Isocrates, who flourished B. C. 
354. All his compositions are lost, ex- 
cept a few fragments quoted by ancient- 
writers. He is compared to Thucydides 
and Herodotus as an historian. He ob- 
tained a prize in which his master was a 
competitor, and he was liberally re- 
warded for composing the best funeral 
oration in honor of Mausolus. Dionys. 
Plut. Quintil. — A comic poet in the age 
of Menander. He wrote twenty-four 
plays, all lost.— An orator and historian 
of Cnidus, very intimate with J. Caesar. 
Strab. — A Spartan general, killed at the 
battle of Tegyra. 

Theorius, a surname of 
Apollo at Trcezene. 

Theotimus, a Greek who 

wrote a history of Italy. 



THE 



THE 



The oxen a, a woman who 
threw herself into the sea, when unable 
to escape from the soldiers of king Phi- 
lip, who pursued her. 

Theoxenia, a festival cele- 
brated in honor of all the gods in every 
city of Greece, but especially at Athens. 
Games were then observed,and the con- 
queror who obtained the prize received 
a large sum of money, or, according to 
others, a vest beautifully ornamented. 
The Dioscuri established a festival of 
the same name, in honor of the gods 
who had visited them at one of their en- 
tertainments. Strab. Pans. 

Theoxenius, a surname ot 

Apollo. 

THEitA,a daughter of Amphion 

and Niobe. — One of the Sporades in the 
iEgean sea, anciently called Callista. It 
was first inhabited by the Phoenicians. 
It was called Thera by Theras, the sou 
of Autesion, who settled there with a 
eoJonyfrom Lacedaemon. Paus. Strab. 

The ram bus, a town near 
Pallene. 

Theramenes, an Athenian 

philosopher and general in the age of 
Alcibiades. He was one of the thirty 
tyrants at Athens, but he had no share 
in the cruelties and oppression which 
disgraced their administration. He was 
accused by Critias,one of his colleagues, 
and condemned to drink hemloL-k. He 
drank the poison with great, composure, 
and poured some of it on the ground, 
with the sarcastical exclamation, This is 
to the health of Critias. This happened 
about 404 years before the Christian era. 
Theramenes has been called Cothurnus, 
on account of the fickleness of his dis- 
position. Cic. Plut. 

Therapke or Terapne, a 
town of Laconia, at the west of the Eu- 
rotas, where Apollo had a temple called 
Phcebeum. It received its name from 
Therapne, a daughter of Lelex. Castor 
and Pollux were born there, and on that 
account they are sometimes called The- 
rapnaei fratres. Paus. Ovid. 

Therma, a town of Africa — 
A town of Macedonia, afterwards called 
Thessalonica, in honor of the wife of 
Cassander. Sttabi Tacit. 

Thermodon, a famous river 
of Cappadocia, in the ancient country of 
the Amazonsjfalling into the Euxine sea 
near Themiscyra. Strab. Virg.— There 
was also a small river of the same name 
in Bceotia, which was afterwards called 
Haemcn. 

Thermopylae, a small pass 
leading from Thessaly into Locris and 
Phocis. It receives its name from the 
hot baths which are in the neighbour- 
hood. It is celebrated for a battle which 
was fought there, B. C. 480, on the 7th 
Of August, between Xerxes and the 



Greeks, in which three hundred Spar- 
tans resisted for three successive days 
repeatedly the attaeks of the most brave 
and courageous of the Persian army, 
which, according to some historians, 
amounted to five millions. There was 
also another battle fought therebetween 
the Romans and Antiochus,kingof Sy- 
ria. Herodot. Strab. Liv. 

Therm us, a town of iEtolia, 

the capital of the country. 

Therodamas, a king of 

Scythia, who, as some report, fed lions 
with human blood, that they might be 
more cruel. Ovid. 

Theron, a tyrant of Agrigen- 

tum, who died 472 B. C— A Rutulian 
who attempted to kill iEneas. He per- 
ished in the attempt. — A daughter of 
Phylas, beloved by Apollo. — One of Ac- 
tason's dogs. Paus. 

Therpander, a celebrated 

poet and musician of Lesbos, about 650 
years before the Christian era, who se- 
veral times obtained the prize in the dif- 
ferent musical contests of the Greeks. 
He was fined by the Ephori at Lacedae- 
mon, because he had added one string 
more to the lyre. His poetical compo- 
sitions are los"t. 

The r sander, a son of Poly- 
nices and Argia. He accompanied the 
Greeks to the Trojan war, . but he was 
killed in Mysia by Telephus, before the 
confederate* army reached the enemy's 
countiy. Virg. 

THERSiLOCHus,aleader of the 

Paeon ans in the Trojan war, killed by 
Achilles. Virg. — A friend of JEneas, 
killed by Turnus. Id. 

Thersippus, a son of Agrius, 
who drove OEneas from the throne of 
Calydon. — An Athenian author, who 
died 954 B. C. 

THERSiTEs,an officer the most 
deformed and illiberal of the Greeks, 
during the Trojan war. He was fond of 
ridiculing his fellow soldiers, particu- 
larly Agamemnon, Achilles, and Ulysses. 
Achilles killed him with one blow of his 
fist, because he laughed at his mourning 
the death of Penthesilea. Ovid. Apollod. 
Homer. — The name is used as most ex- 
pressive of a deformed person and cow- 
ardly character. Homer. Apollod. 

The SEiD^E,a patronymic given 
to the Athenians from Theseus, one of 
their kings. Virg. 

Theseis, a poem written by 
Codrus, containing an account of the 
life and actions of Theseus, and now 
lost. Juv. 

Theseus, a king of Athens, 
and son of y£geus by .Ethra, the daugh- 
ter of Pittheus', was one of the most ce- 
lebrated of the heroes of antiquity.. He 
was educated at Trcezene, in the house 
of Pittheus. When he came to years of 



THE 



THE 



maturity, he was sent by his mother to 
his father, and a sword was given him, 
by which he might make himself known 
to iEgeus. [Vid. iEgeus.] In his way 
from Trce-zene to Athens, he destroyed 
Corynetes, Synnis, Sciron, Cercyon, 
Procrustes, and the celebrated Phssa. At 
Athens, however , his reception was not 
cordial ; Medea lived there with iEgeus, 
and she attempted to destroy him before 
his arrival was made public. /Egeus was 
himself to give poison to his son at a 
feast, but the sight of his sword on the 
side of Theseus reminded him of his 
amours with iEthra. He knew him to 
be his son, and the people of Athens 
were glad to find that Theseus was the 
son of their monarch. The Pallantides, 
who attempted to assassinate Theseus, 
were all put to death by the young 
prince. The bull of Marathon next 
engaged the attention of Theseus. He 
caught the animal alive, and after he 
had led it through the streets of Athens, 
he sacrificed it to Minerva. After this, 
Theseus wentto Crete, where, by means 
of Ariadne,who was enamoured "of him, 
he killed the Minotaur, [Vtt. Minotau- 
rus]and thereby redeemed the Athenians 
from the annual tribute of the seven 
chosen youths devoured by this mon- 
ster. In the island of Naxos he had the 
meanness to abandon Ariadne, to whom 
he was indebted for his safety. iEgeus, 
on the return of Theseus to Athens, 
threw himself into the sea, when he saw 
his son's ship with black sails, which was 
the signal of ill success. [ Vid. iEgeus.] 
Mis ascension on his father's throne was 
universally applauded, B. C. 1235. The 
Athenians were governed with mildness, 
and Theseus made new regulations, and 
enacted new laws. The fame which he 
had gained by his victories and policy 
made Pirithous, king of the Lapitha?, 
desirous of gaining his friendship, by 
meeting him in the field. He invaded 
Attica, and when Theseus had marched 
out to meet him, the two enemies, 
struck at the sight of each other,rushed 
to embrace one another in the most cor- 
dial manner, and from that time began 
a friendship which has become prover- 
bial. Theseus was present at the nup- 
tials of his friend, and he was the most 
courageous of the Lapitha?, in the de- 
fence of Hippodamia against the brutal 
attempts of the Centaurs. [Vid. Lapitha?, 
Centauri, Pirithous.] Theseus," after 
this, in conjunction with Pirithous, car- 
ried off Helen, the daughter of Leda ; 
but the resentment of Castor and Pollux 
soon obliged him to restore her safe into 
their hands. Some time after, Theseus 
assisted his friend in procuring a wife, 
and they both descended into the infer- 
nal regions to carry away Proserpine. 
Pluto, apprized of" their intentions, 
stopped them. Pirithous was placed on 
his father's wheel, and Theseus was tied 
to a huge stone, on which he had sat to 
rest himself. Virgil represents him in 



an eternal state of punishment. Apollo 
dorus, however, and others declare, that 
he was not long detained in hell ; when 
Hercules came to steal the dog Cerbe- 
rus, he redeemed both him and Piri- 
thous. During the captivity of Theseus 
in the kingdom of Pluto, Mnestheus 
obtained the crown, in preference to the 
children of the absent monarch. At his 
return Theseus attempted to eject the 
usurper, but to no purpose. He retired 
with great mortification to the court of 
Lycomedes, king of the island of Scyros, 
who, either jealous of his fame, or 
bribed by the presents of Mnestheus, 
carried him to a high rock, on pretence 
of showing him the extent of his domi- 
nions, and threw him down a deep pre- 
cipice. The children of Theseus, after 
the death of Mnestheus, recovered the 
Athenian throne. The historians dis- 
agree from the poets in their accounts 
about this hero, and they all suppose, 
that instead of attempting to carry away 
the wife of Pluto, the two friends 
wished to seduce a daughter of Aido- 
neus, king of the Molossi. Plut. Vine. 
Ovid. &c. 

Thesides, a patronymic ap- 
plied to the children of Theseus, espe- 
cially Hippolytus. Ovid. 

Thesmophora, a surname 

of Ceres, as lawgiver, in whose honor 
festivals were instituted called Thesmo- 
phoria. The Thesmophoria were insti- 
tuted by Triptolemus, or, according to 
some, by Orpheus, or the daughter of 
Danaus. The greatest part of the Gre- 
cian cities, especially Athens, observed 
them with great solemnity. For the 
manner of celebrating these festivals, 
the young student is referred to Potter's 
Antiquities, or Lempriere's Dictionary. 

Thesmothet^e, a name given 
to the last six Archons among the Athe- 
nians, because they took particular care 
to enforce the laws, and to see justice 
impartially administered. They were 
a t that time nine in number. 

Thespia, a town of Boeotia, 
at the foot of Mount Helicon, now 

Neocorio. 

Thespiad.e, the sons of the 
Thespiades. [Vid. Thespius.] 

Thespiades, a name given to 
the fifty daughters of Thespius. [Vid. 
Thespius.]— Also a surname of the nine 
Muses, because thev were held in great 
veneration in Thespia,a town of Bceotia. 

Thespis, a Greek poet of At- 
tica, supposed bv some to be the in- 
ventor of tragedy, 536 years before 
Christ. His representations were very 
rustic and imperfect. He went from 
town to town upon a cart,on which was 
erected a temporary stage, where two 
actors, whose faces were daubed with 
the lees of wine, entertained the audier ge 
with choral songs, &c. Horat. &c. 



THE 



THO 



Thespius, a king of Thespia, 

In Boeotia, was desirous that his fifty 
daughters should have children by Her- 
cules, and therefore when that hero was 
at his court he permitted him to enjoy 
their company. This, which, according 
to some, was effected in one night, 
passes for the 13th and most arduous 
of the labors of Hercules. All the 
daughters of Thespius brought male 
children into the world, and some of 
them twins. The children of the Thes- 
piades, called Thespiadae, went to Sar- 
dinia, where they made a settlement 
with Iolaus, the friend of their father. 
Thespius is often confounded by ancient 
authors with Thestius, though the latter 
lived in a different place, and as king of 
Pleuron, sent his sons to the hunting of 
the Calydonian boar. Apollod. Pans. 
Plut. 

Thesprotia, a country of 

Epirus, west of Ambracia, bounded on 
the south by the sea. It was watered by 
the rivers Acheron and Cocytus, which 
the poets, after Homer, have called 
streams of hell. The oracle of Dodona 
was in Thesprotia. Homer. Strab. &c. 

The ss alia, now Janna, a 

country of Greece,boundedon the south 
by the southern parts of Greece, or Gree- 
cia Propria ; east by the iEgean ; north 
by Macedonia and Mygdonia ; and west 
by Illyricum and Epirus. The name of 
Thessalia is derived from Thessalus, 
one of its monarchs. It is famous for a 
deluge which happened there in the age 
of Deucalion. Its mountains and cities 
are also celebrated, such as Olympus, 
Pelion, Ossa, Larissa, &c. The inha- 
bitants were superstitious, and addicted 
to the study of magic and incantations. 
Justin. Mela. &c. * 

Thessaliotis, apart of Thes- 
saly the south of the river Peneus. 

Thessalonica, an ancient 
town of Macedonia, first called Therma, 
and Thessalonica after Thessaloirlca, 
the wife of Cassander. Strab. &c— A 
daughter of Philip, king of Macedonia, 
sister to Alexander the Great. She mar- 
ried Cassander, by whom she had a son 
called Antipater, who put her to death. 
Paus. 

Thessalus. The most re- 
markable of this name is a son of Her- 
cules and Calliope, daughter of Eury- 
philus. Thessaly received its name from 
him. 

Theste, a sister of Dionysius 
the elder, tyrant of Syracuse. She mar- 
ried Philoxenus, and was greatly 
esteemed by the Sicilians. 

Thestius, [Vid. Thespius.] 
Thestor, a son of Idrnon, 
father to Calchas. From him Calchas 
is often called Thestorides. Ovid. Ho- 
mer. Stat. 



Thestylis, a country woman 

mentioned in Theocritus and Virgil. 

Thetis, one of the sea dei- 
ties, daughter of Nereus and Doris, was 
courted by Neptune and Jupiter ; but 
when the gods were informed that the 
son she would bring forth must become 
greater than his father, their addresses 
were stopped, and Peleus, the sou of 
yEacus, was permitted to solicit her 
hand. Thetis refused him, but the lover 
had the artifice to catch her when 
asleep. When Thetis found that she 
could not elude the vigilance of her 
lover, she consented to marry bam. 
Their nuptials were celebrated on mount 
Pelion, with great pomp ; and all the 
deities attended except the goddess of 
discord. [Vid. Discordia.] Thetis be- 
came mother of several children by Pe- 
leus, among whom was Achilles, whom 
she rendered invulnerable by plunging 
him into the waters of the Styx, except 
that part of the heel by which she held 
him. [ Vid. Achilles.] When Achilles 
was killed by Paris, Thetis issued out 
of the sea with the Nereides to lament 
his death, and after she had collected his 
ashes in a golden cup, she raised a mo- 
nument to' his memory, and instituted 
festivals in his honor. Kesiod* Homer. 
H if gin. &e. 

Thia, the mother of the Sun, 
Moon, and Aurora, by Hyperion. [Vid. 
Thea.J Hesiod. 

Thimbron, a Lacedaemonian, 
chosen general to conduct a war against 
Persia. He was recalled, and after ;vards 
re-appointed. He died B. C. 301. Diod. 

Thiodamas. [Vid. Theoda- 

mas.] 

Thisbe, a beautiful woman of 

Babylorf. [Vid. Py ramus.] — A town of 
Boeotia, between two mountains. Paus. 

Thoas. Ancient writers have 

recorded many of this name, the most 
celebrated of whom are the following : 
— A king of Taurica Chersoaesus,in the 
age of Orestes and Pylades, whom, he 
w oul d ha v e i m mcl ated on D iana's al tars , 
according to the barbarous customs of 
the country, had they not been delivered 
by Iphigenia. [Vid. Iphigenia.J Ac- 
cording to some, Thoas was the son of 
Borysthenes. — A king of Lemnos, son of 
Bacchus and Ariadne, the daughter of 
Minos. He had been made king of 
Lemnos by Rhadamanthus. He was 
still alive when the Lemnian women 
conspired to kill all the males in the 
island, but his life was spared by his 
only daughter Hypsipyle,in whose favor 
he had resigned the crown. Hypsipyle 
obliged her father to depart "secretly 
from Lemnos, and he arrived safe in a 
neighbouring island called Chios. Hye. 
Apollod. 

Th o 3i yris, called also Tamy- 



THR 



THU 



ris, Tameris, Thamyris, and Tomeris, 
was queen of the Massagetse. After her 
husband's death, she marched against 
Cyrus, who wished to invade her terri- 
tories, cut his army in pieces, and killed 
him on the spot. The barbarous queen 
ordered the head of Cyrus to be cut off 
and thrown into a vessel full of human 
blood, with the insulting words of satia 
te sanguine quern sitisti. Her son had 
been conquered by Cyrus before she 
marched herself at the" head of her ar- 
mies. Herodot. Justin. 

Thoox, a Trojan chief killed 
by Ulysses. Homer-. — One of the giants 
who made war against Jupiter. 

Thoosa, a sea nymph, daugh- 
ter of Phorcys. She became mother of 
Polyphemus", by Neptune. Hesiod. Horn. 

Thorax, a mountain of Ar- 
gohs. It received its name from Thor- 
nax, a nymph who became mother of 
Buphagus, by Japetus. The mountain 
was afterwards called Coccygia, because 
Jupiter changed himself there into a 
cuckoo. Pans. 

Thoria Legia, ordained that 
no person should pay any rent for the 
land he possessed. It also made some 
regulations about grazing and pastures. 

Thoth, an Egyptian deity, the 
same as Mercury. 

Thrace s, the inhabitants of 

Thrace. [Fid. Thracia.] 

Thracia, a large country of 
Europe, at the south of Scythia. It had 
the iEgean sea on the south,on the west 
Macedonia and the river Strymon, and 
on the east the Euxinesea,the Propon- 
tis, and the Hellespont. Its northern 
boundaries extended as far as the Ister, 
according to Pliny and others. The 
Thracians were cruel and barbarous, 
and much addicted to drinking. Thrace 
received its name from Thrax, the son 
of Mars, the chief deity of the country. 
The first inhabitants lived upon plun- 
der, and on the milk and flesh of sheep. 
It forms now the Turkish province of 
Romania. Herodot. Strab. Mela. 

THRASiDEUS,succeeded his fa- 
ther Theron as tyrant of Agrigentum. 
He was conquered by Hiero, and soon 
after put to death. 

Thrasybulus. The most Ce- 
lebrated of this name is a general of 
Athens, who began the expulsion of the 
thirty tyrants of his country, though he 
was only assisted by thirty of his friends. 
His efforts were attended with success, 
B. C. 401, and the only reward he re- 
ceived for this patriotic action was a 
crown made of two twigs of an olive 
branch ; a proof of his own disinterest- 
edness and the virtue of his countrymen. 
The Athenians employed a man whose 
abilities and humanity were so conspi- 
cuous, and Thrasybulus was sent with 



a powerful fleet to recover their lost 
power in the yEgean,andon the coast of 
Asia. After he had gained many advan- 
tages, this great man was killed in his 
camp by the inhabitants of Aspendus, 
whom his soldiers had plundered with- 
out his knowledge, B. C. 39i. Diod. 
C. Nep. &c. — A soothsayer, descended 
from lamus, the son of Apollo by 
Evadne. He had a statue in the wood 
sacred to JNipiter at Olympia, in which 
he was represented with a lizard on his 
right shoulder,and at his feet was a dog, 
whose body was open, that the entrails 
might be examined by the augurs. 

Thrasymachus, a native of 
Carthage, who became the pupil of Iso- 
crates and of Plato. Though he was a 
public teacher at Athens, he starvedfbr 
want of bread, and at last hanged him- 
self. Juv. 

Thrasymedes, a son of Nes- 
tor, king of Pylos, by Anaxibia, the 
daughter of Bias. He was one of the 
Grecian chiefs during the Trojan war. 
Hi/srin. Pans. 

Th r as y menus, a lake of Italy, 

near Perusium, celebrated for a battle 
fought there, between Annibal and the 
Romans, under Flaminius, B. C. 217. 
No less than 15,000 Romans were left 
dead on the field of battle, and 10,0W 
taken prisoners, or according to Liv^ 
6,000, or Polybius 15,000. The loss oi 
Annibal was about 1500 men. About 
10,000 Romans made their escape all 
covered with wounds. This lake is now 
called the lake of Perugia. Strab. Ovid. 

Thri ambus, one of the sur- 
names of Bacchus. 

Thucydides, a celebrated 

Greek historian, born at Athens. His 
father's name was Olorus, and among 
his ancestors he reckoned the great 
Miltiades. During the Peloponnesian 
war he was commissioned by his coun- 
trymen to relieve Amphipolis ; but the 
quick march of Brasidas, the Lacedas- 
monian general, defeated his operatioiis, 
and Thucydides, unsuccessful in his 
expedition, was banished from Athens. 
This happened in the eighth year of the 
war, and in the place of his banishment 
he began to write an impartial history 
of the important events which had hap- 
pened during his administration, and 
which still continued to agitate the 
several states of Greece. This famous 
history is continued only to the twenty- 
first year of the war, and the remaining 
part of the time, till the demolition of 
the walls of Athens, was described by 
Theopompus and Xenophon. Thucy- 
dides wrote in the Attic dialect, as pos- 
sessed of more vigor, purity, elegance, 
and energy. His history has been divi- 
ded into eight bocks, the last of which 
is imperfect, and supposed to have been 
wiitten by his daughter. The character 
of this interesting history is well known. 



THY 



THY 



Thucydides stands unequalled for the 
fire of his descriptions, the conciseness, 
and, at the same time, the strong and 
energetic matter of his narratives. His 
impartiality is indubitable, as he no- 
where betrays the least resentment 
against his countrymen, and the factious 
partizaus of Cleon, who had banished 
him from Athens. The history of Thu- 
cydides was so admired, that Demo^ 
sthenes, to perfect himself as an orator, 
transcribed it eight different times, and 
read it with such attention, that he 
could almost repeat it by heart. Thu- 
cydides died at Athens, "where he had 
been recalled from his exile, in his 
eightieth year, 391 B. C. Diod. Dionys. 
Hal. &c. — A son of Milesias, in the age 
of Pericles. He was banished for his 
opposition to the measures of Pericles, 
&c. 

Thuisto, one of the deities of 

the Germans. Tacit. 

Thule, an island in the most 
northern parts of the German ocean, to 
which, on account of its great distance 
from the continent, the ancients gave 
the epithet of ultima. Some suppose 
that it is the island now called Iceland, 
or part of Greenland. Strab, Virg. &c. 

Thuri^e, or Thurium, a 
town of Lucania, in Italy, built by a co- 
lony of Athenians, near the ruins of 
Sybaris, B. C. 444. In the number of 
this Athenian colony were Lysias and 
Herodotus. Strab, Mela. 

Thya, or Thyia, a daughter 
of the Cephisus, the first, according to 
some authors, who was instructed in the 
orgies of Bacchus. Herodot. 

Thyades, a name of the Bac- 
chanals. They received it from Thyas, 
the first woman who was priestess of the 
god Bacchus. Virg. &c. 

Thyestes, son of Pelops and 

Hippodamia,and grandson of Tantalus, 
debauched iErope,the wife of his brother 
Atreus, because he refused to take him 
as his colleague on the throne of Argos. 
This was no sooner known than Atreus 
divorced iErope, and banished Thyestes 
from his kingdom, but soon after re- 
called him to Argos. Thyestes was re- 
ceived by his brother at an elegant en- 
tertainment,but was soon informed that 
he had been feeding upon the flesh of 
one of his own children. This Atreus 
took care to communicate to him by 
showing him the remains of his son's 
body. Thyestes escaped from his bro- 
ther, and fled to Epirus. Some time 
after, in a grove sacred to Minerva, he 
offered violence to his daughter Pelo- 
peia, without knowing who she was. 
The daughter, pregnant by her father, 
was seen by her uncle Atreus and mar- 
ried, and some time after she brought 
into the world a son, whom she exposed 
in the woods. The life of the child was 
preserved by goats ; he was called ^Egys- 



thus, and presented to his mother, and 
educated in the family of Atreus. When 
grown to years of maturity, the mother 
gave her son ^Egysthus a sword, which 
she had taken from her unknown ra- 
visher in the grove of Minerva, with 
hopes of discovering who he was. Mean- 
time Atreus sent Agamemnon and Me* 
nelaus to pursue Thyestes, and when 
they found him, he was dragged to 
Argos, and thrown into a close prison. 
vEgysthus was sent to murder Thyestes, 
who recollected the sword raised to stab 
him, and a few questions convinced him 
that his assassin was his own son. Pe- 
lopeia, when she found that she had 
committed incest with her father : asked 
iEgysthus to examine the sword, and 
immediately plunged it into her own 
breast. iEgysthus rushed from the pri- 
son to Atreus, with the bloody weapon, 
and murdered him. At the death of 
Atreus, Thyestes was placed on his 
brother's throne by -Sgysthus, from 
which he was soon after driven by Aga- 
memnon and Menelaus. Senec. Sophocl. 
Ovid. &c. 

Thyia, a nymph intimate with 

Chloris, daughter of Amphion, and 
loved by Neptune. She had a statue in 
the temple of Delphi. Paus. — A festi- 
val celebrated annually in honor of 
Bacchus by the people of Elis. Id. 

Thymbra, a town of Lydia, 

near Sardes, celebrated for a battle 
fought there between Cyrus and Croesus, 
in which the latter was defeated. The 
troops of Cyrus amounted to 196,000 
men, besides chariots, and those of 
Croesus were twice as numerous. There 
was at Thymbra a temple sacred to 
Apollo, who is thence called Thym- 
braeus. Strcb. Stat. Virg. 

THYMBRiEUS. [ Vid. Thym- 
bra.] 

Thymbris, a; concubine of Ju- 
piter, said to be the mother of Pan. 
Thymele, a celebrated female 

dancer, favored by the emperor Domi- 
tian. She was the wife of Latinus, a 
well known mimic of those times. Mart. 
Juv. 

Thymcetes, a king of Athens, 

son of Oxinthas, the last of the descend- 
ants of Theseus, whoreigned at Athens. 
— A Trojan prince, whose wife and son 
were put to death by order of Priam. It 
was to revenge the king's cruelty that 
he persuaded his countrymen to bring 
the wooden horse within their city. 
Virg. &c. 

Thyone, a name given to Se- 

mele after she had been presented with 
immortality. 

Thyoneus, a surname of Bac- 
chus, from his mother Semele, called 
Thyone. Apollod. Horat. &c. 

Thyre, a town of the Messe- 



TIB 



TIB 



mans, famous for a battle fought there 
between the Argives and Lacedaemo- 
nians. Herodot. Stat. 

Tiasa, a daughter of the Eu- 
rotas, who gave her name to a river in 
Laconia. Paws. 

Tiberias, a town in Galilee, 

built by Herod, near the lake of the 
same name, and called after Tiberius. 
Plin. Joseph. 

Tiberinus, son of Capetus, 

and king of Alba, was drowned in the 
river Albula, which, on that account, 
assumed his name. Cic. Var. &c. 

Tiberis,Tyberis, Tiber, or 

TIBRIS, a river of Italy, on whose 
banks the city of Rome was built. It 
was originally called Albula, from the 
whiteness of its waters, and afterwards 
Tiberinus, when the king of that name 
had been drowned there. The Tiber 
rises in the Apennines, and falls into 
the Tyrrhene sea, sixteen miles below 
Rome, after dividing Latium from 
Etruria. Ovid. Virg. Herat. 

Tiberius (Claudius Drusus 
Nero), a Roman emperor after the death 
of Augustus, descended from the family 
of the Claudii. In his early years he 
commanded popularity by entertaining 
the populace with magnificent shows 
and rights of gladiators. His first ap- 
pearance in the Roman armies was un- 
der Augustus, in the war against the 
Cantabri, and afterwards in the capa- 
city of general, he obtained victories in 
different parts of the empire, and was 
rewarded with a triumph. After this he 
spent seven years in exile at Rhodes. 
He then returned to Rome, and was in- 
vested with the command of the Roman 
armies in Illyricum, Pannonia, and 
Dalmatia, and seemed to divide the 
sovereign power with Augustus, at 
whose death, Tiberius, who had been 
adopted, assumed the reins of govern- 
ment; and with affected modesty, he 
wished to decline the dangerous office, 
and to make the Romans believe that he 
was invested with the purple, not from 
his own choice, but by the recommen- 
dation of Augustus, and the urgent en- 
treaties of the Roman senate. The be- 
ginning of his reign seemed to promise 
tranquillity to the world. Tiberius,how- 
ever, was soon viewed in his real charac- 
ter. His ingratitude to his mother Ljvia, 
his cruelty to his wife Julia, and his 
tyrannical oppression and murder of 
many noble senators, rendered him odi- 
ous to the people. The armies mutinied 
in Pannonia and Germany, but the tu- 
mults were silenced by the prudence of 
the generals. This acted as a check 
upon Tiberius in Rome : he knew from 
thence that his power was precarious. 
He therefore continued as he had begun, 
to pay the greatest deference to the se- 
nate, and observed, that in a free city, 
the thoughts and tongue of every man 



should be free. While Rome exhibited 
a scene of peace and public tranquillity, 
Tiberius gained new honors, by the ac- 
tivity and valcr of Germanicus and his 
other lieutenants. Yet the triumphs of 
Germanicus were beheld with jealousy. 
Tiberius dreaded his power, and there- 
fore the death of that general in Antioeh 
was, as some suppose, accelerated by 
poison, and the secret resentment of the 
emperor. Not only his relations and 
friends, but the great and opulent, were 
sacrificed to his ambition, cruelty, and 
avarice ; and there was scarce in Rome 
one single family that did not reproach 
Tiberius for the" loss of a brother, a fa- 
ther, or a husband. He at last retired 
to the island of Caprea?, on the coast of 
Campania, where he buried himself in 
unlawful pleasures. The care of the 
empire was entrusted to favorites,among 
whom was Sejanus. At last, grown 
weak and helpless through infirmities,in 
his solitary retreat, he thought of his 
approaching dissolution, and he nomi- 
nated as his successor, Caius Caligula. 
Tiberius died at Misenum, the 16th of 
March, A. D. 37, in the 78th year of his 
age, after a reign of twenty-two years, 
six months, and twenty-six days. Cali- 
gula was accused of having hastened his 
end by suffocating him. The joy was 
universal when his death was known. 
The character of Tiberius has been exa- 
mined with particular attention by' hi- 
storians, and his reign is the subject of 
the most perfect and elegant of all the 
compositions of Tacitus. Like the rest 
of the emperors, he received divine ho- 
nors after death, and even during his 
life. Suet. Tacit. &c. — There were also 
other celebrated Romans of this name, 
among whom were Tiberius [Firf.] 
Gracchus, &c. — A son of Brutus, put to 
death by his father, because he had 
conspired with other young noblemen to 
restore Tarquin to his throne. 

Tibiscus, now Teisse, a river 
of Daeia, with a town of the same name, 
now Temeswar. It falls into the 
Danube. 

Tibris. [ Fid. Tiberis.] 

Tibullus (Aulus Albius), a 

Roman knight, celebrated for his poeti- 
cal compositions. He followed Messala 
Corvinus into the island of Corcyra, but 
soon dissatisfied with the toils of war,he 
retired to Rome, where he gave himself 
up to literary ease. His first composi- 
tion was to celebrate the virtues of his 
friend Messala, but his more favorite 
study was in writing love verses, in 
which he was the most correct of the 
Romans. He lost his possessions when 
the soldiers of the triumvirate were re- 
warded with lands ; but he might have 
recovered them, if he had condescended, 
like Virgil, to make his court to Augus- 
tus. Four books of elegies are the only 
remaining pieces of his composition* 



TIG 



TIM 



They possess so much grace and purity 
of sentiment, that the writer is deser- 
vedly ranked as the prince of elegiac 
poets. Ovid has written a beautiful 
elegy on the death of his friend. 

Tibur, an ancient town of 
the Sabines, built, as some say, by Ti- 
burtus, the son of Amphiaraus. It was 
watered by the Anio, and Hercules was 
the chief deity of the place, from which 
circumstance.it has been called Herculei 
muri. In its neighbourhood, the Ro- 
mans, on account of the salubrity of the 
air, had their several villas, where (hey 
retired : and there also Horace had his 
favorite country seat. Virg. Horat. &c. 

Tiburtus, the founder of Ti- 
bur, often called Tiburtia Mcenia. He 
was one of the sons of Amphiaraus. 
Virg. 

Tichis, a river in Spain, fall- 
ing into the Mediterranean ; now called 
Tech. 

Tichius, the top of mount 
(Eta. 

Ticinus, a river near Tici- 
num, a small town of Italy, where the 
Romans were defeated by Annibal. The 
town of Ticinum was also called Pavia. 
The Ticinus falls into the Po. Strab. 
Ital. 

Thternum, a name common 
to three towns of Italy. 

Tigellinus, a Roman cele- 
brated for his intrigues and perfidy in 
the court of Nero. He was appointed 
judge at the trial of the conspirators who 
had leagued against Nero, for which he 
was liberally rewarded with triumphal 
honors. He afterwards betrayed the 
emperor, and was ordered to destroy 
himself, 68 A. D. Tacit. Plut. 

Tigellius, a native of Sar- 
dinia, who became the favorite of Julius 
Caesar, of Cleopatra, and Augustus, by 
his mimicry and faeetiousness. He was 
celebrated for the melody of his voice. 
Horat. 

Tigrantes, a king of Armenia, 

who made himself master of Assyria and 
Cappadocia. He married Cleopatra the 
daughter of Mithridates, and, by the 
advice of his father-in-law, declared war 
against the Romans. He was defeated 
by the Roman consul Lucullus near 
mount Taurus. His mean submission 
afterwards to Pompey, the successor of 
Lucullus in Asia, insured him on his 
throne, and he received a garrison in his 
capital, and continued at peace with the 
Romans. His second son, of the same 
name, attempted to dethrone him, but 
was afterwards sent in chains to Rome 
for his insolence to Pompey. Cir. Veil. 
Max. Paterc. — This name was common 
also to others who sat on the throne of 
Armenia. 



Tigranocerta, the capital of 

Armenia, built by Tigranes, during the 
Mithridatic war, on a hill between the 
springs of the Tigris and Mount Tau- 
rus. Lucullus, during the Mithridatic 
war, took it with difficulty, and found 
in it immense riches, and not less than 
8000 talents in ready money. 

Tigris, a rapid river of Asia, 
rising on mount Niphate in Armenia, 
and tailing into the Persian gulf. It is 
the eastern boundary of Mesopotamia. 
The Tigris now falls into the Euphra- 
tes. PUn. Justin. 

TiMiEA, the wife of Agis, king 

of Sparta, was debauched by Alcibiades, 
by whom she had a son. This child was 
rejected in the succession to the throne, 
though Agis on his death-bed declared 
him to be legitimate. Plut. 

Timjeus, a friend of Alexander, 
who came to his assistance when he was 
alone surrounded by the Oxydracce. He 
was killed in the /encounter. Curt. — 
This name was common also to seme 
philosophical and historical writers. 

Timagenes, a Greek historian 

of Alexandria, 54 B. C. brought to 
Rome by Gabinius, and sold as a slave 
to the son of Sylla. His great abilities 
procured him his liberty, and gained 
the favor of Augustus. The emperor 
discarded him for his impertinence; 
and Timagenes, to revenge himself on 
his patron, burnt the interesting hi- 
story which he had composed- of his 
reign. Plut. Horat. — A man who wrote 
an account of the life of Alexander. 
Curt. 

Timagag5ras, an Athenian, 

capitally punished for paying homage 
to Darius, according to the Persian man- 
ner of kneeling on the ground, when he 
was sent to Persia as ambassador. . Vol. 
Max. 

Timanthes, a painter of Si- 

cyon.in the reign of Philip, the father 
of Alexander the Great. His painting 
of Iphigenia going to be immolated was 
greatly admired. He obtained a prize, 
for which the celebrated Parrhasius was 
a competitor. This was in painting an 
Ajax with all the fury which his disap- 
pointments could occasion, when de- 
prived of the arms of Achilles. Cic. Val. 
Max. 

Timarchus, an Athenian ac- 
cused of treason by iEschines. He fled 
to Epidaurus, where he was murdered 
by Procles the tyrant of the place, who 
wished to obtain possession of the wealth 
he brought with him. Plut. i 
• Timasitheus, a prince of Li- 
para, who obliged a number of pirates 
to spare some Romans who were going 
to make an offering to the god of Del- 
phi. The Roman senate rewarded him 
very liberally, and their generosity was 



TIM 



TIR 



long extended to his descendants. Diod. 
Ph(t. 

Timavtjs, a broad river of 
Italy, rising from a mountain, and after 
running a short space, falling by seven 
mouths into the Adriatic sea." Virg. 
Strab. 

Timesitjs, a native of Clazo- 
menas, who began to build Abdera : he 
was prevented by the Thraeians, but 
honored as a hero at Abdera. 

Timo chares, the physician of 
Pyrrhus, who offered to Fabricius, the 
Roman general, to poison his master, a 
proposal which was indignantly rejected. 
Gell. 

TimoclEa, a Theban lady, sis- 
ter of Theagenes, who was killed at 
Cha^ronea. One of Alexander's soldiers 
offered her violence, after which she led 
her ravisher to a well, and while he be- 
lieved that immense treasures were con- 
cealed there, Timoclea threw him into 
it. Alexander commended her virtue, 
and forbade his soldiers to hurt the The- 
ban females. Pint. 

Timo crates, a Syracusan,who 
married Arete when Dion had been ba- 
nished into Greece by Dionysius. He 
commanded the forces of the tyrant. 

Timocreox, a comic poet of 

Rhodes, who obtained poetical as well 
as gymnastic prizes at Olympia. He 
lived about 476 years before Christ, di- 
stinguished for his veracity, and resent- 
ment against Simonides and Themisto- 
cles. 

Ti mole on, a celebrated Co- 
rinthian, son of Timodemus and Dema- 
riste. He was such an enemy to tyranny, 
that he did not hesitate to muider his 
own brother Timophanes, when he at- 
tempted, against his representations, to 
make himself absolute in Corinth. He 
also rescued the Syracusans from the 
tyranny of Dionysius the younger, and 
of the Carthaginians, with the trifling 
force of 1000 men. This success gained 
Timoleon adherents in Sicily ; many 
cities which hitherto had looked upon 
him as an impostor, claimed his protec- 
tion. When Syracuse was thus deliver- 
ed from tyranny, the conqueror extend- 
ed his benevolence to the other states of 
Sicily, and all the petty tyrants were re- 
duced anel banished from the island. A 
coele of salutary laws was framed for the 
Syracusans ; the armies of Carthage were 
defeated, and peace was at last esta- 
blished. The gratitude of the Sicilians 
was shown every where to their deli- 
verer. Timoleon'died at Syracuse about 
337 years before the Christian era, and 
his body received an honorable burial. 
C Nep. Paus. &c. 

TiMOMACHUS, a painter of By- 
zantium, in the age of Sylla and Marius. 
His paintings of Medea murdering her 
children, and his Ajax, were purchased 



for 80 talents by Julius Caesar, and de- 
posited in the temple of Venus at Rome. 
Plin. Pint. 

Timon. The most celebrated 
of this name is a native of Athens, call- 
ed Misanthrope, for his unconquerable 
aversion to mankind and society. He 
was fond of another Athenian, whose 
character was similar to his own, and he 
said that he had some partiality for Al- 
cibiades, because he was one day to be 
his country's ruin. Once he went into 
the public assembly, and told his coun- 
trymen that he had a fig-tree, on which 
many had ended their life with a halter, 
and that as he was going to cut it down 
to raise a building on the spot, he ad- 
vised all such as were inclined to destroy 
themselves, to hasten and go and hang 
themselves in his garden. Plut. Lucian. 
&c. 

Timotheus, a poet and mu- 
sician of Miletus. He received an im- 
mense sum of money from the Ephe- 
sians, because he had composed a poem 
in honor of Diana. He died about the 
90th year of his age, two years before 
the birth of Alexander the Great. There 
was also another musician of Bceotia in 
the age of Alexander, often confounded 
with the musician of Miletus. He was a 
great favorite of the conqueror of Da- 
rius, Paus. Plut. — An Athenian general, 
son of Conon. He signalized himself by 
his valor and magnanimity. Fie seized 
Corcyra, and obtained several victories 
over the Thebans, but his ill success in 
one of his expeditions disgusted the Athe- 
nians, and Timotheus, like the rest of 
his noble predecessors, was fined a large 
sum of money. He retired to Chalcis, 
where he died. Plut. C. Nep. 

Tingis, now Tangier, a mari- 
time town of Africa in Mauritania, built 
by the giant Antaeus. Sertorius took 
it. and as the tomb of the founder was 
near the place, he caused it to be open- 
ed, and found in it a skeleton sixty cu- 
bits long. Plut. Mela, 

Tipha, a town of Boeotia, where 

Hercules had a temple. It was the na- 
tive place of the pilot Tiphys. [Vid. Ti- 
phys.] 

Tiphys, the pilot of the ship 

of the Argonauts, was son of Hagnius, 
or, according to some, of Phorbas. He 
died before the Argonauts reached Col- 
chis, at the court of Lycus in the Pro- 
pontis, and Erginus was chosen in his 
place. O/ph. &c. 

Tiresias, a celebrated prophet 

of Thebes, son of Everus and Chariclo. 
He lived during the time that Polydo- 
rus, Labdacus, Laius, GSdipus, and his 
sons, sat on the throne of Thebes. It is 
said, that in his youth he found two ser- 
pents in copulation, and that upon stri- 
king them with a stick, he found himself 
suddenly changed into a girl. Seven 



TIS 



TIT 



years after he found some serpents in 
the same manner, and he recovered his 
original sex. W>en a woman, Tiresias 
had married, and therefore Jupiter and 
Juno wished him to decide which of the 
sexes received greater pleasure from the 
connubial state. Tiresias declared, that 
the pleasure which the female received 
was ten times greater than that of the 
male. Juno, who supported a different 
opinion, punished Tiresias, by depriving 
him of his eyesight. But Jupiter, in com- 
pensation, bestowed upon him the gift 
of prophecy, and permitted him to live 
seven times more than the rest of men. 
These causes of the blindness of Tiresias, 
supported by Ovid,Hyginus, and others, 
are contradicted by Apollodorus, Calli- 
machus, Propertius, &c. During his 
lifetime, Tiresias was an infallible ora- 
cle to all Greece. The generals, during 
the Theban war, consulted him, and 
found his predictions verified. He at 
last died, after drinking the waters of a 
cold fountain, which froze his blood. He 
was buried with great pomp by the The- 
bans, and honored as a god. Homer re- 
presents Ulysses as going to the infernal 
regions to consult Tiresias concerning 
his return to Ithaca. 

Tiribases, an officer of Ar- 
taxerxes, killed by the guards for con- 
spiring against the king's life, B. C. 394. 
Plut. 

Tiridates, a king of Parthia, 

after the expulsion of Phraates by his 
subjects. He was soon after deposed, 
and fled to Augustus. Horat. — A man 
made king of Parthia by Tiberius, after 
the death" of Phraates, in opposition to 
Artabantis. Tacit. 

Tiris, a Thracian general op- 
posed to Antiochus. 

Tiro, Tullius, a freedman of 
Cicero, greatly esteemed by his master 
for his learning and good qualities. It 
is said that he invented short-hand 
writing among the Romans. He wrote 
the life of Cicero, and other treatises 
now lost. Cic. 

Tirynthus, a town of Argo- 
lis in the Peloponnesus, founded by Ti- 
rynx, son of Argus. Hercules generally 
resided tiiere, whence he is called Tyrin- 
thius her os > Virg. &c. 

Tis amenes, or TlSAMENUS, a 
son of Orestes and Hermione, the daugh- 
ter of Menelaus, who succeeded on the 
throne of Argos and Lacedsemon. The 
Heraeiidffi entered his kingdom in the 
third year of his reign, and he was 
obliged to retire with" his family into 
Achaia. He was some time after killed 
in a battle against the Ionians, near He- 
lice. Apullod. Pans.— A king of Thebes, 
son of Thersander ; and grandson of Po- 
ly n ices. 

Tisandrus, one of the Greeks, 
concealed with Ulysses in the wooden 
horse. Some suppose him to be the 



same as Thersander, the son of Poly- 
nices. Virg. JEn. 

Tistphoxe, one of the Furies, 

daughter of Nox and Acheron, was the 
minister of divine vengeance upon man- 
kind, and punished the wicked in Tar- 
tarus. She was represented with a whip 
in her hand, seipents hung from her 
head, and were wreathed round her 
arms, f Vid. Eumeniries.] Virg. Horat. 
&c. — A daughter of Alcma2on. 

Tjssapherxes, a satrap of 
Persia, commander of the forces of Ar- 
taxerxes at the battle of Cunaxa, against 
the younger Cyrus. It was by his valor 
that the "king's forces obtained the vic- 
tory, and for this he obtained the daugh- 
ter of Artaxerxes in marriage, and all 
the provinces of which Cyrus was go- 
vernor. His popularity did not long 
continue, as the king ordered him to 
be put to death when he had been con- 
quered by Agesilaus, 395 B.C. C. Xep. 

Titax, or Titanus, a son of 

Ccelus and Terra, brother to Saturn and 
Hyperion. He was the eldest of the 
children of Ccelus ; but he gave Saturn 
the kingdom of the world, provided he 
raised no male children. When the 
birth of Jupiter was concealed, Titan 
made war against Saturn, and impri- 
soned him till he was replaced on his 
throne by his son Jupiter. Titan is a 
name applied to Saturn by Orpheus and 
Lucian ; to the Sun by Virgil and Ovid : 
and to Prometheus by Juvenal. 

Ti taxes, a name given to the 
sons of Ccelus and Terra. They were 
45 in number, according to the Egyp- 
tians. Apollodorus mentions 13, Hygi- 
nus 6, and Hesiod 20, among whom are 
the Titanides. IVid. Titanides.] The 
most known of the Titans are Saturn, 
Hyperion, Oceanus, Japetus, Cottus, 
and Briareus, to whom Horace adds, 
Typhceus, Mimas, Porphyrion, Rhcetus, 
and Enceladus, who are by other my- 
cologists reckoned among the giants. 
They were all of a gigantic stature, and 
with proportionable strength. They 
were treated with great cruelty by Cce- 
lus, and confined in the bowels of the 
earth, till their mother pitied their mis- 
fortunes, and armed them against their 
father. The wars of the Titans against 
the gods are very celebrated in mytho- 
logy. They are often confounded with 
that of the giants ; but it is to be ob- 
served, that the war of the Titans was 
against Saturn, and that of the giants 
agamst Jupiter. 

Titania, a patronymic applied 
to Pyrrha, as grand-daughter of Titan. 
Odd. 

Titanides, the daughters of 

Ccelus and Terra; six in number ac- 
cording to Hesiod, or seven according 
to Orpheus. The most celebrated were 
Tethys, Themis, Dion^, Thea, Mne- 



TIT 



TIT 



mosyne, Ops, Cybele, Vesta, Phoebe, 
and Rhea. 

Titaresus, a river of Thes- 
«aly, flowing into the Peueus. It is 
called also the Eurotas. 

Titenus, a river of Colchis, 
falling into the Euxine sea. 

TiTHENiDiA,afestival at Spar- 
ta, in which nurses, T/3>iv«i, conveyed 
male infants intrusted to their charge to 
the temple of Diana, where they sacri- 
ficed young pigs. During the time of 
the solemnity, they generally danced 
and exposed themselves in ridiculous 
postures. 

TiTKONus,a son of Laomedon, 
king of Troy, by Strymo, the daughter 
of the Scamander. He was so beautiful 
that Aurora became enamoured of him, 
and carried him away. He had by her 
Memnon and ^Emathion. He begged of 
Aurora to be immortal, and the goddess 
granted it; but forgetting to ask the 
youth he then enjoyed, he soon grew old 
and decrepit ; he then prayed Aurora to 
remove him from the world. As he 
could not die, the goddess changed him 
into a cicada, or grasshopper. Virg. 
Hesiod. Ovid. 

Tithraustes, a Persian sa- 
trap, B, C. 395, ordered to murder Tis- 
saphernes by Artaxerxes. He succeeded 
to the offices which the murdered favor- 
ite enjoyed.— The name was common 
to some of the superior officers of state 
in the court of Artaxerxes. PI ut. 

Titiana Flavia, the wife of 

the emperor Pertinax, digraced herself 
by her debaucheries and incontinence. 
After the murder of her husband she was 
reduced to poverty, and spent the rest 
of her life in an obscure retreat. 

Titianus, Attil. a noble Ro- 
man, put to death A. D. 156, by the se- 
nate, for aspiring to the purple. He was 
the only one proscribed during the reign 
of Antoninus Pius. 

Tin us. The most remarkable 
of this name is a tribune of the people 
who enacted the Titian law, de Magi- 
strutibus, A. U. C. 710'. Conformable" to 
this law the triumvirate of Octavius, 
Antony, and Lepidus, was appointed^. 

TTTORMUS,a shepherd of /Eto- 

lia, called another Hercules, on account 
of his prodigious strength. He was 
stronger than his contemporary , Milo of 
Crotona, as he could lift on his should- 
ers a stone which the Crotonian moved 
but with difficulty. Herodot. 

Titus Vespasiastus, son of 

Vespasian and Flavia Domitilla, became 
known by his valorin the Romanarmies, 
particularly at the siege of Jerusalem. 
In the 79th year of the Christian era, 
he was invested with the imperial pur- 



ple. While in the house of Vespasian, 
Titus had been distinguished for his 
extravagance and incontinence. From 
such a private character what could be 
expected but tyranny and oppression ? 
Yet Titus became a model of virtue. 
When raised to the throne, he thought 
himself bound to be the father of his 
people, the guardian of virtue, and the 
patron of liberty. All informers were 
banished from his presence, and even 
severely punished, and a reform was 
made in the judicial proceedings. To 
do good to his subjects was the ambition 
of Titus, and it was at the recollection 
that he had done no service, or granted 
no favor one day, that he exclaimed in 
the memorable words of " My friends, 
I have lost a day !" Two of the senators 
conspired against his life, but the em- 
peror disregarded their attempts, he 
made them his friends by kindness^and, 
like another Nerva,presented them with 
a sword to destroy him. During his 
reign, Rome was three days on fire, 
the towns of Campania were destroyed 
by an eruption of Vesuvius, and the 
empire was visited by a pestilence. In 
this public calamity, the emperor's phi- 
lanthropy was conspicuous. Titus com- 
forted the afflicted as a father, and alle- 
viated their distresses by his liberal 
bounties. The Romans, however, had 
not long to enjoy the favors of a mag- 
nificent prince, Titus was taken ill, as 
he retired into the country to his fa- 
ther's house, and died the 13th of Sep- 
tember, A. D. 81, in the 4lst year of 
his age, after a reign of two years, two 
months, and 20 days. Upon the news 
of his death, Rome was filled with tears 
and all looked upon themselves as de* 
prived of the most benevolent of fathers" 
After himDomitian ascended the throne* 
not without incurring the suspicion oj. 
having hastened his brother's end. Suet* 

Titus, a son of Junius Bru- 
tus, put to death by order of his father, 
for conspiring to restore the Tarquins. 

Tityrus, a shepherd, intro- 
duced in Virgil's Eclogues, and in Theo- 
critus. The ancients often gave the 
name of Tityri to the Satyrs aad Sile- 
ni, who were the companions of Pan 
and of Bacchus. 

Tit yus, a celebrated giant, son 

of Terra, or, according to others, of 
Jupiter, by Elara, the daughter of Or- 
chomenos. He was of such a prodi- 
gious size, that his mother died in tra- 
vail at his birth. Tityus attempted to 
offer violence to Laiona, but the god- 
dess delivered herself by calling to her 
assistancs her children, who killed him 
with their arrows. He was placed in 
hell, where vultures perpetually fed 
upon his entrails, which grew as soon 
as devoured. It is said Tityus covered 
nine acres when stretched on the 
ground. Homer. Vtrg. &c. 



TOP 

Tlepolemus, a son of Her- 
cules, born at Argos, left his country 
after the accidental murder of Licym- 
nii.-j, and retired? to Rhy'es, where he 
was chosen king, as being OB«^f the 
sons of Hercules. I-Ie went to the 
Trojan war with nine ships, and was 
killed by Sarpedon. Homer. Apollod. 
— There were some festivals establish- 
ed at Rhodes in his honor, called Tle- 
potemia, in which men and boys con- 
tended. The victors were rewarded 
with poplar crowns. Homer. Apollod. 
Diod. — One of Alexander's generals, 
who obtained Carmania at the general 
division of the Macedonian empire. 
Diod. 

Tmolus, a king of Lydia, who 
married Omphale. He offered violence 
to a young nymph called Arriphe, at 
ihe foot of Diana's altar, for which im- 
piety he was afterwards killed by a bull. 
The mountain on which he was buried 
bore his name. Apollod. Ovid. — 8 
mountain of Lydia, on which the river 
Pactolus rises. The air was so whole- 
some near Tmolus, that the inhabit- 
ants generally lived to their 150th year. 
The neighbouring country was very 
prolific, and produced plenty of odori- 
ferous flowers. Strab. Vi\^g. &c. 

Togata, an epithet applied 

to a portion of Gaul, the inhabitants of 
which were distinguished by the pecu- 
liarity of their dress. 

Tolenus, a river of Latium, 

falling into the Velinus, now Salto. 
To LOs a, a town of Gallia Nar- 

bonensis, which became a Roman co- 
lony under Augustus. Mela. 

Tolumnus, a king of Veii, 

killed by a Roman, He had ordered 
the ambassadors of that nation to be as- 
sassinated. Li v. 

Tolus. [Vtd. Capitolium.] 
Tomos, or To mis, a town si- 
tuate on the western shores of the Eux- 
ine sea. The word is derived from 
T£«^', seco, because Medea, as it is 
said, j -t to pieces the body of her bro- 
ther Sosyrtus there. [Fid. Medea.] It 
is celebrated as being the place where 
Ovid was banished by Augustus. To- 
mos was the capital of Lower Mcesia, 
founded bv a Milesian colony, B. C. 
633. Strab. Ovid. &c. 

Tomyris. [Vid. Thorny ris.] 
Topaz os, an island in the 
Arabian gulf, anciently called Ophio- 
des, from the quantity of serpents that 
were there. 

Topici, a name given to those 

deities who were. worshipped only in 
certain countries, such as Astarte in Sy- 
ria, tsis and Osiris in Egypt, and Quiri- 
nus at Rome. 



TRA 

Torquatus, a surname of 

Titus Manlius. [Vid. Manlius.] There 
were others of this name, but of infe- 
rior note. 

Q. Trabea, a comic poet at 

Rome, in the age of Regulus. Some 
fragments of his poetry remain. Civ. 

Trachaltjs, M; Gralerius, a 

consul in the reign of Nero, celebrated 
for his eloquence as an orator, and for 
a majestic and commanding aspect. 
Quint. Tacit. 

Trachinta, a small country 

of Phthiotis, on the bay of Malea, near 
mount 02ta. The capital was called 
Trachis, or Trachina, where Hercules 
went after he had killed Eunomus. 

Strab. &c. 

Trajanopolis, a name given 

to Selinus of Cilicia, where Trajan 

Trajan us (M. Ulpius Crini- 

tus), a Roman emperor, born at Italica 
in Spain. His great virtues, and his 
services to the empire, both as an offi- 
cer, a governor, and a consul, recom- 
mended him to the notice of Nerva, 
who solemnly adopted him as his son, 
and invested him during his life with 
the imperial purple. A little time after 
Nerva died, and the election of Trajan 
to the vacant throne was confirmed by 
the unanimous rejoicings of the people, 
and the free concurrence of the armies 
on the confines of Germany, and the 
banks of tne Danube. All the actions 
of Trajan showed a good and benevo- 
lent prince. All the barbarians, except 
the Dacians, remained quiet. Deceba- 
lus, their warlike monarch, violated 
the treaty. The emperor, upon this, 
entered the enemy's country, by throw- 
ing a bridge across the rapid streams of 
the Danube, and a battle was fought, 
in which the slaughter was so great, 
that in the Roman camp linen was 
wanted to dress the wounds of the sol- 
diers. Trajan obtained the victory, and 
Decebalus, despairing of success, de- 
stroyed himself, and Daeia became a 
province of Rome. That the ardor of 
the Roman soldiers might not cool, an 
expedition was undertaken into the 
east, and Parthia threatened with im- 
mediate war. Trajan passed through 
Armenia, and made himself master of 
the provinces of Assyria and Mesopota- 
mia. He extended his conquests as far 
as the extremities of India, and la- 
mented that he possessed not the youth 
of Alexander, that he might add unex- 
plored kingdoms to the Roman empire. 
This glory was transient. The return 
of the emperor towards Rome was 
hastened by indisposition ; he stopped 
in Cilicia, and in the town of Selinus, 
afterwards called Trajanopolis, he was 
seized with a flux, and a few days after 



TRE 



TRI 



expired, in the beginning of August, 
A. D. 117, after a reign of 19 years, 6 
months, and 15 days, in the 64th year 
of his age. He was succeeded on' the 
throne by Adrian, whom the empress 
Plotina introduced to the Roman ar- 
mies, as the adopted son of her hus- 
band. The ashes of Trajan were car- 
ried to Rome, and deposited under the 
stately column which he had erected a 
few years before, under the direction 
of the architect Apollodorus. Under 
this emperor the Romans enjoyed tran- 
quillity, and for a moment supposed 
that their prosperity was complete 
under a good and virtuous sovereign. 
Piin. Dio. Cass. &c— The father of the 
emperor, who likewise bore the name 
of Trajan, was honored with the con- 
sulship, and a triumph, and the rank 
of a patrician, by the emperor Vespa- 
sian. 

Tralles, a town of Lydia. 

\JllV. 

Traxstiberina, a part of 

the city of Rome, on one side of the 
Tiber. Mount Vatican was in that part 
of the city. Mart* 

Trafezus, a city of Pontus, 
built by the people of Siuope, now call- 
ed Trehizond. It had a celebrated har- 
bour on the Euxine sea, and became 
famous under the emperors of the east- 
ern empire. 

C. Trebatius Testas, a 

man banished by Julius Csesar for fol- 
lowing the interest of Pompey, and re- 
called'by the eloquence of Cicero. He 
was afterwards reconciled to C.-esar. 
Trebatius was not less distinguished 
for his learning than for his integrity, 
his military experience and knowledge 
of law. He wrote nine books on reli- 
gious ceremonies, and treatises on civil 
law ; and the verses that he composed 
proved him a poet of no inferior conse- 
cpjence. Horat. 

Tre belli an us (C. Annius), 

a pirate who proclaimed himself em- 
peror of Rome, A . D. 264. He was de- 
feated and slain in Isauria, by the lieu- 
tenants of Gallienus. 

Trebia, a river of Cisalpine 

Gaul, rising in the Apennines, and 
falling into the Po, at the west of Pla- 
centia. It is celebrated for the victory 
which Annibal obtained there over the 
forces of L. Sempronius, the Roman 
consul . Sil.Lucan. 

Tre bon i a lex, a law which 

gave the chief command in Gaul to 
Caesar for live years longer than was 
enacted by the Vatinian law. 

Trebonius. The most re- 
markable of this name is one of Cae- 
sar's friends, made, through his inter- 
est, pnetorand consul. He was after- 



wards one of his benefactor's murder- 
ers. He was killed by Dolabella at 
Smyrna. Horat. &c. 

Trebula, a town of the Sa- 

bines, celebrated for cheese. Cic. Mar- 
tial. 

Triaria, wife of L. Vitellius, 
and remarkable for her cruelty. 

Triarius, a friend of Pom- 
pey, who had for some time the care of 
the war in Asia, against Mithridates, 
whom he defeated, and by whom he 
was afterwards beaten . He was killed 
in the civil wars of Pompey and Caesar. 
Cess. 

Triballi, a people of 

Thrace ; or, according to some, of 
Lower Moesia. They were conquered 
by Philip, the father of Alexauder; 
and some ages after, they maintained a 
long war against the Roman emper- 
ors. 

Tribuni Plebis, magistrates 

at Rome, created in the year U. C. 261, 
when the people, after a quarrel with 
the senators, retired to Mons Sacer. 
The first two were C. Licmius and L. 
Albinus, but their number was soon 
after raised to five, and 37 years after 
to ten, which remained fixed. Their 
office was annual. Their power, though 
at first small, soon became formidable. 
They could summon assemblies, pro- 
pose laws, stop the consultations of the 
senate, and even abolish their decrees 
by the word Veto. Their approbation 
was also necessary to confirm the sena- 
tus consulta, and this was done by af- 
fixing the letter T under it. If any 
irregularity happened in the state, 
their power was almost absolute ; they 
criticised the conduct of all the public 
magistrates, and even dragged a consul 
to prison, if the measures he pursued 
were hostile to the peace of Rome. 
The dictator alone was their superior. 
The people paid them so much defe- 
rence, that their person was held sa- 
cred, and hence they were always call- 
ed Saa-osancti. Yet great as their 
power might appear, they received a 
heavy wound from their number, and, 
as their consultations and their resolu- 
tions were of no effect if they were not 
all unanimous, the senate often took 
advantage of their avarice, and by 
gaining one of them by bribes, they, as 
it were, suspended the authority of the 
rest. Sylla, when raised to the dicta- 
torship/ gave a fatal blow to the au- 
thority of the tribunes, and, by one of 
his decrees, they were no longer per- 
mitted to harangue and inflame the 
people. This disgrace, however, was 
but momentary ; at the death of the 
tyrant the tribunes recovered their pii- 
vileges by means of Cotta and Pompey 
the Great. The office of tribune re- 
mained in full force till the age of Au- 



TRI 

gustus, who, to make himself more 
absolute, and his person sacred, con- 
ferred the power and office upon him- 
self, whence he was called tribunitia 
potestate donatus. His successors on 
the throne imitated his example, and 
as the emperor was the real and offi- 
cial tribune, such as were appointed to 
the office were merely nominal, with- 
out power or privilege. Under Con- 
stantine the tribuneship was totally 
abolished. — There were also other offi- 
cers who bore the name of tribunes, 
such as the tribuni militum ,or militares, 
who commanded a division of the le- 
gions. They were empowered to decide 
all quarrels that might arise in the ar- 
my, they took care of the camp, and 
gave the watch-word. — There were 
also some officers called tribuni mili- 
tum consulari potestate , elected instead 
of consuls, A. U. 310. — The tribuni 
cerarii were officers chosen from among 
the people, who kept the money 
which was to be applied to defray the 
expenses of the army. The tribuni ce- 
let um had the command of the guard 
which Romulus chose for the safety of 
his person. They were 100 in number, 
distinguished for their probity, their 
opulence, and their nobility. The 
tribuni voluptatum were commissioned 
to take care of the amusements which 
were prepared for the people, and that 
nothing might be wanting in the exhi- 
bitions. This office was also honora- 
ble. 

Tridentum, a town of Cisal- 
pine Gaul, now called Trent, and cele- 
brated in history for the ecclesiastical 
council which sat there 18 years to re- 
gulate the affairs of the church, A. D. 
1545. 

Trieterica, festivals in ho- 
nor of Bacchus, celebrated every three 
years. 

Trifolintjs, a mountain in 

Campania, famous for its excellent 
wine. 

Trinacria or Trinacris, 

one of the ancient names of Sicily, 
from its triangular form. Virg. 

Trinobantes, a people of 
Britain. Tacit. 

Trio pas or Triops, a son of 

Neptune by Canace, the daughter of 
JSolus. He was father of Iphimedia, 
and of Erisichthon, who is called, on 
that account, Triopeius, and his daugh- 
ter Triopeis. Callim. Ovid. 

Triptolemus, according to 

the more received opinion, was son of 
Celeus, king of Attica, by Nersea. He 
was born at Eleusis, in Attica, and was 
ci»red in his youth of a severe illness by 
Ceres, who had been invited into the 
house of Celeus, as she travelled in 
quest of heT daughter. To repay the 



TRI 

kindnesses of Celeus, the goddess took 
particular notice of his son. She fed 
him with her own milk, and wished to 
make him immortal, but was prevent- 
ed through the meddling curiosity of 
his mother. She, however, in compen- 
sation, taught him agriculture, and 
rendered him serviceable to mankind, 
by instructing him how to sow corn, 
and make bread. She also gave him 
her chariot, drawn by two dragons, in 
which he travelled all over the earth, 
and distributed corn to all the inha- 
bitants of the world. At his relum to 
Eleusis, Triptolemus restored Ceres 
her chariot, and established festivals 
and mysteries in honor of the deity. 
He reigned for some time, and after 
death received divine honors. Hi/gin. 
Ovid. &c. 

Triquetra, a name given to 

Sicily by the Latins, for its triangular 
form. Lucret. 

Trismegistus. [Vid. Mer- 

curius.] 

Tritogenia, a surname of 

Pallas. Hesiod. 

Triton, a sea-deity, son of 

Neptune by Amphitrite, or, according 
to some, by Celeno, or Salacia. He was 
very powerful among the sea deities, 
and could calm the sea and abate 
storms at pleasure. He is generally re- 
presented as blowing a shell, his body 
above the waist is like that of a man, 
and below a dolphin. Many of the sea- 
deities are called Tritons. Hesiod. Virg. 
&c. — A river of Africa, falling into the 
lake Tritonis. 

Tritonis, a lake and river of 

Africa, near which Minerva had a tem- 
ple, whence she is surnamed Tritonis, 
or Tritonia. Herodot. Virg. &c. Athens 
is also called Tritonis, because dedicat- 
ed to Minerva. Ovid. 

Tri ven tum, a town belong- 
ing to the Samnites. 

Trivia, a surname given to 

Diana, because she presided over all 
places where three roads met. Virg. 
Ovid. 

Trivle lucus, a place of 
Campania, in the bay of Cumae. Virg. 

Trivicum, a town in the 
country of the Hirpini in Italy. Ho- 
rat. 

Triumviri, reijntblicce con- 
stituendce, were three magistrates ap- 
pointed equally to govern the Roman 
state with absolute power. These offi- 
cers gave a fatal blow to the expiring 
independence of the Roman people, 
and became celebrated for their differ- 
ent pursuits, their ambition, and their 
various fortunes. The first triumvi- 



TRO 



TRO 



rate, B. C, 60, was in the hands of J. 
Cs?sar, Pompey, and Crassus, who, at 
the expiration of their office, kindled a 
civil war. The second and last trium- 
virate, B. C. 43, was under Augustus, 
M. Antony, and Lepidus, and through 
them the Romans totally lost their li- 
berty. Augustus disagreed with his 
colleagues, and after he had defeated 
them, he made himself absolute in 
Rome. The triumvirate was in full 
force at Rome for the space of about 
12 years.— There were also other infe- 
rior officers, called Triumviri, among 
the Romans, who discharged different 
functions in the administration of the 
state. They were severally distinguish- 
ed by the titles of capitales, nocturia, 
agrwii, monetales, vatetudinis, sena- 
tus legendi, % mensarii. They took 
cognizance of murders and robberies, 
and every thing in which slaves were 
concerned. 

Troades, the inhabitants of 
Troas. 

Troas, a country of Phrygia, 
in Asia Minor, of which Troy was the 
capital. Troas was anciently called 
Dardania. [Fid. Troja.J 

Triezen, son of Pelops and 

Hippodamia, reigned for some time in 
the isthmus of Corinth, and was suc- 
ceeded by his brother Pitheus, who for 
some time had been partner with him 
on the throne. Paus. Plut. 

Trcezene, a town of Argolis, 
in Peloponnesus, near the Saronicus 
Sinus, which received its name from 
Trcezen, the son of Pelops, who reign- 
ed there for some time. It is often 
called Theseis, because Theseus was 
born there. Stat. Ovid. &c. — Another 
town at the south of the Peloponnesus. 

Troglodyte, a people of 

^Ethiopia, who dwelt in caves (rpw- 
yX*i, specus, fopt, subeo.) They were 
all shepherds, and thence called Noma- 
des, and they all, except their king, 
had their wives in common. Strab. 
Mela. 

Trogus Pompeius, a Latin 
historian, B. C. 41. He wrote an uni- 
versal history of all the most important 
events from the beginning of the world 
to the age of Augustus, divided into 44 
books. This history, greatly admired 
for its purity and elegance, was epito- 
mized by Justin. Some suppose that 
the epitome is the cause that the ori- 
ginal of Trogus is lost. 

Troja, a city, the capital of 

Troas, or, according to others, a coun- 
try of which Ilium was the capital, 
built near mount Ida, and the promon- 
tory of Sigaeum, at the distance of 
about four miles from the sea. Darda- 
nus, the first king of the country, 



built it, and called it Dardania, and 
from Tros, one of his successors, it 
was called Troja, and from Ilus, Ilion. 
This city has "been celebrated by the 
poems of Homer and Virgil, and of all 
the wars which have been carried on 
among the ancients, that of Troy is 
the most famous. This war was un- 
dertaken by the Greeks to recover He- 
len, whom Paris, the son of Priam, 
king of Troy, had carried away from 
the house of Menelaus. All Greece 
united to avenge the cause of Mene- 
laus, and every prince furnished a cer- 
tain number of ships and soldiers. Ac- 
cording to the most generally received 
computation, no less than 100,000 men 
were engaged in this celebrated expedi- 
tion. Agamemnon was chosen gene- 
ral of all these forces. After the war 
had been protracted, and the siege of 
Troy carried on for the space of ten 
years, some of the Trojans, among 
whom were iEneas and Antenor, be- 
trayed the city into the hands of the 
enemy, and Troy was reduced to ashes. 
The poets, however, support that the 
Greeks made themselves masters of the 
place by secretly filling a large wooden 
horse with armed men, which, by arti- 
fice, they introduced within the walls 
of the besieged city. The troops con- 
fined within the sides of the animal 
rushed out by night, and opened the 
gates to their companions. The great- 
est part of the inhabitants were put to 
the sword, and the others carried away 
by the conquerors. This happened, ac- 
cording to the Arundelian marbles, 
about 1184 years before the Christian 
era, in the 3530th year of the Julian 
period, on the night between the llth 
and 12th of June, 40S years before the 
first Olympiad. 

Trojani ludi, games insti- 
tuted by .-Eneas, or his son Ascanius, to 
commemorate the death of Anchises, 
and celebrated in the Circus at Rome. 
Vii-g. 

Troilus, a son of Priam and 

Hecuba, killed by Achilles during the 
Trojan war. Apollod. Hotat. 

Tromentina, one of the Ro- 
man tribes. 

Trophonius, a celebrated 

architect, son of Erginus, king of Or- 
chomenos in Boeotia, built Apollo's 
temple at Delphi, with the assistance 
of his brother Agamedes. Having de- 
manded of the god a reward, he was 
told by the priestess to wait eight days. 
When the days were passed, Tropho- 
nius and his brother were found dead 
in their bed. According to Pausanias, 
he was s wallowed up alive in the earth, 
and at Lebadea gave oracles in a cave. 
Trophonius was honored as a god ; he 
passed for the son of Apollo, and sacri- 
fices were offered to his divinity, when 
consulted to give oracles. The cave of 



Ttrr 



TUS 



Trophonius became one of the most 
celebrated oracles of Greece. Many 
ceremonies were required from such as 
consulted the prophet. Every suppliant 
was pale and dejected at his return, 
and thence it became proverbial to say 
of a melancholy man, that he had con- 
sulted the oracle of Trophonius. There 
were annually exhibited games in ho- 
nor of Trophonius at Lebadea. Paus. 
Cic 

Tros, a son of Erichthonius, 

king of Troy, married Callirhoe, the 
daughter of the Seamander, by whom 
he had Ilus, Assaracus, and Ganyme- 
des. He made war against Tantalus, 
king of Phrygia, whom he accused of 
having stolen away the youngest of his 
sans. The capital of Phrygia was call- 
ed Troja from him, and the country 
itself Troas. Virg. Homer. &c. 

Trossulum, a town of Etru- 
ria, which gave the name of Trossuli to 
the Roman knights who had taken it 
without the assistance of foot soldiers. 
Pei s. 

Truentum or TruextI- 

NUM, now Tronto, a river of Picenum, 
falling into the Adriatic. There is also 
a town of the same name in the neigh- 
bourhood. Si!. Flin. 

Tryphon, a grammarian of 
Alexandria in the reign of Augustus. — 
A tyrant of Apamea, in Syria, put to | 
death by Antioehus. 

Tryphiodorus, a Greek 
poet in the 6th century, who wrote a 
poem, in 24 books, on the destruction 
of Troy, from which he excluded the « 
in the first book, the @ in the second, 
and the y in the third, &c. 

Tuber o. The most celebrated 
of this name is Q. iElius, a Roman con- 
sul, son-in-law of Paulus,the conqueror 
of Persia. He is celebrated for his 
poverty, in which he seemed to glory, 
as well as the rest of his family. Sixteen 
of the Tuberos, with their wives :»nd 
children, lived in a small house, and 
maintained themselves with the produce 
of a little field, which they cultivated 
with their own hands. 

Tubilustrum, a festival at 
Rome, when a purification was made 
of the sacred trumpets, and the sacrifice 
of a sheep offered to Vulcan. Ovid. 
Fast. 

Ttjcca, Plaut ius, a friend of 

Horace and Virgil. He was ordered bv 
Augustus, as some report, to revise the 
iEneid of Virgil, which remained un- 
corrected on account of the premature 
death of the poet. 

Tins TO, a deity of the Ger- 
mans : the founder of the nation. Tacit. 



Tullia, a daughter of Ser- 
vius Tullius, king of Rome. She mar- 
ried Tarquinthe Proud, after she had 
murdered her first husband Arunx, 
and consented to see Tullius assassinat- 
ed, that Tarquin might be raised to the 
throne. It is said that she ordered her 
chariot to be driven over the body of 
her aged father, which had been 
thrown, all mangled and bloody, into 
one of the streets of Rome. She was 
afterwards banished from Rome with 
her husband. Ovid.— Another daugh- 
ter of Servius Tullius, who married 
Tarquin the Proud. She was murder- 
ed by her own husband, that he might 
marry her ambitious sister of the same 
name. 

Tulliola or Tullia, a 

daughter of Cicero, by Terentia. She 
married Caius Piso, and afterwards- 
Furius Cras>ipes, and lastly P. Corn. 
D Glabella. Tullia died in child-bed, 
about 44 years before Christ. 

Tullius Cimber, the son of 

a freedman, rose to great honors, and 
followed the interest ofPompey. He 
was reconciled to J. Csesar, whom he 
murdered with Brutus. Flut. — [Vid. 
Cicero, Servius.] 

Tullus Hostilius, the 3d 

king of Rome, after Numa, was of a 
warlike disposition, and signalized 
himself by his expedition against Alba, 
which he destroyed, after the famous 
battle of the Horatii and Curiatii. He 
afterwards carried his arms against the 
Latins, and the neighbouring states., 
with success He died with his family 
about 640 years before the Christian 
era, after a reign of 32 years. The man- 
ner of his death is notpreciselv known. 
Flor. Liv. &c. 

Tuneta or Tunis, a town cf 

Africa, near which Regulus was de- 
feated and taken by Xanthippus. [ Vid. 
Regulus.] Liv. 

Turnus, a king of the Ru» 

tuli, son of Daunus and Venilia. He 
m^de war against /Eneas, and attempt- 
ed to drive him away from Italy, that 
he might not marry Lavinia, the 
daughter of Latinus", previously en- 
gaged to him. He was conquered, ana 
at last killed in single combat by 
iEneas. He is represented as a man of 
uncommon strength . Virg. &c. 

Tuscan i a and Tuscia. [ Vid. 

Etruria.] 

Tusci, the inhabitants "of Etru- 
ria. . . ma^sgHS cib 

TUSCULANU M, a country- 
house of Cicero, near Tuseulum. 

Tusculum, a town of La- 

tium, about 12 miles from Rome, 
founded bv Telegonus, the son of 
Ulysses and Circe." Strab. Horat, 



- TYN 

Tu s c u M mare, a part of the 
Mediterranean, on the coast of' Etru- 
ria. 

Tutia, a vestal virgin accused 
of incontinence. She proved herself to 
be innocent by carrying water from the 
Tib?r to the temple of Vesta, in a sieve, 
after a solemn invocation to the god- 
dess. Li v. 

Tutinus or Tutttrnus, a 
deity at Rome, who presided over the 
conjugal duties. 

Tyana, a town at the foot of 
mount Taurus, in Cappadoeia, where 
Apollonius was born. Ovid. Strab. 

Tyrur. [ Vkl Tibur.] 
Tyche, a part of the town of 

Syracuse. — One of the Oceanides. 

Tychius, a celebrated artist 
of Hyle, in Bceotia, who made Hector's 
shield, which was covered with the 
hides of seven oxen. Ovid. Homer. 

Tydeus, a eon of (Eneus, 

king of Calydon, fled, after the acci- 
dental murder of one of his friends, to 
zhe court of Adrastus, king of Argos, 
whose daughter Deiphyle he~ married. 
When Adrastus wished to replace his 
->on-in-law Polynices on the throne of 
Thebes, Tydeus undertook to declare 
war against Eteoeles, who usurped the 
it-rown. The reception he met provok- 
ed fajs resentment: he challenged E tec- 
chies and his officers to single combat, 
and defeated them. Gn his return to 
Argos, he slew so of the Thebans who 
had lain in ambush to surprise him ; 
and only one was permitted to return 
to Thebes, to bear the tidings' of the 
fate of his companions. He was one 
of the seven chiefs of the army of 
Adrastus, and during the Theban war 
he behaved with great courage, but 
was at last wounded by Menal'ippus, 
whom he notwithstanding slew on the 
-p )t. The savage barbarity of Tydeus, 
exercised on the dead body of Mena- 
iippus, displeased Minerva, who was 
coming to make Mm immortal ; the 
goddess left him to his fate, and suf- 
fered him to die. He was father to 
Diomedes. Homer. Apollod. Virg. 

T Y d I D E s, a patronymic o^ 
Diomedes, as son of Tydeus. Virg. 

Tymber, a son of Baunus, 
who as>isLed Turnus. His head was 
cut off in an engagement with Pallas. 

T YNDARiDiE, a patronymic of 

the children ofTyndarus, as Castor, 
5*ollux, Helena, &e. Ovid. 

Tyndarus, a son of CEbalus 

and G-orgoph.^ne, was king of Lacedoe- 



TYR 

mon, and married the celebrated Leda, 
who became mother of Pollux and He- 
lena by Jupiter. [Vid. Leda, Castor, 
Pollux, Clytemnestra, &c] 

Typhceus, or Typhon, a fa- 
mous giant, son of Tartarus and Terra, 
who had a hundred heads like those of 
a serpent or a dragon. Flames of de- 
vouring fire were darted from his 
mouth and eyes. He was no sooner 
born than he made war against heaven, 
and so frightened the gods, that they 
fled and assumed different shapes. Ju- 
piter became a ram, Mercury an ibis, 
Apollo a crow, Juno a cow, Bacchus a 
goat, Diana a cat, Venus a fish, &c. 
The father of the gods at last put Ty- 
phceus to flight, and crushed him un- 
der mount JEtna. Typhceus became 
father of Geryon, Cerberus, and Or- 
thos, by his union with Echidna. Ovid. 
Homer. Virg. 

Typhon, a giant whom Juno 

produced by striking the earth. Some 
of the poets make him the famous Ty- 
phceus. [Vid. Typhceus.]— A brother 
of Osiris, who laid snares for his bro- 
ther during his expedition, and mur- 
dered him. [Vid. Osiris.] He was 
reckoned among the Egyptians to be 
the cause of every evil, and on that ac- 
count he was represented as a wolf and 
a crocodile. Plut. Diod. 

Tyra^xion, a grammarian 

of Pontus, intimate with Cicero. His 
original name was Theophrastus, and 
he received that of Tyrannion, from 
his austerity to his pupils. To his care 
the world is indebted for the preserva- 
tion of Aristotle's works.— There was 
also one of his disciples called Diodes, 
who bore his name. 

Tybas or Tyra, a river of 

European Sarmatia, falling into the 
Euxine sea, between the Danube and 
the Borysthenes, now the Niester. Ovid. 
Pont. 

Tyres, one of the companions 

of iEneas in his wars against Turnus. 
He was brother to Teuthras. Vug. 

Tyridates, a rich man in 

the age of Alexander, mentioned by 
Quintus Curtius. 

Tyrxotes, an eunuch of Da- 
rius, who fled from the camp of Alex- 
ander, to inform his master of the 
queen's death. 

Tyro, a beautiful nymph, 

daughter of Salmoneus, king of Elis 
and Alcidice. She was treated with se- 
verity by her mother-in-law Sidero, 
and at last removed from her father's 
house by her uncle Creiheus. She be- 
came enamoured of the Enipeus ; and, 
as she often walked on the banks of 
the river, Neptune assumed the shape 



TYR 



of her lover, and gained her affections. 
She had two sons, Pelias and Neleus, 
by Jvieptune, whom she exposed, to 
conceal her incontinence from the 
world. The children were preserved 
by shepherds, and when they had ar- 
rived to years of maturity, they aveng- 
ed their mother's injuries'by assassinat- 
ing the cruel Sidero. Some time after 
her amour with Neptune, Tyro mar- 
ried her uncle Cretheus, by whom she 
had Amythaon, Pheres, and jEson. 
Tyro is often called Salmonis from her 
father. Homer. Apollod. Ovid. 

TyrrheidjE. [Vid. Tyr- 
rheus.] 

Tyrrheni, the inhabitants of 
Etruria. [Vid. Etruria.] 

Tyrrhenum mare, that 

part of the Mediterraiieau which lies on 
the coast of Etruria. 

Tyrrhenus, son of Atys, 
king of Lydia, who came to Italy, 
where part of the country was called 
after him. Pater c. 

Tyrrheus, a shepherd of 

king Latinus, whose stag being killed 
by the companions of Ascanius, was 
the first cause of war between jEneas 
and the inhabitants of Latium. Hence 
the word Tyrrheides and Tyrrheidas. 

Tyrsis, a place in the Balea- 
ric Isles, supposed to be the palace of 
Saturn. 



Tyrt^us, a Greek elegiac 

poet, born in Attica. In the second 

Me?senian war, the Lacedaemonians 
were directed by the oracle to apply to 
the Athenians for a general, if they 
wished to finish their expedition with 
success, and they received Tyitaeus. 
The poet, though ridiculed "for his 
many deformities, animated the Lace- 
daemonians at the siege of Ithome, and 
inspired them with so much courage, 
that they defeated the Messenians. 
For his services, he was made a citizen 
of Lacedaemon Of the compositions 
of Tyrtaeus, nothing is extant but a few 
fragments. He flourished about 684 
B. C. Justin. Strab- &c. 

Tyrus or Tyroc, a very an- 
cient city of Phoenicia, built by the Si- 
donians, on a small island at the south 
of Sidon, about 200 stadia from the 
shore, and now called Sur. Tyre was 
destroyed by the princes of Assyria, 
and afterwards rebuilt. It maintained 
its independence till the age of Alexan- 
der, who took it with much difficulty 1 , 
on the 20th of August, B. C. 332. The 
Tyrians were naturally industrious, 
their city was the emporium of com- 
merce, and they were deemed the in- 
ventors of scarlet and purple colors. It 
had two large and capacious harbours, 
and a powerful fleet. It was built, ac- 
cording to some writers, about 2760 
years before the Christian era. Strab. 
Vit'g. Ovid. &c. 



VAL 



Vacuna, a goddess at Rome, 
who presided over repose and leisure, 
as the word indicates {vacare). Her fe- 
stivals were observed in the month of 
December. Ovid. Hm at. 

Vadimonis lacus, a lake of 

Etruria, whose waters were sulphure- 
ous; The Etrurians were defeated 
there by the Romans, and the Gauls by 
Dolabella. Liv. Flor. 

V al a (C. Numonius), a 
friend of Horace, to whom the poet ad- 
dressed l ep. 15. 

Valens (Flavius), a son of 
Gratian, born in Pannonia. His bro- 
ther Valentinian took him as his col- 
league on the throne, and appointed 
him over the eastern parts of the Ro- 
man empire. The bold measures and 
threats of the rebel Procopius fright- 
ened Valens, and he would willingly 
have resigned to him all his preten- 



VAL 

sions to the empire. By his lenity in 
permitting some of the Goths to settle 
in the provinces of Thrace, he encou- 
raged them to make depredations on 
his subjects, and to disturb their tran- 
quillity. His eyes were opened too 
late; lie attempted to repel them, but 
he failed in the attempt. A bloociy 
battle was fought, in which the barba- 
rians obtained some advantage, and 
Valens took shelter in a lonely house, 
which the Goths set on fire. Unable to 
make his escape, he was burnt alive in 
the 50th year of his age, after a reign of 
15 vears, A. D. 3TS. Valens did not 
possess anv of the great qualities which 
distinguish a meat and powerful mon- 
arch. Ammian. &c— Valerius, a pro- 
consul of Aehaia, who proclaimed him- 
self emperor of Rome, Avhen Marcian, 
who had been invested with the purple 
in the east, attempted to assassinate 
him. He reigned only six months, and 
was murdered bv his soldiers, A. D* 
261. 



VAL 



VAL 



Valentia, one of the ancient 
names -of Rome. — A town of Spain, a 
little below Saguntum, founded by J. 
Brutus, and for some time known by 
the name of Julia Colonia. — A town of 
Italy. 

Valentinianus. This name 

is common to three Roman emperors: 
— the first of whom was a son of Gra- 
tian, raised to the imperial throne by 
his merit and valor. He kept the west- 
ern part of the empire for himself, and 
appointed over the east his brother Va- 
lens. He obtained signal victories over 
the barbarians in the provinces of Gaul, 
the deserts of Africa, and on the banks 
of the Rhine and the Danube. While 
speaking with great warmth, he broke 
a blood-vessel, and fell lifeless on the 
ground. He died on the 17th of No- 
vember, A. D. 375. He was then in 
the 55th year of his age, and he reigned 
12 years. ' Ammian. Marcel.— About six 
days after the death of Valentinian, his 
second son, Valentinian the second, 
was proclaimed emperor, though only 
five years old. He succeeded his bro- 
ther Gratian, A. D. 383, but was rob- 
bed of his throne by Maximus, four 
years after the death of Gratian ; and 
in this situation he had recourse to 
Theodosius, then emperor of the east. 
Maximus was conquered by Theodo- 
sius, and Valentinian entered Rome in 
triumph, but was some time after 
strangled (15th of May, A. D. 392) by 
a Gaul, called Arbogastes, in whom he 
had placed too much confidence. Va- 
lentinian reigned nine years — Valenti- 
nian the third was son of Constantius 
and Placidia, the daughter of Theodo- 
sius the Great, and therefore, as relat- 
ed to the imperial family, he was salut- 
ed emperor in his youth, and publicly 
acknowledged as such at Rome, the 3d 
of October, A. D. 423, about the 6th 
year of his age. He was at first govern- 
ed by his mother, and the intrigues of 
his generals and courtiers ; and when he 
came to years of discretion, he disgrac- 
ed himself by violence, oppression, and 
incontinence. He was murdered in the 
midst of Rome, A. D. 451, in the 36th 
year of his age, and 3lst of his reign, 
by Petronius Maximus, to whose wife 
he had offered violence. He was the 
last of the family of Theodosius. 

Valeria. A name common 
to many Roman ladies of distinction : 
the most celebrated are — A sister of 
Publicola, who advised the Roman ma- 
trons to go and deprecate the resent- 
ment of Coriolanus. — A daughter of 
Publicola, given as an hostage to Por- 
senna by the Romans. She fled from 
the enemy's country, and swam across 
the Tiber. 

Valerianus (Publius Lici- 

nius), a Roman, proclaimed emperor 
by the armies in Rhcetia, A. D. 254. 



The virtues which shone in him when 
a private man were lost when he as- 
cended the throne. He took his son 
Gallienus as his colleague in the em- 
pire, and showed the malevolence of 
his heart by persecuting the Christians, 
whom he had for a while tolerated. He 
made war against the Goths and Scy- 
thians; but against Sapor, king of Per- 
sia, his arms were attended with ill suc- 
cess. He was conquered in Mesopota- 
mia, and when he sought a private 
conference with Sapor, the monarch 
seized his person, and carried him to 
his capital, where he exposed him to 
the ridicule and insolence of his sub- 
jects. When the Persian monarch 
mounted on horseback, Valerian serv- 
ed as a footstool. Sapor at last ordered 
him to be flayed alive, and salt to be 
thrown over his mangled body, so that 
he died in the greatest torments. His 
skin was tanned, and painted in red> 
and was nailed in one of the temples of 
Persia. Valerian died in the 7 1st year 
of his age, A. D. 260, after a reign of 
seven years. — A grandson of Valerian 
the emperor. He was put to death when 
his father, the emperor Gallienus, was 
killed. 

Valerius. This name was 

common to many celebrated Romans, 
the most conspicuous of whom are the 
following : — Publius, a celebrated Ro- 
man, surnamed Poplieola, for his po- 
pularity. He was very active in assist- 
ing Brutus to expel the Tarquins, and 
he was the first that took an oath to 
support the liberty and independence 
of his country. He gained the victory 
in the battle in which Brutus and the 
sons of Tarquin had fallen. Valerius 
died after he had been four times con- 
sul, and received the thanks which a 
people redeemed from slavery usually 
pay to their deliverers. He 'was so 
poor, that his body was buried at the 
public expense. The Roman matrons 
mourned his death a whole year. Plat. 
Flor. Liu. &c. — Corvinus, a tribune of 
the soldiers under Camillus. When the 
Roman army were challenged by one 
of the Senones, remarkable for his 
strength, Valerius undertook to engage 
him,' and obtained an easy victory, by 
means of a crow that assisted him, and 
attacked the face of the Gaul, whence 
his surname of Corvinus. Valerius 
triumphed over the Etrurians, and the 
neighbouring states, and was six timed 
honored with the consulship. He died 
in the 100th year of his age, admired 
and regretted for many private and 
public virtues. Val. Max. Liv. — Mar- 
cus Corvinus Messala, a Roman, made 
consul with Augustus. He distinguish- 
ed himself by his learning as well as 
military virtues. Sueton. &c— A La- 
tin historian who carried arms under 
the sons of Pompey. He wrote an ac- 
count, still extant, of the most cele- 



VAR 



VEL 



brated sayings and actions of the Ro- 
mans, and other illustrious persons. 
The work is divided into nine books, 
and is dedicated to Tiberius. Some 
suppose that he lived after Tiberius, 
from the want of purity in his writ- 
ings. — A Latin poet who flourished 
under Vespasian. He wrote a poem in 
eight books, on the Argonautic expedi- 
tion, but it remained unfinished on ac- 
count of his premature death. — Asiati- 
cus, a celebrated Roman, accused of 
having murdered one of the relations 
of the emperor Claudius. He was con- 
demned, though innocent, and he open- 
ed his veins and bled to death. Tacit. 
Ann. 

Valgius, a Roman poet in 

the Augustan age, celebrated for his 
writings. He was very intimate with 
Horace. Tibull. Horat. 

Van dal n, a people of Ger- 
many. Tacit. 

Varaxes, a name common 
to some of the Persian monarchs, in 
the age of the Roman empercrs. 

Varitjs, a tragic poet, inti- 
mate with Horace and Virgil. He was 
one of those whom Augustus appointed 
to revise Virgil's yiineid. Some frag- 
ments of his poetry are still extant. 
Quintilian says, that his Thyestes was 
equal to any composition of the Greek 
poets. 

Varro, M. Terentius, a Ro- 
man consul, defeated at Cannae, by 
Ahnibal. [Vid. Terentius.]— A Latin 
writer, celebrated for his great learn- 
ing. He wrote no less than 500 differ- 
ent volumes, all now lost, except a 
treatise de Re Rustica, and another, de 
Lingua Latina, dedicated to Cicero. 
He was Pompey's lieutenant in his pi- 
ratical wars, and obtained a naval 
crown. In the civil wars he was taken 
by Caesar, and proscribed, but he es- 
caped. He has been greatly commend- 
ed by Cicero for his erudition. He 
died B. C. 28, in the 88th year of his 
age. Cic. Quintil. — Atacinus, a native 
o? Gaul, in the age of J. Caesar. He 
translated into Latin verse the Argo- 
nautica of Apollonius Rhodius, with 
^reat correctness and elegance. He 
failed in his attempt to write satire. 
Horat. 

Varus. This name was com- 
mon to many ox the Romans, the most 
celebrated of whom are the following : 
— Quintilius, a Roman proconsul, de- 
scended from an illustrious family. He 
was appointed governor of Syria, and 
afterwards made commander of the ar- 
mies in Germany. He was surprised 
by the enemy, under Arminius, and 
his army was cut to pieces. When he 
saw that everv thing was lost, he killed 
himself, A. D. 10. His head was af- 



terwards sent to Augustus at Rome bv 
one of the barbarian chiefs, as also his 
body. Varus has been taxed with in- 
dolence and cowardice, and his avarice 
was also conspicuous; he went poor to 
Syria, whence he returned loaded with 
riches. Hoi at. Paterc. Virg.— Quinti- 
lius, a friend of Horace, and other 
great men in the Augustan a^e. He 
was a great critic, as Horace, Art. P. 
438, seems to insinuate. The poet has 
addressed the eighteenth ode of his 
first book to him, and in the twentv- 
fourth he mourns pathetically his death . 
— Alfrenus, a Roman, who though 
originally a shoemaker, became consul, 
and distinguished himself by his abili- 
ties as an orator. Horat. 

Vatican us, a hill at Rome, 
near the Tiber and the Janiculum, 
now admired for ancient monuments 
and pillars, and for the palace of the 
pope. 

Ucalegox, a Trojan chief, 
praised for the soundness of his coun- 
sels and his good intentions. His house 
was first set on fire by the Greeks. Vu g. 
Homer. 

Ye IE xt es, the inhabitants of 

Veii. [Vid. Veii.] 

Veiexto, Fabr. a Roman, as 

arrogant as he was satirical. Nero ba- 
nished him for his libellous Pricings. 
Juv. 

Veii, a powerful city of Etru- 

ria, about twelve miles from Rome. It 
sustained many wars against the Ro- 
mans, and was at last taken and de- 
stroyed by Camillus, after a siege of 
ten years. At the time of its destruc- 
tion, Veii was larger and far more mag- 
nificent than the city of Rome. Ovid. 
Liv. &c. 

Vejovis, or Vejupiter, a 

deity of ill omen at Rome. Some sup- 
pose that he was the same as Jupiter 
the infant, or in the cradle, because he 
was represented without thunder, or a 
sceptre, and had onlv by his side the 
goat Amalthara, and the Cretan nymph 
who fed him when young. Ovid. Fact, 

Velabrum, a marshy piece of 
ground on the side of the Tiber, which 
Augustus drained, and where he built 
houses. The place was frequented as a 
market, where oil, cheese, &e. were 
exposed to sale. Horat. 

Velia, a maritime town of 
Lucania, founded by a colony of Pho- 
ceans, about 600 vears after the coming 
of .Eneas into Italy. The port in its 
neighbourhood was called Velimis par- 
tus* Strab. Virg. 

Velixa, a part of the city of 

Rome, adjoining mount Pala'ine. It 



VEN 



VEN 



was also one of the Roman tribes. Ho- 
ifP&sLs 2B •" - '• ~ fi OflO J 

VelTnus, a lake in the coun- 
try of the Sabines, near Umbria. Virg. 

Veliterna, or VelitevE, 
an ancient town of Latium on the Ap- 
pian road, 20 miles east of Rome. The 
inhabitants were called Veliterni. Sue- 
ton. Sttab. 

Velleda, a woman celebrat- 
ed among the Germans, in the age of 
Vespasian, and worshipped as a deity. 

Velleius Paterculus, a 

Roman historian, descended from an 
equestrian family of Campania. He 
was at first a military tribune, and for 
nine years served under Tiberius in 
Gaul and Germany. Velleius wrote an 
epitome of the history of Greece, and 
of Rome, and of other nations of the 
most remote antiquity, but of this au- 
thentic composition there remain only 
fragments of the history of Greece and 
Rome from the conquest of Perseus, 
by Paulus, to the irth year of the reign 
of Tiberius, in two books. The whole 
is candid and impartial, but cnly till 
the reign of the Caesars, when the 
writer began to be influenced by the 
presence of the emperor, or the power 
of his favorites. 

Vexafrum, a town of Cam- 
pania, abounding in olive trees. It be- 
came a Roman colony. It had been 
founded by Diomedes. Ho rat. Mar- 

Mia&avoti nod&ftafSTfewJ iuodfwen ■ 

Veneti, a people of Italy, in 

Cisalpine Gaul, near the mouths of the 
Po, descended from a nation of Paph- 
lagonia, who settled there under An- 
tenor, after the Trojan war. The Ve- 
netians, who have been long a power- 
ful and commercial nation^ were ori- 
ginally very poor. Strab. Liv. Cces. — 
A nation of Gaul, at the south of Ar- 
morica, on the western coast. 

Venetia. [ Vid, Veneti.] 
Venetus Paulus, a cen- 
turion, who conspired against Nero 
with Piso, &c. — A lake through which 
the Rhine passes ; now Constance. 

Venilia, a nymph, sister to 
Amata, and mother of Turnus by 
Daunus. Amphitrite, the sea goddess, 
is also called Venilia. Virg. Ovid. &c. 

Vent i. The ancients, and 

especially the Athenians, paid particu- 
lar attention to the winds, and offered 
them sacrifices as to deities. The four 
principal winds were Eurus, the south- 
east ; represented as a young man fly- 
ing with great impetuosity, and often 
appearing in a playsome and wanton 
humor. Auster, the south wind, ap- 
peared as an old man with grey h:\ir, a 



gloomy countenance, a head covered 
with clouds, a sable vesture, and dusky 
wings. He is the dispenser of rain", 
and of all heavy showers. Zephyrus is 
represented as the mildest of all the 
winds. He is young and gentle, and 
his lap is filled with vernal flowers. He 
married Flora the goddess, with whom 
he enjoyed the most perfect felicity. 
Boreas, or the north wind, appears al- 
ways rough and shivering. He is the 
father of rain, snow, hail, asd tem- 
pests, and is always represented sur- 
rounded with impenetrable clouds. 
Those of inferior note were Solanus, 
'Africus, Corus, and Aquilo. [Vid. 
iEolus.J Virg. 

Ventidius. The most cele- 
brated of this name is— Bassus, a na- 
tive of Picenum, born of an obscure 
family. An aspiring soul, aided by the 
patronage of the family of Caesar, rais- 
ed him from the mean occupation of a 
muleteer to dignity in the state. He 
displayed valor in the Roman armies, 
and gradually arose to the offices of 
tiibune, pra?tor, high priest, and con- 
sul. He made war against the Par- 
tisans, and conquered them in three 
great battles, B. C. 39. He was the 
first Roman ever honored with a tri- 
umph over Parthia. He died greatly 
lamented by all the Roman people, 
and was buried at the public expense. 
Pint. Juv. 

Venulus, one of the Latin 

elders sent into Magna Grsecia, to de- 
mand the assistance of Diomedes, &e. 
Virg. 

Venus, the goddess of beauty, 

the mother of love, the queen of laugh- 
ter, the mistress of the graces and of 
pleasures, and the patroness of courte- 
zans. Some mythologists speak of 
more than one Venus. Of these, how- 
ever, the Venus sprung from the froth 
of the sea, after the mutilated part of 
the body of Uranus had been thrown 
there by Saturn, is the most known. 
She arose from the sea near the island 
of Cyprus, or Cythera. She was soon 
after carried to heaven, where all the 
gods admired her beauty. Jupiter at- 
tempted to gain her affections, but Ve- 
nus refused, and the god, to punish 
her obstinacy, gave her in marriage to 
his ugly son Vulcan. She, however, 
defiled her husband's bed, by her 
amours with the gods. [Vid. Mais, 
Alectryon, Adonis, Anehises, TEneas.J 
The power of Venus over the heart was 
supported "by a girdle, called zone by 
the Greeks, and cestus by the Latins. 
This mysterious girdle gave beauty, 
grace, and elegance, when worn even 
by the most deformed; it excited love, 
and rekindled extinguished flames. Ju- 
no herself was indebted to this power- 
ful ornament, to gain the favors of Ju- 
piter. The contest of Venus for the 



VER 



VES 



golden apple of Discord is well known. 
She gained the prize over Pallas and 
Juno [Via. Paris, Discordia], and re- 
warded her impartial judge with the 
hand of the fairest woman in the world. 
The worship of Venus was universally 
established ; statues and temples were 
erected to her in every kingdom, as to 
a divinity who presided over genera- 
tion, and by whose influence mankind 
existed. The rose, the myrtle, and the 
apple were sacred to Venus, and among 
birds the dove, the swan, and the spar- 
row were her favorites ; and amon>? 
fishes, those called the aphya and the 
lycostornus. She is generally repre- 
sented with her son Cupid, on a cha- 
riot drawn by doves. [Vid- Cyprus, 
Paphos, Cnidos, Cythera, Eryx, Aci- 
dalia, <kc] Hesiod. Homer. Ovid. Hy- 
"0m &c. 

Venusia, or Venusium, a 

town of Apulia, where Horace was 
born. Strab. Hot at. 

V E R A N I u s, a governor of 

Britain, under Nero. He succeeded 
Didius Gallus. [Vid. Tacit. Annul. 
xiv.3 

Verbanus lacus, now Ma- 

jora, a lake of Italy, from which the 
Ticinus flows. It is the modern duchy 
of Milsn, and extends 50 miles in length 
from south to north, and five or six in 
breadth. Strab. 

Vercingetorix, a chief of 
the Gauls, in the time of Caesar. He 
was conquered and led in triumph, &c. 
Cces. 

Vergellus, a small river 

near Cannae, over which Annibal made 
a bridge with the slaughtered bodies of 
the Romans. 

Vergili^e, seven stars, called 
also Pleiades. [Vid. Pleides.] P;o- 
pert. : . < 

Veritas, {truth,} was called 
the daughter of Saturn and the mo- 
ther of Virtue. She was represented 
like a young virgin, dressed' in white 
apparel, with all the marks o: youth- 
ful diffidence and modesty. Democri- 
tus used to say, that she hid herself at 
the bottom of a -well, to intimate the 
difficulty with which she is found; and 
Apelies/m his celebrated picture of Ca- 
lumny, represented her dressed in a 
modest manner, and standing at a di- 
stance. Pindar. Lucian. &c. 

Verona, a town of Venetia, 
in Italy. C. Nepos, Catullus, and Pliny 
the eider were born there. Strab. 

C. Verres, a Koman who 

governed the province of Sicily as prae- 
tor. The oppression and rapine of 
which he was guilty while in office so 
offended the Sicilians, that they accused 



him before the Roman senate. Cicero 
undertook the cause of the Sicilians, 
and pronounced against Verres those 
celebrated orations still extant. Verres, 
despairing of the success of his defence, 
retired to one of the provinces. He 
was at last killed by the soldiers of An- 
tony the triumvir, about 2G years after 
his voluntary exile from the capital. 

Verticorbia/ one of the 

surnames of Venus, the same as the 
Apostrophia of the Greeks. 

Vertumxus, a deity among 
the Romans, who presided over the 
spring and orchards. He is generally 
represented as a young man crowned 
with flowers, covered up to the waist, 
and holding in his right hand fruit, and 
a crown of plenty in his left. Odd. 
Horat. &c. 

Verl s (Lucius Ceionius Com- 

modus), a Roman emperor, son of 
iElius and Domitia Lucilla, was adopt- 
ed in the 7th year of his age by M. 
Aurelnts, at the request of Adrian, and 
he married Lucilia the daughter of his 
adopted father, who also took him as 
his colleague on the throne. He was 
sent by M. Aurelius to oppose the bar- 
barians in the east, where he obtained 
a complete victory over the Parthians. 
He soon after marched with his impe- 
rial colleague against the Marcomanni 
in Germany, and died in that expedi- 
tion of an apoplexy, in the S9th year of 
his age, after a reign of eight years 
and some months. Verus has been 
greatly censured for his debaucheries. 
— L. Annaeus, a son of the emperor Au- 
relius, who died in Palestine. — The fa- 
ther of the emperor Verus. He was 
adopted by the emperor Adrian, but 
like his son, he disgraced himself by 
his debaucheries and extravagance. He 
d.ed before Adrian. 

Vesevitjs and Vesevus. 

[Vid, Vesuvius ] 

VeSPASIANFS, (TitUS Fla- 
vins,) a Roman emperor descended 
from an obscure family at Reate, and 
formerly a horse doctor. He was ho- 
nored with the consulship, for his own 
private merit and his public services. 
He accompanied Nero into Greece, and 
was afterwards sent to carry on a war 
against the Jews. His operations were 
crowned with success; many of the ci- 
ties of Palestine surrendered, and Ve- 
spasian began the siege of Jerusalem. 
This was, however, achieved by the 
hands of his son Titus ; and the death 
of Vitellius and the affection of his sol- 
diers, hastened his rise, and he was 
proclaimed emperor at Alexandria. In 
the beginning of his reign Vespasian at- 
tempted to reform the manners of the 
Romans. He repaired the public build- 
ing?, embellished the city, and made 



VES 

the great roads more spacious and con- 
venient. After he had reigned with 
great popularity for ten years, Vespa- 
sian died with a pain in his bowels, 
A. D. 79, in the 70th year of his age. 
He was the first Roman emperor that 
died a natural death, and he was also 
the first who was succeeded by his son 
on the throne. Vespasian has been ad- 
mired for his virtues. To men of learn- 
ing and merit, Vespasian was very libe- 
ral: one hundred thousand sesterces 
were annually paid from the public 
treasury to the different professors that 
were appointed to encourage and pro- 
mote the arts and sciences. Sneton. 
Tacit. 

Vesta, a goddess, daughter of 

of Rhea and Saturn. When considered 
us the mother of the gods, she is the 
mother of Rhea and Saturn ; and when 
considered as the patroness of the vestal 
virgins and the goddess of fire, she is 
called the daughter of Saturn and 
Rhea. Under this name she was wor- 
shipped by the Romans. ^Eneas first 
introduced" her mysteries into Italy, and 
Numa built her a temple where no 
maks were permitted to go. A fire was 
continually kept lighted in her sanc- 
tuary by a certain number of virgins, 
who' had dedicated themselves to the 
service of the goddess. If the fire ever 
became extinct, the virgin by whose 
negligence ithad happened was severely 
punished, and it was kindled again by 
the rays of the sun. The temple of 
Vesta, was ofa round form, and the god- 
dess was represented in a long flowing 
robe, with a veil on her head, holding 
in one hand a lamp, or a two-eared 
vessel, and in the other a javelin, or 
sometimes a palladium. Hesiod. Virg. 
Ovid. 

Vestales, priestesses among 
the Romans, consecrated to the service 
of Vesta. This office was very ancient, 
as the mother of Romulus was one of 
the vestals. yEneas is supposed to have 
first chosen the vestals. Numa first ap- 
pointed four, to which Tarquin added 
two. After the expulsion of the Tar- 
quins, the high priest was entrusted 
with the care of them. Their employ- 
ment was to take care that the sacred 
fire of Vesta was not extinguished. It 
whs required that they should be born 
ofa good family, and be without ble- 
nr. -h or deformity in every part of their 
body. For thirty years they were to 
remain in the greatest continence; the 
first ten years were spent in learning 
the duties of the order, the ten follow- 
ing- were employed in discharging them 
with sanctity, and the last ten in in- 
structing such as had entered the novi- 
ciate. When the thirty years were 
elapsed, they were permitted to marry, 
or if thev «t'ill preferred celibacy, they 
waited upon the rest of the vestals'. 



YET 

Few of the vestals were guilty of incon- 
tinence, and for the space of one thou- 
sand years, during which the order con- 
tinued established, from the reign of 
Numa, only 18 were punished for the 
violation of their vow. The vestals 
were abolished by Theodosius the 
Great, and the fire of Vesta extinguish- 
ed. Liv. Pint. Flor. &c. 

Vest alia, festivals in honor 

of Vesta, observed at Rome on the 9th 
of June. Banquets were then prepared 
before the houses,and meat was sent to 
the vestals to be offered to the gods, 
millstones were decked with garlands, 
and the asses that turned them were 
led round the city covered with gar- 
lands. 

Vesulus, a large mountain 

of Liguria.near the Alps, where the Po 
takes its rise. Virg. 

Vesuvius, or Soma, a moun- 
tain of Campania, six miles from Na- 
ples, celebrated for its volcano. The 
writers of the Augustan age spoke of 
Vesuvius as a place covered with vine- 
yards, of which the middle was barren. 
The first eruption of this volcano was 
in the 79th year of the Christian era, 
under Nitus. It was accompanied by 
an earthquake, which overturned seve- 
ral cities of Campania, particularly 
Pompeii and Herculaneum. This erup- 
tion proved fatal to Pliny the natural- 
ist. From that time the eruptions have 
been frequent,- and there now exists an 
account of 29 of these. Vesuvius con- 
tinually throws up a smoke, and some- 
times ashes and flames. The perpendi- 
cular height of this mountain is 37 80 
feet. Liv. Strut. Mela. 

Vettius, Sp. a Roman se- 
nator, who was made interrex at the 
death of Romulus, till the election of 
another king. He nominated Numa, 
and resigned his office. Plut. in Num. 
—There were others also of this name, 
but of inferior note. 

Vetueia, the mother of Co- 

riolanus, was solicited by the Roman 
matrons tc go to her son with her 
daughter-in-law, and entreat him not 
to make war against his country. She 
went and prevailed over Corioianus, 
and for her services the lloman senate 
offered to reward her as she pleased. 
She only asked to raise a temple to the 
goddess of female fortune, which was 
done on the very *pot where she had 
pacified her son. Lie. Dicnys. Hah 

Veturius, a name common to 
many Romans, in whose lives there is 
nolhmg very remarkable. 

L. Vetus, a Roman who pro- 
posed to open, a communication betw een 
the Mediterranean and the German 



VIM 



ocean; by means of a canal. He was 
put to death by order of Nero. 

Vi t c t AN I A, a city of Etruria, 
celebrated for its hot waters. 

Ufens, a river of Italy near 
Tarraeina. Virg .—Another ri\ er of Pi- 
cenum. Liv. — A prince who assisted 
Turnus against JEneas, who made a 
vow to sacrifice his four sons to ap- 
pease the manes of his friend Pallas. 
Virg.— He was afterwards killed by 
Gyas. Id. 

Uf en tina, a tribe, created at 
Rome, on account of the great increase 
of population. 

Viadrus, a river, rising in 
Moravia, and falling into the Baltic, 
now called the Oder. 

Vibidia, one of the vestal 
virgins in the favor of Messalina, &c. 
Tacit. 

VlBULENUS AGRIPPA, a Ro- 
man knight accused of treason. He 
attempted to poison himself, and was 
strangled in prison, though almost dead. 
Tacit. 

Vic a Pota, a goddess at 
Rome,who presided over victory. Liv. 

Victor Aurelius, a writer 

ill the age of Constantius. He gave the 
world a concise history of the Roman 
emperors, from the age of Augustus to 
his own time, or A. D. 3G0. He also 
wrote an abridgment of the Roman hi- 
story, before the age of Julius Caesar, 
which is now extant. Victor was greatly 
esteemed by the emperors, and honored 
with the consulship. 

Victoria, one of the deities 

of the Romans, called by the Greeks 
nxi, supposed to be the daughter of 
Titan and Styx. The goddess of victory 
was sister to Strength and Valor, and 
was one of the attendants of Jupiter. 
She was greatly honored by the Greeks, 
particularly at Athens. She was repre- 
sented with wings, crowned with laurel, 
and holding the bianch of a palm tree 
in her hand. Varro. Hesiod. 

Victorina, a celebrated ma- 
tron who placed herself at the head 
of the Roman armies, and made war 
against the emperor Gailienns. Her son 
Victorinus, and her grandson of the 
same name, were declared emperors ; 
but when they were assassinated, Vic- 
torina invested with the imperial purple 
one of her favorites called Tetricus. 
She was some time after poisoned, A. D. 
269, according to some, by Tetricus 
himself. 

ViminAlis, one of the seven 

hills on which Rome was built. Servius 
Tullius first made it part of the city. 
Jupiter had a temr>ie there, whence he 
was called Yiuiiiialis. 



Vindelici, an ancient people 

of Germany, between the heads of the 
Rhine and the Danube. Their country, 
Vindelicia, forms now part of Swabia 
and Bavaria, and their chief town, 
Augusta Vindelicorum, now Augsburg, 
Ho rat. 

Vindemiator, a constellation 

that rose about the nones of March. 
Ovid. 

Vindex JuLius,a governor of 

Gaul, who revolted against Nero, and 
determined to deliver the Roman em- 
pire from his tyranny. He was followed 
by a numerous army, but at last de- 
feated by one of the emperor's generals. 
When he perceived that all was lost, he 
laid violent hands upon himself, 6b' 
A. D. Sueto?i. 

Vindicius, a slave who dis- 
covered the conspiracy which some of 
the most noble of the' Roman citizen ^ 
had formed to restore Tarquin to his 
throne. He was amply rewarded, and 
made a citizen of Rome. Liv. Plat. 

Vipsania, a daughter of 
Agrippa, mother of Dru^us. She was 
the only one of Agrippa's daughters who 
died a natural death. She was married 
to Tiberius when a private man, and 
when she had been repudiated, she mar- 
ried Asinius Gallus. 

Virbius (qui inter vivos lis 
fuit),a name given to Hippolytus, after 
he had been brought back "to life by 
yEsculapius, at the instance of Diana, 
who pitied his unfortunate end. Virgil 
makes him son of Hippolytus. Ovid* 

PlJBL. VlRGILIUS MARO, 

called the prince of the Latin poets, was 
bom at Andes, a village n3ar Mantua, 
about 70 years before Christ, on the 
15th of October. Having lost his farms 
in the distribution of the lands of Cre- 
mona to the soldiers of Augustus, after 
the battle of Philippi, he repaired to 
Rome, where he soon formed an ac- 
quaintance with Maecenas, and recom- 
mended himself to the favors of A u- 
gustus, who restored his lands to the 
poet, and his first bucolic was written 
to thank the patron. The poet, in his 
Bucolics, showed that he could write 
with graceful simplicity and elegance; 
and in his Georgics he exhibited a poem 
the most perfect and finished of all 
Latin compositions. The MneiA was 
begun, as some suppose, at the particu- 
lar request of Augustus, whom the poet 
ntterapted to prove to be lineally de- 
scended from the founder cf Lavinium. 
The writer of the Iliad stood as a pat- 
tern to Virgil. The voyage of JEneas is 
copied from the Odyssey, and for his 
battles, Virgil found a model in the wars 
of Troy, and the animated descriptions 
of the Iliad The poet died before he 
had revised this immortal work, which 
had already engaged his time for 11 sue- 



VIR 



VIT 



cessive years. He had attempted to 
attend his patron in the east, but was 
detained at Naples on account of his ill 
health. He, however, went to Athens, 
where he met Augustus in his return ; 
but he soon after fell sick at Megara, 
and, though indisposed, he ordered 
himself to be removed to Italy. He 
landed at Brundusium, where a few 
days after he expired, the 22d of Sep- 
tember, in the 5lst year of his age, B.C. 
1 9. He left the greatest part of his im- 
mense possessions to his friends , and he 
ordered, as his last will, the iEneid to 
be burnt. These last injunctions were, 
however, disobeyed. The body of the 
poet, according to his own directions, 
was conveyed to Naples,. and interred 
with much solemnity in a monument 
erected on the road that leads from 
Naples to Puteoli. Horat. Propert. 
Oi'isi.. &c. &c. 

Virginia, a daughter of the 
centurion, L. Virginius. Appius Clau- 
dius, the decemvir, became enamoured 
of her, and attempted to remove her 
from the place where she resided. She 
was claimed by Marcus Claudius, one 
of his favorites, as the daughter of a 
slave ; and Appius, in the capacity of 
judge, had delivered her into the hands 
of his friend, when Virginius, informed 
of his violent proceedings ,arrived from 
the camp. The father demauded to see 
his daughter, and when this request was 
granted,he snatched a knife, and plunged 
it into Virginia's breast, exclaiming, 
*■ This is all, my dearest daughter, I 
can give thee, to preserve thy chastity 
from the lust and violence of a tyrant." 
No sooner was the blow given, than 
"Virginius ran to the camp with the 
bloody knife in his hand. * The soldiers 
were incensed,not against the murderer, 
but the tyrant that was the cause of Vir- 
ginia's death, and they immediately 
marched to Rome. App'ius was seized, 
but he destroyed himself in prison, and 
prevented the execution of the law. 
Upon the death of Appius, the deeem- 
viral power was abcli hed at Rome, 
about 440 years before Christ. Liv. 

Virginius. The most remark- 
able of this name are the following: — 
The father of Vi rginia, made tribune of 
the people. \_Vid. Virginia. J— One of 
the generals of Nero in Germany. He 
made war against Vindex..and conquered 
him. He was treated with great coldness 
by Galba, whose interest he had sup- 
ported with so much success. He re- 
fused all dangerous stations j and though 
twice offered the imperial purple, he 
rejected it with disdain. Plut. 

Viriatiius, a mean shepherd 
of Lusifania, who by first heading a 
gang of robbers, saw himself at last fol- 
lowed by a numerous army. He made 
war against the Romans with uncom- 
mon success, and for 14 years enjoyed 



the title of protector of public liberty in 
Spain. Many generals, among whom 
was Pompey, were defeated by him. 
Caspio was at last sent against him, who 
had the meanness to bribe the servants 
of Viriathus to murder their master, 
before Christ 40. Flor. Vol, Max. 

Virtdomarus, a young man 

of great power among theiEdui. Caesar 
greatly honored him', but he fought at 
last against the Romans. Cces. 

Virtplaca, a goddess among 
the Romans who presided over the 
peace of families, whence her name 
(virum placare). If any quarrel hap- 
pened between a man and his wife, they 
generally repaired to the temple of the 
goddess, and came back reconciled. 
Val. Max. 

Virt us. All virtues were made 

deities among the Romans. Marcellus 
erected two temples, one to Virtue, the 
other to Honor. They were built in 
such a manner, that to see the temple cf 
Honor it was necessary to pass through 
that of Virtue ; a happy allegory among 
a nation free and independent. 

Vistula, a river, forming the 

eastern boundary of ancient Germany. 
It falls into the Baltic. 

Vitellia, a Roman colony on 

the borders of the Equi. 

Vitellius Aulus, a Roman 

raised by his vices to the imperial throne, 
and was descended from one of the most 
illustrious families of Rome. He suc- 
cessively ministered to the vicious pro- 
pensities, debaucheries, and cruelties of 
Tiberius, Caligula, Cluudius, and Nero. 
He did not fall with his patrons, like 
the other favorites, but the death of an 
emperor seemed to raise him to greater 
honors, and to procure him fresh ap- 
plause. He passed through all the offices 
of the state, and gained the soldiery by 
donations and liberal promises. He was 
at the head of the Roman legions in 
Germany when Otho was proclaimed 
emperor, and the exaltation of his rival 
was no sooner heard in the camp, then 
he was likewise invested with the purple 
by his soldiers. He accepted with plea- 
sure the dangerous office, and instantly 
marched against Otho. Three battles 
were fought, and in all Vitellius was 
conquered. A fourth, however, in the 
plains between Mantua and Cremona, 
left him master of the field and of the 
Roman empire. After this victory, Vi- 
tellius exhibited the greatest cruelties 
and debauchery, which at length raised 
the indignation of the Roman people. 
Vespasian was proclaimed emperor by 
the army, and his minister Primus was 
sent to destroy Vitellius, who concealed 
himself under the bed of the porter of 
his palace; but this obscure retreat 
betrayed him ; he was dragged naked 



ULY 



through the streets, his hands were tied 
behind his back, and a drawn sword 
was placed under his chin, to make him 
lift his head. After sutfering the greatest 
insults from the populace, he was at last 
carried to the place of execution, and 
put to death, A. D. 69, after a reign of 
one year, except 12 days. Suet. Tacit. 
— Lucius, the father of the emperor, 
obtained great honors by his flattery to 
the emperors. He was made governor 
of Syria, and in this distant pro- ince he 
obliged the Parthian s to- sue for peace. 
His adulation toMessalina is wellknown, 
and he obtained as a particular favor the 
honorable office of pulling off the shoes 
of the empress. Suet. &c. — There were 
others also of this name, but of inferior 
note. 

Vitissator, a surname of Sa- 
turn and Bacchus, because they presided 
over the cultivation of the vine. Virg. 
&e. 

M. VlTRUVIUS POLLIO, a Ce- 
lebrated architect in the age of Augus- 
tus, born at Formiae. He is only known 
by his writings. He wrote a treatise on 
his profession, which he dedicated to 
Augustus. It is the only book on archi- 
tecture now extant, written by the an- 
cients. In this work he plainly shows ! 
that he was master of his profession, I 
and that he possessed both genius and 
abilities. 

Vitula, a deity among the 

Romans who presided over festivals and 
rejoicings. 

Ulpia Trajaxa, a Roman 
colony, planted in Sarmatia by Trajan. 

Ulpianus Domitius, a law- 
yer in the year of Alexander Severus, 
of whom he became the secretary and 
principal minister. He raise/L a perse- 
cution against the Christians, and was 
at last murdered by the pretorian guards, 
of which he had" the command, A. D. 
266. There are some fragments of his 
compositions onthecivillaw stillextant. 

UltjbrjE, a town of Latium, 

where Augustus was educated. Juv. 

Ulysses, a king of the islands 

of Ithaca and Dulichium, son of Ar.ti- 
clea and Laertes, or, according to some, 
of Sisyphus. [Vid. Sisyphus and Anti- 
clea.] He became a suitor of Helen, 
but having despaired of success, he so- 
licited the hand of Penelope, the daugh- 
ter of Icarius. Ulysses had no sooner 
obtained the hand of Penelope, than he 
retired to Ithaca, where his father re- 
signed him the crown. The rape of 
Helen[Vid. Helena] didnot long permit 
him to remain in Ithaca : he was sum- 
moned to the war with the other princes 
of Greece. He pretended to he insane, 
not to leave his beloved Penelope. He 
yoked a horse and a bull together, and 
ploughed the sea-shore, where he sowed 



salt instead of corn. This dissimulation 
was soon discovered by Palamedes,who, 
by placing before the plough of Ulvsses 
his infant son Telemachus, convinced 
the world that the father v.- as not mad, 
who had the providence to turn awav 
the plough from the furrow, not to hurt 
his child. Ulysses was therefore obliged 
to go to the war, but he did not forget 
him who had discovered his pretended 
insanity. [Vid. Palamedes.] During the 
Trojan war, the king of Ithaca was 
eourted for his prudence and sagacity. 
By his means Achilles was discovered 
among the daughters of Lycornedes,king 
of Scyros[ Vid. Achilles], and Philoctetes 
was induced to abandon Lemnos,andto 
fight the Trojans with the arrows of 
Hercules. [ Vid. Philoctetes.] He was 
not less distinguished for his activity 
and valor. With the assistance of Dic"- 
medes, he slew Rhesus, and slaughtered 
the sleeping Thracians in the midst of 
their camp [Fir?. Rhesus and Dolonl, 
and he introduced himself into the city 
of Priam, and carried awav the Palla- 
dium of the Trojans. [Vid. Palladium.] 
For these eminent services he was uni- 
versally applauded by the Greeks, and 
he was rewarded with the arms of 
Achilles, which Ajax had disputed with 
him. After the Trojan war Ulysses 
embarked on board his ships to return 
to Greece, but he was exposed to a num- 
ber of misfortunes before he reached his 
native country. He was thrown by the 
winds upon the coast of Africa," and 
visited the countrv of the Lotophagi, 
and of the Cyclopes in Sicily. [Vid. 
Polyphemus.] " He next vi.sired ^Eolia, 
and from thence he was thrown upon 
the coast of the Laestrygones, and of 
the island Maza, where the magician 
Circe changed all his companions into 
pigs for their voluptuousness. Having 
escaped the magic of Circe, he visited 
the infernal regions, and consulted Ti- 
resias how to return with safety to his 
country, and after he had received 
every necessary information, he return- 
ed on earth. He passed along the coast 
of the Sirens unhurt, by the directions 
of Circe [Vid. Sirenes], and eseapedthe 
whirlpools and shoals of Scylla and Cha- 
ry bdis. On the coast of Sicily Apollo 
destroyed his ships, and all were drown- 
ed except Ulysses, who swam to the 
island of Calypso. There, for seven 
years, he forgot Ithaca in the arms of 
the goddess. Calypso at last suffered 
him to depart, after she had furnished 
him. with a ship, which Neptune,having 
raised a storm, sunk. Ulysses swam 
with difficulty to the island of the Pha?a- 
cians, where king Alcinous entertained 
him. He related the series of his mis- 
fortunes to the monarch, and at last, by 
his benevolence, he was conducted in a 
ship to Ithaca. The Phsacians laid him 
on the sea-shore as he was asleep, and 
Ulysses found himself safely restored to 
his country,- after a long absence of 



VOL 

twenty years. He was well informed . 
that his palace was besieged by a number 
of suitors,who continually disturbed the 
peace of Penelope, and therefore he as- 
sumed the habit of a beggar, by the ad- 
vice of Minerva, and his faithful shep- 
herd Eum&us. Ulysses being restored 
to the peace and bosom of his family, 
\ Vid. Laertes, Penelope, Telemachus, 
Eumseus,] lived about sixteen years 
afier his return, and was at last killed 
bv his son Telegonus, whom he had by 
C'ircs, who had" landed in Ithaca, with 
the hopes of making himself known to 
his father. Homer. Virg. Ovid. &c. 

Umbria, a country of Italy, 
separated from Etruria by the Tiber, 
bounded on the north by the Adriatic 
sea, east by Picenum and the country of 
the Sabine's, and south by the river Nar. 
Strab. PHfU 

Umbro, a river of Italy — A 
general who assisted Turnus against 
l-Eneas, and was killed during the war. 
He could assuage the fury of serpents 
by his songs, and counteract the poison- 
ous effects of their bites. Virg. 

Unca, a surname of Minerva 

among the Phoenicians and the Thebans. 
The goddess was first known in Egypt 
by that name, and /Eschylus is the "first 
Greek writer who gives her that appella- 
tion, which probably had been intro- 
duced into Bceotia by Cadmus. 

Undecemvjri, magistrates at 
Athens, to whom such as were publicly 
condemned were delivered to be exe- 
cuted. C. Nep. 

Unigena, a surname of Mi- 
nerva, as springing from Jupiter alone. 

Unxia, a surname of Juno, 
derived from unguo, to anoint, becavise 
it was usual among the Romans for the 
bride to anoint the threshold of her 
husband, and from this ceremony wives 
were called Unxores, and afterwards 
Uxores, from Unxia, who presided over 
them. At nob. Serv. iti Mn. &c. 

Vogesus, a mountain of Gaul, 

separating the Siquanifrom the Lin- 
gones. Now Vauge. 

Vol at err a, an ancient town 
of Etruria, where Persius the satirist was 
born. Liu. Stj-ab. 

Vologesus, a name common 
to many of the kings of Parthia, who 
made war against the Re man empei ors. 

Volscens, a Latin chief, who 
discovered Nisus and Euryalus return- 
ingfrom the Rutulian camp loaded with 
spoils- He killed Euryalus, and was 
himself immediatelv stabbed by Nisus. 
Virg. 

Volsci, or Volci, a people of 
Latium, whose territories were bounded 
on the south by the Tyrrhene sea, north 



URA 

by thecountryoftheHernici and Marsi, 
west by the Latins and Rutulians, and 
east by Campania. Ancus, king of 
Rome, made war against them, and in 
the time of the republic they became 
formidable enemies, till they were at last 
conquered with the rest of the Latins. 
Liv. Virg. &c. 

VOLTUMNA,Or VlJLTURNA, a 

goddess at Rome, who presided over 
kindness and good will. She had a tem- 
ple near mount Ciminus in Etruria. 
She is the same as Yolumna. 

VoLUMNA.[Fid.VULTUMNA.] 

T. VoLTJMNiTJS. The most re- 
markable of this name are the following. 
— A Roman, famous for his friendship 
towards M. Lucullus, whom M. Antony 
had put to death. — A friend of M. Bru- 
tus. He was preserved when that great 
republican killed himself, and he wrote 
an account of his death and of his 
actions, from which Plutarch selected 
some remarks. 

Volumnus and Volu3ina, 

two deities who presided over the will, 
chiefly invoked at marriages to preserve 
concord between the husband and wife. 
They were particularly worshipped by 
the Etrurians. Liv. 

Voluptas and Volupia, the 

goddess of sensual pleasures, worshipped 
at Rome, where she had a temple. She 
was represented as a young and beautiful 
woman, well dressed, and elegantly 
adorned, having Virtue under her feet. 

Voltjsius, Saturninus, a go- 
vernor of Rome, who died in the ninety- 
third year of his age, beloved and re- 
spect'ed, under Nero. Tacit. 

Volutin a, a goddess invoked 

by countrymen to prosper their crops, 
and not leave the ears of corn exposed, 
but to surround them with a protecting 
integument. 

Vo nones. A name common 
to two kings of Parthia, and one of Ar- 
menia. 

Vopiscus, a native of Syra- 
cuse, 303 A. D. who wrote the life of 
Aurelian, Tacitus, Florianus, Probus, 
Firmus, Cams, &c. He is one of the six 
authors called Histories Augusta; scrip- 
tores, but he excels all the others in the 
elegance of his style. 

Voranus, a freedman of Q. 
Luctatius Catulus, famous for his rob- 
beries as well as his cunning, dec. Horat. 

Urania, one of the Muses, 
daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne, 
who presided over astronomy. She "was 
represented as a young virgin crowned 
with stars, holding a globe in her hands, 
and having many mathematical instru- 
ments placed round. Hesiod. Apollod,— 
A surname of Yenu-: , the same as Celes- 



VUL 

tiaL, supposed to preside over beauty 
and generation. 

Uraxus, or Our ax us, the 

same as Coelus, the most ancient of all 
the gods. He married Tithea, or the 
Earth, by whom he had the Titans. His 
children conspired against him, because 
he confined them in the bosom of the 
earth and his son Saturn mutilated him, 
and drove him from his throne. 

Urgo, now Gorg-oxa, an 
island in the bay of Pisa, twenty-five 
miles west of Leghorn, famous for an- 
chovies. Pliiu 

TJstica, a town in an island 
on the coast of Sicily, near Panormum. 
Horat.^ 

Utica, a celebrated city of 
Africa, on the coast of the Mediterra- 
nean , on the same bay as Cartilage. 1 1 
became the metropolis of Africa, after 
the dastruction of Carthage in the third 
Punic war. It is celebrated for the death 
of Cato, who from thence is called Uti- 
eensis. Strab. Lucan. &e. 

VuLCAXALiA,festivaIs in honor 
of Vulcan, brought to Rome from Prae- 
neste. The streets were illuminated, 
fire kindled every where, and animals 
thrown into the games, as a sacrifice to 
toe deity. Varro. &c. 

VULCAXT IxSULA,Or VULCA- 
NIA, a name given to the islands be- 
tween Sicily and Italy, now called Li- 
pari. Virg. &e. They received it 
because there were there' subterraneous 
fires, supposed to be excited by Vulcan, 
the god oi fire. 

Vu lc ax us, a god of the an- 
cients, who presided over fire, and was 
the patron of all artists who wsvked 
iron and metals. He was son of Juno 
alone, and according to Homer, he was 
son of Jupiter and Jur.o, Vulcan, it is 
said, was educated in heaven with the 
rest of the gods, but his father kicked 
him down from Olympus, when he at- 
tempted to deliver his mother, who had 
been fastened by a golden chain for her 
insolence. He was nine days in coming 
from heaven upon earth, and he fell in 
the island of Lemnos. Having broken 
his leg in the fall, he ever after remain- 
ed laine. He fixed his residence in 



VUL 

Lemnos, where he laised forges to work 
meials, and taught the inhabitants all 
the useful arts. Vulcan has been cele- 
brated by the ancient poets for the inge- 
nious works and automatical figures 
which he made; and it is said, that at 
the request of Jupiter he made the first 
woman that ever appeared on earth, 
well known under the name of Pandora. 
\Vid. Pandora.] The Cyclopes of Si- 
cily were his ministers and attendants, 
and with him they fabricated, not only 
the thunderbolts of Jupiter, but also 
arms for the gods and the most celebra- 
ted heroes. His forges were supposed to 
be under mount .Etna, in the island of 
Sicily. The amours of Vulcan are not 
numerous, Venus is universally acknow- 
ledged to have been the wife of Vulcan, 
but her infidelity is well known, as well 
as her amours with Mars. [Vid. Alec- 
tryon.] The worship of Vulcan was 
well established, particularly in Egypt, 
at Athens, and at Rome. A calf and a 
boar pig were the principal victims of- 
fered to him. Vulcan was generally re- 
presented as covered with sweat, blowing 
with his nervous arm the fires of his 
forges,, and sometimes holding a ham- 
m r raised in the air ready to strike, 
while with the other hand he turns with 
pincers a thunderbolt on an anvil. Vul- 
can has received the names of Mulciber, 
Pamphanes, Clytotechnes, Pandamator, 
Cyllopodes, Chalaipoda,4:c. all express- 
ive of his lameness and his profession. 
He was father of Cupid by Vein.-. 
Hesiud. Horner. Virg. izc. 

Vu LTURA.OT Vu L T U R AR I A, a 

moimtain on the borders of Apali3. 
Horat. 

Vulttjrxum, a town of Cam- 
pania, afterwards called Capua,as some 
suppose. 

Vulturxus. a river of Cam- 
pania. Lucret. Virg* — The god of the 
Tiber was also known by that name. 
Varro. — The wind also received the 
name of Vulturnus, when it blew from 
the side of the Vulturnus. — A surname 
of Apollo on mount Lissus, in Ionia, 
near Ephesus. The god received this 
name from a shepherd who raised him a 
temple, after he had been drawn out of 
a subterraneous cavern by vultures. 



XAN 



XAN 



X 4X t h i a Ph o c e u s, a Roman , 

whom Horace addresses in his second 
book of odes , and of whom he speaks as 
enamoured of a servant maid, 

Xaxthippe. [Fid. Xan- 
tippe.] 



Xaxthippus [Vid. Xantip- 

Xaxthus, or Xanthos, a 

river of Troas, in Asia Minor ; accord - 
, ing to Homer, it was called Xzmhv- 1 y 
j the gods, andSeamander by men. [Vid. 



XEN 



XEN 



Scamander. ] — A river of Lycia, anciently- 
caned Sirbes. It was sacred to Apollo*, 
and fell into the sea near PataTa. Homer. 
Virg.— One of the horses of Achilles, 
who spoke to his master when chid with 
severity, and told him that he must soon 
be killed. Home)'. — A town of Lycia,on 
the river of the same name, at the di- 
stance of about fifteen miles from the 
sea-shore. The inhabitants are celebra- 
ted for their love of liberty and national 
independence. Plut. <fce.— This name 
was common also to many persons re- 
corded by ancient writers, in whose 
lives or characters there is nothing very 
striking or remarkable. 

• Xaxticles, one of the leaders 
of the 10,000 Greeks, after the battle of 
Cunaxa. 

Xaxtippe. The most re- 
markable of tills name is the wife of 
Socrates, remarkable for her ill humor 
and peevish disposition, which are be- 
come proverbial. She continually tor- 
mented him with her impertinence, and 
one day ,not satisfied with using the most 
bitter invectives, she emptied a vessel of 
dirty water on his head, upon which the 
philosopher coolly observed, i£ After 
thunder there generally falls rain." 
Milan. Dio?. 

Xantippus, a Lacedaemonian 
general, who assisted the Carthaginians 
in the first Punic war. He defeated the 
Romans, 256 B.C. and took the cele- 
brated Regulus prisoner. Such signal 
services caused the Carthaginians to look 
with envious jealousy upon Xantippus, 
and he retired to Corinth after he had 
saved them from destruction. Liv. &c— 
An Athenian general, who defeated the 
Persian fleet at My cale with Leotychides. 
A statue was erected to his honor in the 
citadel of Athens. He was father to the 
celebrated Pericles, bv Agariste, the 
niece of CILthenes. Paus. — A son of 
Pericles, who disgraced his father by his 
disobedience and his extravagance. He 
died of the plague in the Peloponnesian | 
war. Plut. 

Xexarchus, a Peripatetic 

philosopher of Selcucia, who taught at 
Alexandria and at Rome, and was inti- 
mate with Augustus. Sti-ab. 

Xeniades, a Corinthian, who 
went to buy Diogenes, the Cynic, when 
sold as a slave. He asked him what he 
could do, upon which the Cynic an- 
swered, <f Command freemen!" This 
noble answer so pleased Xeniades, that 
he gave the Cynic his liberty, and en- 
trusted him with the care of the educa- 
tion of his children. Dio'i: 

Xexius, a surname given to 
Jupiter as the god of hospitality. 

Xenocles, a tragic writer, 
Wtio obtained four time- 3 poetical prize 



in a contention in which Euripides was 
competitor, either through theigiicranee 
or by the bribery of the judges. Hi = 
grandson bore also the name of Xeno- 
cles, and excelled in tragical composi- 
tions. 

Xexo crates, an ancient phi- 
losopher born at Chalcedonia, and edu- 
cated in the school of Plato. He suc- 
ceeded in the school of Plato after S-peu- 
sippus, about 330 years before Chris r. 
He did not only recommend himself to 
his pupils by precepts, but by example, 
and since the wonderful change he had 
made upon the conduct of one of his 
auditors, [Vju$L Polemon] his company 
was as much shunned by the dissolute, 
as it was courted by the virtuous. Phi- 
lip of Macedon,and afterwards his son 
Alexander, attempted to gain his con- 
fidence with money,but with no success. 
" Tell your master," said the philoso- 
pher to'the messengers sent by Alexan- 
der, " to keep his money ; he "has more 
people to maintain than I have." Yet 
not to offend the. monarch, he accepted 
a small sum, about the 200th part of one 
talent. Though, respected and admired, 
yet Xenocrates was poor, and he was 
dragged to prison , because he was un- 
able to pay a small tribute to the state. 
He was delivered from confinement by 
one of his friends. He died B. C. 314, 
in his eighty-second year, after he had 
presided in" the academy fox above 
twenty-five years. He acknowledged no 
other deity but heaven, and the seven 
planets. Diog. Cic. &c. 

Xejj-ophastes, a Greek phi- 
losopher of Colophon ,disciple of Arche- 
laus, B. C. 535. He wrote several poems 
and treatises, and founded a sect, which 
was called the Eleatie, in Sicily. He 
supposed that God and the world were 
the same,and he credited the eternity of 
the universe. He died verv poor, when 
about 100 years old. CL: ' 

Xexophilus. The most ce- 
lebrated of this name is a Pythagorean 
philosopher, who lived to his "iTOth year, 
and enjoyed all his faculties to the last. 
Val. Max. 

Xexophon, an Athenian, son 

of Gryilus, celebrated as a general, an 
historian, and a philosopher. In the 
school of Socrates hereceived those pre- 
cepts which afterwards so eminently di- 
stinguished him. Being invited by Pro- 
xenus, one of his intimate friends, to 
accompany Cyrus the younger in an ex- 
pedition against his brother Artaxerxes, 
king of Persia, he previously consulted 
Socrates, who strongly opposed it. 
Xen ophon ,ho wever , ambi tic us of giojy , 
hastened with precipitation to Sardis, 
where he was introduced to the voung 
prince. In the army of Cyrus. Xenol 
phon showed that he was a truediscr.de 
of Socrates. After the decisive tjattl* in 
the plains of Cunaxa, and the fall of 



XER 



XYN 



Cyrus, the prudence and vigor of his 
mind were called into action. The ten 
thousand Greeks who had followed the 
prince were now at the distance of aho ve 
600 leagues from home, surrounded on 
every side by a victorious enemy, with- 
out money,' without provisions, and 
without a leader. Xenophon was select- 
ed from among the officers to superin- 
tend the retreat. This celebrated* retreat 
was at last happily effected by the 
Greeks, who returned home after a 
march of 1155 parasangs, or leagues, 
which was performed in 215 days, after 
an absence of fifteen months. "He had 
no sooner returned from Cunaxa, than 
he sought new honors in following the 
fortune of Agesilaus in Asia, where he 
conquered with him in the Asiatic pro- 
vinces, as well as at the battle of Co- 
ronaea. His fame, however, did not 
escape the aspersions of jealousy : he was 
publicly banished from Athens for ac- 
companying Cyrus against his brother, 
and being now without a home, he re- 
tired to Scillus, a small town in the 
neighbourhood of Olympia. In this 
solitary retreat, ha dedicated his time 
to literary pursuits, but his peaceful oc- 
cupations were soon disturbed by a war 
which arose between theLaeeda?monians 
and Eiis. From the latter place he re- 
tired to the city of Corinth, where he 
died in the ninetieth year of his age, 
359 years before the Christian era. The 
works of Xenophon are the Anabasis, 
the Cyropsedia, Hellenica.. and Memora- 
bilia, besides other tracts. The simpli- 
city and the elegance of Xenophon's 
diction have procured him the name of 
the Athenian Muse, and the bee of 
Greece. His sentiments, as to divinity 
?.nd religion, were the same as those of 
the venerable Socrates. Diog. Val. Max. 
<fcc. — A physician of the emperor Clau- 
dius, born in the island of Cos. He en- 
joyed the emperor's favors, and through 
him the people of Cos were exempt 
from all taxes. He had the baseness to 
poison his benefactor at the instigation 
of Agrippina. Tacit. 

Xera, a town of Spain, now 

Xeres, where the Moors gained a battle 
over Roderic, king of the Goths, and 
became masters of the country. 

Xerxes 1st, succeeded his 

father Darius on the throne of Persia, 
and continued the warlike preparations 
of his father against Greece, and added 
the revolted kingdom of Egypt to his 
extensive possessions. He afterwards 
invaded Europe, and entered Greece 
with an army, which, together with the 
numerous retinue of servants, eunuchs, 
and women that attended it, amount- 
ed, it is said, to no less than 5,283,220 
souls. This multitude was stopped at 
Thermopylae j by the valor of 300 Spar- 



tans, under king Leonidas. For three 
successive days the most valiant of the 
Persian troops were repeatedly defeated 
in attempting to force this celebrated 
pass, and the courage of the Spartans 
might have triumphed longer, if a Tia- 
chinian had not led a detachment to the 
top of the mountaiu,and suddenly fallen 
upon Leonidas. The battle of Thermo- 
pylae was the prelude of the disgrace of 
Xerxes; his fleet was defeated at Arte- 
misium and Salamis, and though he 
burnt Athens, yet he found his millions 
unable to conquer a nation superior to 
him in the knowledge of war and mari- 
time affairs. Mortified with the ill suc- 
cess of his expedition, Xerxes hastened 
to Persia. Mardonius, the best of his 
generals, was left behind, with an army 
of 300,000 men, and the rest that had 
survived the ravages of war, of famine, 
and pestilence, followed theirtimid mo- 
narch into Thrace. When he reached 
the Hellespont, Xerxes found the bridge 
i of boats which he had erected there to- 
j tally destroyed by the storms, and he 
crossed the straits'in a small fishing ves- 
sel. Restored to his kingdom in safety, 
j he forgot his dangers and defeats, and 
gave himself up to riot and debauchery. 
His luxurious voluptuousness offended 
his subjects, and Artabanus, the captain 
of his guards, conspired against himV 
and murdered him in his bed, in the 
21 st year of his reign, about 464 years 
B. C. His pride and insolence have 
been deservedly censured; he ordered 
chains to be thrown into the sea, and 
the waves to be whipped, because the 
first bridge he had laid across the Hel- 
lespont had been destroyed by a storm. 
He cut a channel through mount Athos, 
and saw his fleet sail in a place which 
before was dry ground. Herodot. J u&tin. 
&c. &c— The 2d succeeded his father 
Artaxerxes Longimanvis on the throne 
of Persia, 425 B.C. and was assassinated 
in the first year of his reign by his bro- 
ther Sogdianus. 

Xiphoxia, a promontory of 

Sicily, at the north of Syracuse, now 
Cruce. Strab.— Also a town near it, 
now Augusta. 

X u t h u s, a son of Hellen, 

grandson of Deucalion. He was ba- 
nished from Thessaly by his brothers : 
came to Athens, and there married 
Creusa, the daughter cf Erechtheus. j 

Xylexopolis, a town at the 
mouth of the Indus, built by Alexander, 
supposed to be Lahe? i. 

Xyxoichia, an anniversary 

day observed at Athens, in honor of Mi- 
nerva, and in commemoration of the 
time in which the people of Attiea left 
their countrv-seats, and, by advice of 
Theseus, all united in one body. 



ZAM 



ZEN 



ZAM 



Zabatus, a river of Media, 

falling into the Tigris, near which the 
ten thousand Greeks stopped in their 
return. Xenophon. 

Zabirna, a town of Lybia, 
where Bacchus destroyed a large animal 
which infested the country. 

Zacyxthus, a native of Boeo- 
tia,who accompanied Hercules when he 
went into Spain to destroy Geryon. He 
was entrusted with the care of Geryon's 
flocks by the hero, and ordered to con- 
duct them to Thebes. As he went on 
his journey he was bit by a serpent, and 
some time' after died. His companions 
carried his body away, and buried it in 
an island of the Ionian sea, which from 
that time was called Zacynthus, now 
Zante. It is situated at the south of 
Cephalenia. and at the west ofthePe- 
le; onnesus, and is about sixty miles in 
circumference. Strab. Mela. Homer. 
dec. 

Zalel-cus, a lawgiver of the 

Locrians in Italy, and one of the dis- 
ciples of Pythagoras, 550 B. C. He at- 
tempted to enforce his laws more by 
inspiring shame than dread. He had 
decreed that a person guilty of adultery 
should lose his eyes : being shortly after 
informed that his son was an adulterer, 
he ordered the law to be executed. The 
people interfered, but Zaleucus resisted, 
and rather than violate his own institu- 
tions, he commanded one of his own 
eyes, and one of those of his son, to be 
put out. Val. Max. Cic. &e. 

Zama, or Zagma, a town of 

Numidia, celebrated for the victory 
which Scipio obtained there over An- 
nibal, B. C. 202. Metellus besieged it, 
and was obliged to retire with great 
loss. After Juba's death it was destroy- 
ed by the Romans. C. Nep. Lie. Sal- 
Inst. 

Zamolxis, a slave and disci- 
ple of Pythagoras. He accompanied his 
master in Egypt, and afterwards retired 
into the country of the Get*, which had 
given him birth. He began to civilize 
his countrymen, and, the more easily to 
gain reputation, he concealed himself 
for three years in a subterraneous cave, 
and afterwards made them believe that 
he was just raised from the dead. After 
his death he received divine honors. 
Diod. Kwodot. 



ZEN 



Z an cle, a town of Sicily, on 

the straits which separate that island 
from Italy. It was founded about 1058 
years before the Christian era, by the 
pirates of Cumse in Italy, and peopled 
by Sarafans', Ionians, and Chalcidians, 
and was afterwards called Messana by 
Anaxilaus, tyrant of Rhegium. Strab. 
Diod. Ovid. &c. 

ZebInai an impostor, who 

usurped the throne of Syria, at the in- 
stigation of Ptolemy Physeon. 

Zela, or Zeeia, a town of 
Pontus, near the river Lycus, where 
Cassar defeated Pharnaces, son of Z\Ii- 
thridates. In expressing this victory, 
the general used the words veni, vidi, 
vici. Suet, Cces. — A town of Troas, at 
the foot of Ida. Another in Lycia. 

Zexo, a philosopher of Elea, 
or Velia, in Italy, the disciple of Parme- 
nides, and the supposed inventor of dia- 
lectics* or logic. His opinions about the 
universe, trie unity, incomprehensibi- 
lity, and immutability of all things, were 
the same as those of Xenophanes, and 
the rest of the Eleatic philosophers. 
Diog. &c. — The founder of the sect of 
the Stoics, born at Citium, in the island 
of Cyprus. The first part of his life was 
spent in commercial pursuits, and, as 
he was returning from Phoenicia, a 
storm drove his ship on the coast of 
Attica, where he was shipwrecked. He 
entered the house of a bookseller, and 
to dissipate his melancholy he began to 
read a 'book written by Xenophon. 
From that time he renounced his for- 
mer pursuits, and applied himself to 
philosophy. Ten years were spent in 
frequenting the school of Crates, and 
the same number under Stilpo, Xeno- 
crates, and Polemon. Perfect in every 
branch of knowledge, Zeno then opened 
a school at Athens, and soon saw himself 
attended by the great and the learned. 
His followers were called Stoics, because 
they received the instructions of the 
philosopher in the portico, called g-o?.. 
His life was an example of soberness 
and moderation. After he had taught 
publicly for 48 years, he died in the 
98th year of his age, B.C. 2G4, a stranger 
to diseases, and never incommoded by 
a real indisposition. He acknowledged 
only one god, the soul of the universe, 
which he conceived to be the body, and 
therefore he believed that those two to- 



ZEN , .. 

gether united, the scul and the body, 
formed one perfect anima 1 , which was 
the god of the Stoics. Cic. Diog. &c— 
This name was common a~so to others 
of inferior note, particularly to some of 
the Roman emperors, on the throne of 
Constantinople, in the 5th and 6th cen- 
turies. 

Z ex ob i a, a queen of Iberia, 
wife to Rhadamistus. She accompar.ied 
her husband when banished from his 
kingdom by the Armenians, but being 
unable to follow him, on account of her 
pregnancy, she entreated him to kill 
her. Rhadamistus obeyed , and threw 
her body into the Araxe"s,lest she should 
fall into the hands of the enemy. As 
the wound was not mortal, her life was 
preserved, and she was carried to Tiri- 
dates, who acknowledged her as queen. 
— Sejitimia, a celebrated princess of Pal- 
myra, who married Odenatus, whom 
Ga Menus acknowledged as his partner 
on the Roman throne. After the death 
of her husband, Zenobia reigned in the 
east as regent of her infaut children. 
She assumed the name of Augusta, and 
she appeared in imperial robes, and er- 
dered herself to be styled, the queen of 
the east. Aurelian was no sooner in- 
vested with the imperial purple than he 
marched into the east, determined to 
punish the pride of Zenobia. When 
Aurelian approached the plains of Syria, 
the Palmyrean queen appeared at the 
head of 700,000 men. She bore the la- 
bors of the field like the meanest of her 
soldiers, and walked on foot heedless of 
danger. Two battles were fought, the 
courage of the queen gained the superi- 
ority, but in a third she was defeated. 
The queen fled to Palmyra, determined 
to support a siege, which she did for 
some time with the most undaunted 
courage. She at length, despairing of 
success, when she heard that the armies 
marching to her relief from Armenia 
and Persia, had partly been defeated, 
and partly bribed from her allegiance, 
tied from Palmyra in the nigh' 5 but 
Aurelian, who was apprised of her 
escape, pursued her, and she was caught 
as she was crossing the river Euphrates, 
about the 273d year of the Christian era. 
She was brought into the presence of 
Aurelian, and was treated with great 
humanity. Aurelian gave her large 
possessions near Tibur, where she was 
permitted to live the rest of her days 
with all the grandeur becoming a queen 
of the east. Her children were patron- 
ized by the emperor, and married to 
persons of the first distinct ion at Rome. 
Zenobia has been admired not only for 
her military abilities, but also for her 
literary talents. She received no less 
honor "from the patronage she afforded 
to the celebrated critic Longinus, who 
was one of her favorites, and who taught 
ber the Greek tongue. Aur. Vic &e. 



ZET 



Zenoclea, a priestess of 

Apollo, at Delphi, from whom Hercules 
extorted an oracle by force, when she 
refused to answer him because he was 
not purified of the blood and death of 
Iphitus. 

Zen odor us, a famous sculp- 
tor, in the age of Nero. He made a 
statue of Mercury, as also a colossus for 
the emperor, which was 110 or 120 feet 
high, and which was consecrated to the 
Sun. The head of this colossus was 
some time after broken by Vespasian, 
who placed there the head of an Apollo, 
surrounded with sun-beams, each of 
which was seven feet and a half Jong. 
From this famous colossus, the modern 
Coliseum, whose ruins are now so much 
admired at Rome, took its name. Piii:. 

Zenodotus, a grammarian of 
Alexandria, in the age of Ptolemy Soter, 
by whom he was appointed to take care 
of the celebrated library of Alexandria, 
and to preside over the 'education of his 
children. He wrote on Homer, and 
died B. C. 245.— Another, also of Alex- 
andria, who wrote on Hesiod, Homer, 
and against the doctrines of Plato, and 
also revised the work of ArLtarehus. 

Zephyrium, a promontory of 

Magna Graecia towards the Ionian sea, 
whence the Locrians were called Epi- 
zephyrii. 

Zephyrum, a promontory in 

the island of Cyprus, where Venus had 
a temple, Whence she was called Ze- 
phyria. It was in this temple that Bere- 
nice made an offering of her hair to the 
goddess of beauty. Cat id. Hrgin. &e. 

Zephyrus, one of the winds, 

son of Astreus and Aurora, the same as 
the Favonius of the Latins. He mar- 
ried a nymph called Chloris, or Flora, 
by whom he had a son called Carpos. 
Zephyr was said to produce flowers and 
fruits by the sweetness of his breath. 
He was supposed to be the same as the 
west wind. [Vid. Venti.] Hesiod. Vu-g. 
Ovid. 

Zethes, Zetes, or Zettjs, 

a son of Boreas, king of Thrace and 
Orithya, who accompanied, with his 
brother Calais, the Argonauts to Col- 
chis. In Bithynia the two brothers de- 
livered Phiueus from the persecution of 
the Harpyies, and drove them as far as 
the Strophades, where Iris promised 
them that Phiueus should no longer be 
tormented by the Harpies. They were 
both killed by Hercules during the Ar- 
gonautic expedition, and were changed 
into those winds which are called Pro- 
dromi by the Greeks. Their ,siatei" Cleo- 
patra married Phiueus, king of Bi- 
thynia. Orpheus. ApSllud. Odd. &C. 



JAN is m 



ZOI 



zos 



Zetl's, or Zethus, a son of 
Jupiter and Antiope, brother to Am- 
] hi on. The two brothers were born on 
mount Cithseron, where Antiope had 
fiecl to avoid the resentment of her fa- 
ther Nvcteus. [Vid. Amphion.] Hi/gin. 
Paus. Homt. &c. 

Zetta, a town near Thapsus 
in Africa, now Zerbi. 

Zeugma, a town of Mesopo- 
tamia, on the western bank of the Eu- 
phrates. It was the eastern boundary j 
of the Roman empire. 

Zeus, a name cf Jupiter among j 

the Greeks, expressh e of his being the 
father cf mankind, by whom all things 
live. Biod. 

Zeuxidamus, a king of 
Sparta, of the family of the Prochdas. 
tie was succeeded by his son Archi- 
cLeus. Taus. 

Zeextppe, a daughter of Lao- 
medon. She married Sic yon, who, after 
his fa iher-in- law's death, became king 
of that city of Peloponnesus which 
from him has been called Sicyon. Pans. 

Zeuxis, a celebrated painter, 

bora at Heraeiea. He flourished about 
46S years B. C. contemporary withPar- 
rhasius. In the art of painting he not 
only surpassed all his contemporaries, 
but also his Easter Apollodorus. His 
most celebrated paintings were his Ju- 
piter sitting on a throne, surrounded by 
the gods; his Hercules strangling the 
serpents in the presence of his affrighted 
parents; his modest Penelope; and his 
Helen, which was placed m the temple j 
of Juno Lucina, at Agrigentum. This 
last piece he had painteifat the request { 
of tne Agrigentines, and executed it I 
with wonderful success. For his contest j 
v, ith Parrhasius, [Vid. ParrhasiusJ. | 
Though he represented nature in great \ 
perfection, and copied all her beauties , 
with exactness, he often found himself j 
deceived. He painted grapes,and formed I 
an idea of the goodness of his piece from 
the birds, which came to eat the fruit on 
the canvas. But he scGn acknowledged ! 
that the whole was an ill executed piece, 
as the figure of the man who carried the 
grapes was not done with sufficient ex- 
pression to terrify the birds. Zeuxis 
died, according to "some, frorrflaughing 
at a comical picture which he had made 
f an old woman. Pint, in Par. Quinti!. 
}*iri. <ke. 

Zoilus, a sophist and gram- 
marian of Amphipolis, B. C. '259. He 
rendered himself known by his severe 
criticisms on the works of Isoerates and 
* the poems of Homer, for which he re- 
ceived the name of Homerowastic, cv 



the ehastiser of Homer. Some say, that 
Zoilus was cruelly stoned to death, or 
exposed on a cross, by Ptolemy Phila- 
delphus, while others" support," that he 
was burnt alive at Smyrna. The name 
of Zoilus is generally applied to austere 
critics. JElian. &c. 

Zona, a town of Thrace, or. 

theiEgean sea, where the woods are 
said to" have followed the 'strains of Or- 
pheus. 

Z of ye. us. The most remark- 
able of this name are the following: — 
A Persian, son of Megabyzus, who, to 
show his attachment to Darius, the son 
of Hystaspesj while he besieged Baby- 
lon, cut off his ears and nose, and fled 
to the enemy, telling them he had re- 
ceived such" treatment from his royal 
master, because he had advised him to 
raise the siege, as the city was impreg- 
nable. This was credited by the Baby- 
lonians, and Zopyrus was appointed 
commander of all their forces. When 
he had totally gained their confidence, 
he betrayed the city into the hands of 
Darius, for which he was liberally re- 
warded. Hesiod. Justin. &c. — A phy- 
sician in the age of Mithridates. He 
gave the monarch a description of an 
antidote which would prevail against all 
sorts of poisons. The experiment was 
tried upon criminals, and succeeded. 

Zoroaxda, a part of Taurus. 

between Armenia and Mesopotamia, 
near which flows the Tigris. 

Zoroaster, a king of Bac- 

tria, who, according to Justin, first in- 
vented magic, and rendered himself 
famous by 'his deep researches in phi- 
losophy, the origin of the world, and the 
study of astronomy. Though many of 
his doctrines are puerile and ridiculous, 
yet his followers are still found in num- 
bers in the wilds of Persia, and the ex- 
tensive provinces of India. Like Py- 
thagoras, Zoroaster admitted no visible 
object of devotion, except fire. Accord- 
ing to some of the moderns, the doc- 
trines, the laws, and regulations of thi;- 
celebrated Bactrian are' still extant, and 
they have been lately introduced into 
Europe in a French translation. The 
age of Zoroaster is so little known, that 
many speak of two, three, four, and 
even six lawgivers of that name. Jus- 
tin. Plin. &c. 

■ Zosimus, an officer in the reign 
, of Theodosius the vouuger, about the 
; year 410 of the Christian era. He wrote 
; the history of the Roman emperors in 
< Greek, from the age of Augustus to the 
beginning of the 5th century, of which, 
only the rive first books, and the begin- 
ning of the sixth are extant. 



zos 

Zosine, the wife of king Ti- 
granes, led in triumph by Pompey. 
Pfat. 

Zostebja, a surname of Mi- 
nerva. She had two statues under that 
name in the city of Thebes, in Bceotia. 



ZYO 

The word signified girt, or armed for 
battle, words synonymous among the 
ancients. Paus. Homer. 

Zygia, a surname of Juno, be- 
cause she presided over marriage. Pin- 
dat . &c. 



THE END. 



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